Methanol

Methanol, also known as hydroxymethane, is an organic compound andtoxic. It is also called "wood alcohol" or "wood essence" because it was first discovered in dry distilled wood. Methanol is the primary alcohol, comprising a methyl and an alcohol group It is an alkyd alcohol, a one-carbon compound, a volatile organic compound and a primary alcohol. It is a conjugate acid of a methoxide.Methanol appears as a colorless fairly volatile liquid with a faintly sweet pungent odor like that of ethyl alcohol.The vapors are slightly heavier than air and may travel some distance to a source of ignition and flash back. Any accumulation of vapors in confined spaces, such as buildings or sewers, may explode if ignited. 

1. It is one of the basic organic raw materials, used in the manufacture of methyl chloride, methylamine, dimethyl sulfate and other organic products. It is also a raw material for pesticides (insecticides, acaricides), pharmaceuticals (sulfonamides, synthomycins, etc.), and one of the raw materials for the synthesis of dimethyl terephthalate, methyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate.

2. The main application of methanol is in the production of formaldehyde, which can be used to produce adhesives, mainly for the wood processing industry, and also as a treatment agent for molding compounds, coatings, textiles and paper.

3. Another major use of methanol is in the production of acetic acid. Acetic acid accounts for about 7% of global methanol demand. It can be used to produce vinyl acetate, cellulose acetate, acetates, etc., and its demand is closely related to that in coatings, adhesives and textiles.

4. Methanol can be used to produce methyl formate, which is used in the manufacture of formic acid, formamide and other fine chemicals. It can also be used as an insecticide, fungicide, fumigant, tobacco treatment agent and gasoline additive.

5. Methanol can also be used to produce methylamines, which are important aliphatic amines. Using liquid nitrogen and methanol as raw materials, they can be processed into monomethylamine, dimethylamine and trimethylamine, which are basic chemical raw materials.

6. It can be synthesized into dimethyl carbonate, an environmentally friendly product used in medicine, agriculture and special industries.

7. It can be synthesized into ethylene glycol, one of the petrochemical intermediates, used in the production of polyesters and antifreezes.

8. It can be used to manufacture growth promoters, which can greatly increase crop yields, keep branches and leaves fresh and vigorous, prevent wilting even in summer, and reduce irrigation water consumption significantly, which is beneficial to the growth of dryland crops.

9. It can be synthesized into methanol protein. Produced by microbial fermentation using methanol as raw material, methanol protein is known as the second-generation single-cell protein. Compared with natural protein, it has higher nutritional value, much higher crude protein content than fish meal and soybean meal, and is rich in amino acids, minerals and vitamins. It can replace fish meal, soybean meal, bone meal, meat and skimmed milk powder.

10. Methanol is used as a cleaning and degreasing agent. MOS grade is mainly used for discrete devices, medium and large-scale integrated circuits; BV-Ⅲ grade is mainly used for ultra-large-scale integrated circuit technology.

11. Used as an analytical reagent, such as solvent, methylating agent, chromatographic reagent. Also used in organic synthesis.

12. Methanol is generally a better solvent than ethanol and can dissolve many inorganic salts. It can also be blended into gasoline as an alternative fuel. Since the 1980s, methanol has been used to produce methyl tert-butyl ether (a gasoline octane booster), methanol gasoline, methanol fuel, methanol protein and other products, promoting the development of methanol production and market demand.

13. Methanol is not only an important chemical raw material, but also an energy and vehicle fuel with excellent performance. The reaction of methanol with isobutylene gives MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether), a high-octane unleaded gasoline additive that can also be used as a solvent. In addition, it can be used to produce olefins and propylene to solve the problem of resource shortage.

14. Methanol can be used to produce dimethyl ether. Dimethyl ether is widely used in daily chemical, pharmaceutical, pesticide, dye and coating industries. It also has excellent fuel properties: clean, high cetane number, good power performance, low pollution, easy to pressurize into liquid and store. A new type of liquid fuel made from methanol and dimethyl ether in a certain ratio is called alcohol-ether fuel, whose combustion efficiency and thermal efficiency are higher than those of liquefied petroleum gas.