Methanol

About This Product

Methanol, methyl alcohol, has the formula CH4O and CAS number 67-56-1. It is a clear, colourless, volatile liquid with a mild alcoholic odour, boiling at about 65 °C and fully miscible with water and most organic solvents. Methanol is made from synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen produced from natural gas or coal, and it is one of the largest-volume organic chemicals because so much of the industry is built on it. It is oxidised to formaldehyde for resins, carbonylated to acetic acid, reacted with isobutylene to MTBE and, in China especially, converted to ethylene and propylene. Its hazards are specific and serious. The body oxidises methanol to formaldehyde and formic acid, which cause metabolic acidosis and damage the optic nerve, so small ingested quantities can cause blindness, and skin absorption and inhalation also contribute to exposure. It also burns with a pale flame that is almost invisible in daylight, which matters for fire detection in storage and transfer areas. It is used in formaldehyde and resin production, acetic acid and methylamines manufacture, as a solvent and extractant in pharmaceutical and chemical processing, in antifreeze and windscreen fluids where permitted, and as a denaturant. Bio Green Chem supplies methanol at 99 percent minimum in 160 kg drums or ISO tanks, with the full specification on water, acidity, distillation range and permanganate time confirmed with the quotation. It is highly flammable and toxic if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin; handle to the safety data sheet.