Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, is a highly versatile chemical widely used for industrial purposes and prevalent in our everyday lives. It is a type of alcohol made primarily from natural gas and is used as a precursor to other commodity chemicals, including formaldehyde, acetic acid, methyl tert-butyl ether, methyl benzoate, anisole, peroxyacids, as well as a host of more specialized chemicals. Here are some of the common uses of methanol:
-
Industrial Solvent: Methanol is primarily used as an industrial solvent to help create inks, resins, adhesives, and dyes.
-
Fuel: Methanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles, boats, and camping stoves. It can also be blended into gasoline to produce an efficient fuel known as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), which can have lower emissions than conventional gasoline.
-
Chemical Building Block: Methanol is a chemical building block for hundreds of everyday products, including plastics, paints, car parts, and construction materials.
-
Denaturant: Methanol is used as a denaturant for ethanol, the product being known as "denatured alcohol" or "methylated spirit".
-
Antifreeze: Methanol is used as an antifreeze in pipelines and windshield washer fluid.
-
Pharmaceuticals: Methanol is used as a solvent in the manufacture of important pharmaceutical ingredients and products such as cholesterol, streptomycin, vitamins, and hormones.
-
Pickling: Methanol is a component of acetic acid which is used for pickling in the food industry, household cleaners, and as an antiseptic.
-
Biodiesel: Methanol is used in biodiesel, a renewable fuel made from plants or animal fat that can be used in place of, or blended into, conventional fuel.
Methanols endless myriad applications have made it ubiquitous in practically every aspect of our lives.
