Methanol

Methanol is a liquid chemical with the formula CH3OH (often abbreviated MeOH). It is colorless, volatile, flammable, and poisonous. Methanol is made from the destructive distillation of wood and is chiefly synthesized from carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Its principal uses are in organic synthesis, as a fuel, solvent, and antifreeze.Methanol is a polar liquid at room temperature. It is used as antifreeze, solvent, fuel, and as a denaturant for ethanol. The chemical is also used to produce biodiesel via transesterification reaction.Because methanol has toxic properties, it is frequently used as a denaturant additive for ethanol manufactured for industrial purposes. Methanol is frequently called wood alcohol because it was once produced primarily as a byproduct of the destructive distillation of wood.Today, three methods are commonly used to produce synthesis gas from the methane component in natural gas. The methods are steam-methane or SMR, which is endothermic, partial oxidation with molecular oxygen, which is exothermic, and the combination of the two, which is referred to as autothermal reforming.