Overview
Methanol is a colourless, transparent, water-soluble liquid and a key building block for a wide range of industrial and consumer products. It is produced from natural gas by steam reforming, then converted and distilled to obtain pure methanol.
Applications
Chemical production
- Formaldehyde — the largest single use of methanol, for urea-formaldehyde, phenol-formaldehyde and urethane products
- Acetic acid — used to produce PTA for polyester fibres and PET, vinyl acetate, chloroacetic acid, acetic anhydride and more
- Methanol-to-olefins (MTO) — an alternative to naphtha-based olefin production
- Basic chemicals for building materials, plastics and many other products
Energy
- Blending with gasoline
- Marine fuels
- Dimethyl ether (DME) and biodiesel
Technical specifications
| Test | Value |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Colourless, transparent liquid |
| Purity | 99% |
| Density | 0.798 g/cm³ |
| Residue on evaporation | 0.15% |
| Total acidity (as acetic acid) | 0.006% |
| Aldehydes and ketones | 0.1% |
| Sulfur | 0.001% |
