Methanol, also known as hydroxymethane, wood alcohol or wood spirits, is an organic compound and the simplest saturated monohydric alcohol, with the chemical formula CH3OH/CH4O, a molecular weight of 32.04 and a boiling point of 64.7°C. It has the names "wood alcohol" and "wood spirits" because it was once produced mainly from wood vinasse (one of the products of wood distillation or cracking). Methanol has the names "wood alcohol" and "wood spirit", from the fact that its main production method was once extracted from wood vinasse (one of the products of dry distillation or cracking of wood). Modern methanol is manufactured directly from carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen in a catalytic industrial process. Methanol is light, volatile, colourless, flammable and has an odour very similar to ethanol (drinking alcohol). However, unlike ethanol, methanol is highly toxic and should not be consumed. It is commonly used as a solvent, antifreeze, fuel or denaturant ethanol, and can also be used to produce biodiesel through transesterification.

Basic information

Application 1:  Methanol is widely used as a basic organic chemical raw material and high quality fuel. Mainly used in fine chemical industry, plastics and other fields, used to produce formaldehyde, acetic acid, chloromethane, methylamine, dimethyl sulfate and other organic products, is also one of the important raw materials of pesticides, medicine.

Application 2: Methanol can be used as a new type of clean fuel after deep processing，methanol can be dehydrated in the presence of silica-aluminum catalyst or ZSM-5 molecular sieve to prepare dimethyl ether，methanol dehydrogenation to methyl formate.

Application 3: Methanol can be dehydrated in the presence of silica-aluminum catalyst or ZSM-5 molecular sieve to prepare dimethyl ether. Methanol dehydrogenation to methyl formate. Methyl formate is an organic synthetic raw material, can be used for formamide, dimethylformamide and so on. Formamide is the raw material of medicine, spices, dyes, but also can be used as a paper treatment agent, fiber industry softener, organic synthesis of polar solvents.