Methanol

Pure methanol, however, was first isolated in 1661 by Robert Boyle, when he produced it via the distillation of boxwood. It later became known as pyroxylic spirit. In 1834, the French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugene Peligot determined its elemental composition. The term "methyl" was derived in about 1840 by back-formation from methylene, and was then applied to describe "methyl alcohol." This was shortened to "methanol" in 1892 by the International Conference on Chemical Nomenclature. In 1923, the German chemists Alwin Mittasch and Mathias Pier, working for BASF developed a means to convert synthesis gas (a mixture of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen) into methanol. Modern methanol production has been made more efficient through use of catalysts (commonly copper) capable of operating at lower pressures, the modern low pressure methanol (LPM) was developed by ICI in the late 1960s with the technology now owned by Johnson Matthey who is a leading licensor of methanol technology.
The use of methanol as a motor fuel received attention during the oil crises of the 1970s due to its availability, low cost, and environmental benefits. By the mid-1990s, over 20,000 methanol "flexible fuel vehices" capable of operating on methanol or gasoline were introduced in the U.S. In 2006 astronomers using the MERLIN array of radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank Observatory discovered a large cloud of methanol in space, 300 billion miles across.

Community Right-To-Know List. Reported in EPA TSCA Inventory. EPA Genetic Toxicology Program.

OSHA PEL: TWA 200 ppm; STEL 250 ppm (skin)
ACGIH TLV: TWA 200 ppm; STEL 250 ppm (skin); BEI: 15 mg/L of methanol in urine at end of shift
DFG MAK: 200 ppm (270 mg/m³); BAT: 30 mg/L in urine at end of shift
NIOSH REL: TWA 200 ppm; CL 800 ppm/15M
DOT Classification:  3; Label: Flammable Liquid, Poison

For occupational chemical analysis use NIOSH: Methanol, 2000.

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, is a colorless, flammable, toxic liquid with a faintly sweet pungent odor like that of ethyl alcohol. It is miscible with water, ethanol, ether, benzene, ketones, and most other organic solvents, and can dissolve many inorganic salts. Methanol is the simplest alcohol used in the manufacture of formaldehyde and acetic acid, in chemical synthesis, antifreeze, and as a solvent. Ingestion of methanol is toxic and may cause blindness. 

Methanol has not only universal chemical property of saturated alcohols, but also its own property due to one carbon atom. Such as: The formation of calcium chloride obtains crystalline material CaCl₂·4CH₃OH and the formation of barium oxide obtains compound BaO·2CH₃OH which dissolves in methanol; When oxidation the generated formic acid is further oxidated to CO₂.

Preparation: Before 1926, all methanol was made by distillation of wood. But now, almost all the industrial synthesis of methanol is using catalytic hydrogenation of carbon monoxide under pressure. This process includs gas making, synthetic purification, methanol synthesis and crude methanol rectification. The synthesis gas is most commonly produced from the methane component in natural gas rather than from coal. The purification process of crude methanol includes rectification and chemical treatment. Chemical treatment is using alkali to undermine the impurities which is difficult to be separated in the rectification process, and adjust the pH value. Rectification is removal of the main easily volatile components such as dimethyl ether, and difficultly volatile components such as ethanol, high-carbon alcohol and water. After the crude distillation, purity can achieve more than 98% .

Uses: 1. Methanol is especially useful for HPLC, UV/VIS spectroscopy, and LCMS due to its low UV cutoff. It is also a basic organic raw material, which is mainly used to produce formaldehyde, acetic acid, methyl chloride, methylamine, dimethyl sulfate, pesticides (insecticides, acaricides), medicine (sulfonamides, syntomycin, etc.) and other organic products.

2. Methanol can also be mixed with gasoline for use of alternative fuels. The physical and chemical characteristics of methanol offer several advantages as an alternative fuel, including relatively low production cost and a lower risk of flammability compared to gasoline. But it is used on a limited basis to fuel internal combustion engines.

3. Methanol is an important solvent used for paint, varnish, shellac, ink, adhesives, dyes, alkaloids, cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate, ethyl cellulose, polyvinyl butyral, etc. Methanol is a usually better solvent than ethanol. And it can dissolve many inorganic salts.

4. Methanol is also used as reagent for analysis and chromatography, as reagent of determination of boron, in separation of calcium sulfate and magnesium sulfate, and in separation of strontium bromide and barium bromide. What's more, it can used as antifreeze in pipelines and windshield washer fluid.

Safty: Methanol is harmful by inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed. If ingested, for example, as little as 10 mL of pure methanol can cause permanent blindness by destruction of the optic nerve, and 30 ml is potentially fatal. It has danger of very serious irreversible effects. Methanol is often a component in "bootleg" liquor (illegally brewed and distilled alcohol) and there have been numerous cases in the past in which the consumption of such a drink has been fatal. In case of accident or if you feel unwell, seek medical advice immediately (show the label whenever possible.) Methanol is highly flammable, so people should keep it away from sources of ignition. A hot air gun, a hot plate or even a radiator may be sufficiently hot to ignite the vapour of methanol. So people should be very careful.

Structure Descriptors:
1. Smiles:CO
2. InChI:InChI=1/CH4O/c1-2/h2H,1H3

Toxicity: