

Methanol (MeOH), the simplest alcohol, is widely used as a solvent, motor fuel, ethanol denaturant, and, most of all, a feedstock for manufacturing other chemicals. It was originally made by the destructive distillation of wood—hence, the once commonly used name “wood alcohol”.
Methanol is miscible with water and with almost every other organic solvent. It is colorless, volatile, flammable, and poisonous. During Prohibition, many people died from drinking methanol-laced liquor.
Methanol is an old chemical, but it still makes news. K. Rajeshwar and colleagues at the University of Texas, Arlington, recently developed a process that uses solar power to make methanol from CO2 .
MOTW update:
October 14, 2024
Methanol1 is a widely used solvent, motor fuel, ethanol denaturant, and especially a feedstock for manufacturing other chemicals.
Methanol is toxic: During Prohibition, many people died from drinking methanol-laced liquor; and this type of poisoning is still widespread today. Recently, Douglas J. Lanska at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and others reported that methanol’s metabolites in the body are actually the true poisons. The principal culprits are formaldehyde and formic acid, which are produced by the action of liver enzymes on methanol. These metabolites can cause eye and brain damage and metabolic acidosis.
1. CAS Reg. No. 503612-47-3.

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