About Methanol. Methanol (a.k.a. Methyl Alcohol, Wood Alcohol) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol as well as one of the most important chemical raw materials. It is colorless liquid at ambient temperatures with a mild, characteristic alcohol odor. Methanol was originally called wood alcohol because it was first obtained from the destructive distillation of wood. The modern method of preparing methanol is based on the direct combination of carbon monoxide gas and hydrogen (syngas) in the presence of a catalyst. Methyl Alcohol is quantitatively the second largest product from syngas, after ammonia. Methanol production is often the most suitable alternative for marketing of liquefied methane and ammonia.

The syngas used to produce methanol can be produced from virtually any carbon source. While methane and coal are common raw materials, the use of renewable feedstocks such as residue biomass from crops and forests processing is increasing. Besides the technology of its production being simple, the transportation and storage of methanol use inexpensive technology.

Methanol Handling. Since methanol is both a fire hazard and corrosive toward a variety of metals (copper, zinc, magnesium, tin, lead, aluminum) and some elastomers, equipment for storing may be made of carbon or stainless steel. Floating and fixed roof tanks are used for large-scale methanol storage. Methanol is shipped overseas in specially built tankers with capacities up to 40,000 t. Other vessels with capacities up to 3,000 t can be used to distribute the product to inland industrial regions via inland waterways, by tank cars, trucks and drums. Methanol is also transported by road and rail tank cars. Permanently coupled trains consisting of several large tank cars with common filling, discharge, and ventilation lines are used to supply large customers.

Methanol Production. Currently, Methanol is produced on an industrial scale primarily by catalytic conversion of synthesis gas (or syngas). The syngas is, in turn, most commonly produced from the natural gas reformation or by gasification of coal. The gasification process can also be used for the production of Green Methanol from biomass. Raw materials and the respective production processes employed in the manufacturing of Methanol are listed below.

Methanol Uses. The uses and applications of Methanol may vary according to its specification. The main forms of Methanol are grade A (minimum 99.85 wt% methanol, maximum 0.15 wt% water) and grade AA (minimum 99.85 wt% methanol, maximum 0.10 wt% water, maximum 0.001 wt% ethanol, maximum 0.002 wt% acetone).

Despite Methanol’s minor use as fuel, MTBE is used in the energy sector as a gasoline additive to raise the octane number. In recent years, technologies were developed for the production of chemicals and fuels from syngas, with methanol being an intermediate. Such technologies include methanol to gasoline (MTG), methanol-to-olefins (MTO) and methanol-to-propylene (MTP) processes.