What is Methanol?

Methanol is a clear liquid chemical that is water soluble and readily biodegradable, comprising of four parts hydrogen, one-part oxygen and one-part carbon, and is the simplest member of a group of organic chemicals called alcohols. Today, methanol is most commonly produced on an industrial scale using natural gas as the principal feedstock. Methanol is used to produce other chemical derivatives, which in turn are used to produce thousands of products that touch our daily lives, such as building materials, foams, resins, plastics, paints, polyester and a variety of health and pharmaceutical products. Methanol also is a clean-burning, biodegradable fuel. Increasingly, methanol’s environmental and economic advantages are making it an attractive alternative fuel for powering vehicles and ships, cooking food and heating homes.

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