Methanol CAS 67-56-1

What is Methanol?

Methanol is the simplest alcohol, formula CH₃OH, a clear colourless liquid boiling at 64.7 °C with a faint alcoholic odour. It is completely miscible with water and with most polar solvents.

It is one of the largest-volume organic chemicals in the world, made almost entirely from synthesis gas. Natural gas is the dominant feedstock, with coal gasification important in China.

Demand splits between chemical and energy uses. Formaldehyde, acetic acid, MTBE and methyl methacrylate are the traditional chemical outlets; methanol-to-olefins, biodiesel transesterification, fuel blending and marine fuel have grown rapidly beside them.

Methanol is acutely toxic by ingestion and absorbs through skin, and because it burns with an almost invisible flame it needs specific fire-fighting provision.

Why Methanol specifically

• A one-carbon building block. Oxidation gives formaldehyde, carbonylation gives acetic acid, and etherification gives MTBE and DME.
• Made from any carbon source. Natural gas, coal, biomass and captured CO₂ all route into methanol through synthesis gas.
• Fully miscible with water. A useful solvent property, and the reason spill behaviour differs from hydrocarbons.
• A liquid energy carrier. Easy to store and ship compared with hydrogen or LNG, which drives its growing fuel role.

How Methanol is Manufactured

Methanol is made from synthesis gas over a copper-zinc catalyst, and the plant front end determines the carbon source.

• Feedstock reforming. Natural gas is steam reformed, or coal is gasified, to produce synthesis gas of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
• Gas conditioning. The syngas is adjusted to the right stoichiometric ratio and desulphurised, because sulphur poisons the synthesis catalyst.
• Methanol synthesis. The gas reacts over a copper-zinc-alumina catalyst at about 50 to 100 bar and 250 °C, with recycle because single-pass conversion is limited.
• Crude methanol separation. Raw methanol is condensed and let down, releasing dissolved gases.
• Distillation. Light ends and water are removed in a two or three column train to reach Grade AA purity.
• Renewable routes. Biomass gasification and CO₂ hydrogenation produce chemically identical methanol with a different carbon footprint.

Typical Commercial Specification

Figures below are representative of IMPCA reference specification methanol, equivalent to Grade AA. Tell us the end use and we will confirm which specification applies.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Behaviour in the process

Methanol behaves very differently from hydrocarbon solvents, and most handling mistakes come from that difference:

• Wide flammable range. 6 to 36% in air means a vapour space is far more often in the flammable range than with a hydrocarbon.
• Invisible flame. A methanol fire can be hard to see in daylight. Thermal imaging and alcohol-resistant foam are the standard provisions.
• Water miscible. Spills dilute rather than float, and alcohol-resistant foam is required because standard foam breaks down.
• Hygroscopic. Picks up water from humid air, which matters where the water specification is tight.

Methanol Grades and Alternatives

Methanol is sold to standard grades, and the choice is mostly about the impurity ceiling rather than headline purity.

Stated plainly: as a C1 feedstock methanol has no substitute. As a solvent it competes with ethanol and IPA mainly on toxicity and regulation rather than on performance.

Industries We Supply Methanol To

Methanol is sold into more industries than almost any other chemical, from formaldehyde plants to marine fuel bunkering.

Where Methanol is Used

Formaldehyde remains the single largest chemical outlet, but fuel and olefin applications now take a comparable share of global volume.

In formaldehyde manufacture

Methanol is oxidised with air over silver or iron-molybdenum oxide catalyst to formaldehyde, which is absorbed in water as formalin. Feed purity matters because sulphur and chlorides poison the catalyst, and because trace impurities report into the formalin and then into the resin.

As a fuel and fuel intermediate

Methanol blends into gasoline, converts to MTBE for octane, and is transesterified with vegetable oils to biodiesel. Its growing use as a marine fuel is driven by low sulphur emissions and the fact that it is a liquid at ambient conditions, which makes bunkering far simpler than LNG.

Quality Control & Testing

Every lot is released against a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis against the IMPCA reference specification or the grade you have nominated.

• Purity and water content — by gas chromatography and Karl Fischer titration.
• Acetone and ethanol — reported because they are the characteristic trace impurities of the synthesis route.
• Permanganate time — the sensitive test for oxidisable impurities and contamination.
• Acidity — measured because acidic material corrodes and affects downstream reactions.
• Chlorides, sulphur and iron — reported in ppm for catalyst and corrosion reasons.
• Non-volatile matter and colour — confirming freedom from contamination in transport.

Common Process Problems & Likely Causes

When methanol causes trouble, it is usually water pick-up, permanganate time or contamination in transfer. This table is the shortcut our technical desk works through before anyone opens a complaint file.

Packaging, Storage & Shipping

• Standard packing. 200 L drums, 1000 L IBCs, ISO tank containers, road tankers and bulk parcel cargoes.
• Storage. Cool, well-ventilated, earthed and bunded flammable-liquid tankage with a dry breather or nitrogen blanket.
• Moisture control. Methanol is hygroscopic; a desiccant breather or nitrogen blanket is needed where the water limit is tight.
• Fire provision. Alcohol-resistant foam is essential. Standard hydrocarbon foam is destroyed by methanol.
• Material compatibility. Carbon steel and stainless steel are standard. Avoid aluminium at elevated temperature, lead, magnesium and some plastics.
• Static control. Bond and earth all equipment and use bottom filling.
• Shelf life. Indefinite in sealed, dry storage. Water content and permanganate time are the practical checks.
• Transport classification. UN 1230, methanol, Class 3 flammable liquid with subsidiary risk 6.1, packing group II.

Hazards & Safe Handling

Methanol is a highly flammable liquid and acutely toxic by ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption. As little as 10 mL can cause blindness and 30 mL can be fatal, which puts it in a different class from ordinary solvents.

• Acute toxicity. Toxic by ingestion, inhalation and skin contact. Metabolised to formic acid, which causes blindness and can be fatal in small doses.
• Antidote and medical response. Methanol poisoning is treated with fomepizole or ethanol and dialysis. Site medical plans should name the treatment explicitly.
• Flammability. Flash point about 11 °C with an unusually wide flammable range of 6 to 36%. Vapour spaces are often flammable.
• Invisible flame. Burns with a pale, nearly invisible flame in daylight. Use thermal imaging and alcohol-resistant foam.
• Skin absorption. Absorbed through intact skin in toxicologically significant amounts. Use chemical-resistant gloves, not latex.
• Occupational exposure. Typical limits are around 200 ppm as an 8-hour average with a skin notation; confirm the limit in your jurisdiction.
• Static control. Bond and earth all equipment; methanol accumulates charge during transfer.
• Environment. Readily biodegradable but prevent large releases to watercourses.

Regulatory & Compliance Notes

Methanol is a globally traded commodity with established transport, occupational and fuel regulation. The notes below are orientation rather than legal advice.

• GHS classification. Flammable liquid Category 2, acute toxicity Category 3 by all routes, and STOT SE Category 1 for optic nerve damage.
• Dangerous goods transport. UN 1230, Class 3 with subsidiary 6.1, PG II. ADR, IMDG, IATA and DOT rules apply to tank design, labelling and routing.
• IMPCA specification. The international reference specification for merchant methanol, used as the contractual quality basis in most trade.
• Fuel regulation. Methanol blending into gasoline, biodiesel production and marine fuel use are each subject to specific fuel quality rules.
• REACH and inventories. Registered under EU REACH and listed on the major chemical inventories, with restrictions on consumer windscreen washer fluid in the EU.
• Food and pharmaceutical chains. Additional purity and residual solvent documentation is required where methanol is used in pharmaceutical manufacture.

We Supply Methanol Worldwide

Chelora Chemicals is a supplier and export partner, not a single-plant trader. We ship Methanol from India and from partner sources to customers across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North and South America, handling the export documentation, transport paperwork and freight so the material arrives ready to use.

• Incoterms. EXW, FOB, CIF, CFR and DAP quoted to suit your purchasing terms and freight arrangements.
• Ports. Regular shipments through Nhava Sheva (JNPT) and Mundra, with other ports arranged where routing and cargo rules allow.
• Documentation. Commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, COA, SDS and the transport declaration issued as a complete set.
• Flexible volumes. From a pallet of drums up to repeat bulk shipments on a supply contract.
• Supply continuity. Because we are independent of any one producer, a plant turnaround or a shipping disruption at one source does not have to become your stock-out.

Buying Methanol from Chelora

We are an independent sourcing and supply partner. For methanol that means settling three things at enquiry: the grade and specification basis, the water and trace metal limits your process needs, and the packing and bulk logistics into your site.

• Documentation on every lot. Batch-specific COA (purity, water, acetone, permanganate time), plus SDS and the full transport paperwork.
• Analysis before commitment. Representative analysis shared ahead of a commercial order so your lab can qualify the material.
• Quantities. From a pallet of drums through to full bulk shipments on contract supply.
• Grade matching. IMPCA, Grade AA, Grade A or pharmaceutical grade to the water, permanganate and trace metal limits your process requires.
• Inspection. Independent third-party inspection available at loading when the contract requires it.
• Related products. Formaldehyde, Acetic Acid, Isopropyl Alcohol and other feedstocks alongside Methanol from one supplier.

How ordering works

• Send the enquiry. Product, grade or purity, quantity, destination port and the Incoterm you buy on. If you have a spec sheet, attach it — it saves a round trip.
• We quote. Price, lead time, packing format and a sample COA, normally within one working day.
• Qualify the supply. For first orders or critical applications, we share the analysis and handling documentation so your technical and safety teams can sign off before you commit.
• Confirm the order. Proforma invoice issued; payment terms agreed against the volume and the relationship.
• Allocation and QC. Material allocated and released against a batch-specific COA, with an independent inspection where the contract calls for it.
• Ship and document. Filled, labelled and loaded with the full export document set, and tracked through to arrival.

Related Products

Buyers of methanol often source other basic chemicals alongside it — resin producers typically buy formaldehyde and urea, and solvent users need IPA and acetone on the same programme.