Methanol, also known as wood alcohol or wood spirit, is a colorless and transparent liquid with a pungent odor similar to ethanol. Methanol is highly flammable and can form explosive mixtures when mixed with air.
1. Volatility: Methanol has extremely strong volatility and can quickly evaporate at lower temperatures, forming flammable and explosive vapors.
2. Solubility: Methanol can be miscible with water in any ratio, and can also be mixed with various organic solvents such as ethanol and ether.
1. Chemical industry: widely used in the MTO field and in the production of products such as formaldehyde, acetic acid, MTBE, and dimethyl ether.
2. Energy industry: The development of methanol fuel cell technology has shown great potential in power production and storage.
3. The pharmaceutical and pesticide industries: Methanol is widely used as a solvent, disinfectant, and preservative in the production and storage of drugs. In the field of pesticides, methanol is used to synthesize insecticides and herbicides, improving crop yield and quality.
4. Other applications: Methanol can also be used in the fields of synthetic fibers, plastics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, dyes, etc., and can serve as a good solvent for many organic compounds and a new clean fuel.