Methanol

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Methanol is a common laboratory solvent. It is especially useful for HPLC and UV/VIS spectroscopy due to its low UV cutoff.

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By far, the largest use of methanol is in manufacture of other chemicals. Approximately 40 percent of methanol is converted to formaldehyde. It is then used to make other products as diverse as plastics, plywood, paints, explosives, and permanent press textiles.

Other chemical derivatives of methanol include dimethyl ether, which has replaced chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol spray propellant, and acetic acid. Dimethyl ether or “DME” also can be blended with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for home heating and cooking, and can be used as a diesel replacement transportation fuel.

Fuel for vehicles
Methanol is used to fuel internal combustion engines on a limited basis, primarily because it is not nearly as flammable as gasoline. Methanol is more difficult to ignite than gasoline and produces just one-eighth of the heat. Many racing classes including drag racers and mud racers use methanol as their primary fuel source. Methanol is required with a supercharged engine in a Top Alcohol Dragster and, until the end of 2006, all vehicles in the Indianapolis 500 had to run methanol. Mud racers have mixed methanol with gasoline and nitrous oxide to produce more power than gasoline and nitrous oxide alone.

Other applications
Methanol is a traditional denaturant for ethanol, thus giving the term “methylated spirit.”

Methanol is also used as a solvent, and as an antifreeze in pipelines and windshield washer fluid.

In some wastewater treatment plants, a small amount of methanol is added to wastewater to provide a food source of carbon for the denitrifying bacteria, which convert nitrates to nitrogen to reduce the denitrification of sensitive aquifers.

Methanol is also a denaturing agent in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Methanol is also widely used as fuel in camping and boating stoves. Methanol burns well in unpressurized burners. Alcohol stoves often require little more than a cup to hold fuel. This lack of complexity makes them a favorite of hikers spending extended time in the wilderness.