One of the base fuels that is often mentioned in tandem with ethanol or biodiesel is methanol.  Methanol is also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, or wood spirits.  It’s a chemical that is naturally-occurring in many processes with the formula CH₃OH (aka MeOH).  Methanol is flammable, colorless, light, and smells similar to pure drinking alcohol.

When ignited, methanol gives off an almost colorless flame that is nearly invisible in bright sunlight.  Methanol has toxic properties that are used heavily in industry as well as a fuel or fuel additive in many specialty and racing vehicles.

How Methanol is Made

Methanol has been around for centuries and was one product used for embalming in Egyptian times.  It was first chemically isolated in 1661 by Robert Boyle from boxwood in a distillation process.

Most methane today is produced by one of two methods involving natural gas, coal, or biomass.  With natural gas or coal, steam-methane reforming (SMR) puts methane over a nickel catalyst at high temperature resulting in what’s called “syngas.”  This is then usually put through an exothermic reaction in what is referred to as autothermal reforming to produce methanol, with water as a byproduct.

Biomass, usually from wood leftovers, recycled paper, and the like can be fermented and put through a gasification process to prodouce “water gas” which is syngas rich in hydrogen.  Then the SMR process is used to produce the final methanol product.  This process is carbon neutral when the photosynthesis process for producing the wood is included.

What Methanol is Used For

Most methanol is converted to formaldehyde for use in the production process to make plastics, plywood, glues, explosives, fire retardant materials, and (of course) embalming fluid.

Methanol is also used world-wide as a fuel to be directly burned for internal combustion.  Many high-performance vehicles such as some aircraft, race cars, etc. will use methanol.  It was the only fuel used in Formula One racing until 2006.

Some processes of biodiesel production use methanol in the transesterification of triglycerides.  Methanol is also the primary ingredient for deriving dimethyl ether – a common diesel replacement or additive in cold climates.

Methanol is also a common ingredient in windshield washer fluid (as an antifreeze) and as an additive to wastewater to speed up the denitrifying bacetria’s work in breaking down nitrates into pure nitrogen.

Newer technologies include direct-methanol fuel cells which may be a low-temperature, low pressure option for creating fuel-cell batteries for small items as the process can be greatly miniaturized to allow for consumer electronics and other items to use this as a power source.

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