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methanol
(redirected from Biomethanol)

   Also found in: Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.08 sec.
methanol, methyl alcohol, or wood alcohol, CH3OH, a colorless, flammable liquid that is miscible with water in all proportions. Methanol is a monohydric alcohol alcohol, any of a class of organic compounds with the general formula R-OH, where R represents an alkyl group made up of carbon and hydrogen in various proportions and -OH represents one or more hydroxyl groups .
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. It melts at −97.8°C; and boils at 67°C;. It reacts with certain acids to form methyl esters. Methanol is a fatal poison. Small internal doses, continued inhalation of the vapor, or prolonged exposure of the skin to the liquid may cause blindness. As a result, commercial use of methanol has sometimes been prohibited. Methanol is used as a solvent for varnishes and lacquers, as an antifreeze, and as a gasoline extender in the production of gasohol gasohol, a gasoline extender made from a mixture of gasoline (90%) and ethanol (10%; often obtained by fermenting agricultural crops or crop wastes) or gasoline (97%) and methanol , or wood alcohol (3%).
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. Large amounts of it are used in the synthesis of formaldehyde formaldehyde (fôrmăl`dəhīd'), HCHO, the simplest aldehyde .
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. Because of its poisonous properties, methanol is also used as a denaturant for ethanol. Methanol is often called wood alcohol because it was once produced chiefly as a byproduct of the destructive distillation of wood. It is now produced synthetically by the direct combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide gases, heated under pressure in the presence of a catalyst.

methanol

 or methyl alcohol or wood alcohol

Simplest of the alcohols, chemical formula CH3OH. Once produced by destructive distillation of wood, it is now usually made from the methane in natural gas. Methanol is an important industrial material; its derivatives are used in great quantities for making a vast number of compounds, among them many important synthetic dyes, resins, drugs, and perfumes. It is also used in automotive antifreezes, in rocket fuels, and as a solvent. It is flammable and explosive. A clean-burning fuel, it may substitute (at least in part) for gasoline. It is also used for denaturation of ethanol. A violent poison, it causes blindness and eventually death when drunk.


methanol
a colourless volatile poisonous liquid compound used as a solvent and fuel. Formula: CH3OH

methanol [′meth·ə‚nȯl]
(organic chemistry)


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This has led to increasing interest in alternate power/fuel research such as fuel cell technology, hydrogen fuel, biomethanol, biodiesel, Karrick process, solar energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy and wind energy , and fusion energy.
Through its subsidiary, Smithfield BioEnergy, it is beginning to convert hog waste into biomethanol and biodiesel fuel -- a business that could produce substantial supplementary revenues in the future.
 
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