Methanol | Properties, Production, Uses, & Poisoning | Britannica

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External Websites

• World Health Organization - Institutional Repository of Information Sharing - Methanol (PDF)
• PNAS - Mechanistic differences between methanol and dimethyl ether in zeolite-catalyzed hydrocarbon synthesis
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Methanol: Systemic Agent
• CAMEO Chemicals - Methanol
• Frontiers - Methanol in Plant Life
• DSpace at MIT - Methanol—A Poor Biosignature Gas in Exoplanet Atmospheres (PDF)
• BioMed Central - Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts - Current advance in bioconversion of methanol to chemicals
• U.S. Department of Energy - Alternative Fuels Data Center - Methanol
• National Center for Biotechnology Information - Methanol Toxicity
• IOPscience - IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineeing - Methanol as the main substitute for petroleum fuels (PDF)
• United States Environmental Protection Agency - Methanol
• Core - Methanol Chemistry
• Australian Government - Department of ClimateChange, Energy, the Environment and Water - Methanol

Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

• methanol - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Ask the Chatbot a Question Also known as: CH3OH, carbinol, methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood spirit(Show More) Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Dec. 3, 2025 •History Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot

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Brain damage, blindness and death: the global trail of trauma left by methanol-laced alcohol • Nov. 28, 2025, 9:26 PM ET (The Guardian) Show less

methanol (CH3OH), the simplest of a long series of organic compounds called alcohols, consisting of a methyl group (CH3) linked with a hydroxy group (OH). Methanol was formerly produced by the destructive distillation of wood. The modern method of preparing methanol is based on the direct combination of carbon monoxide gas and hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst. Increasingly, syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide derived from biomass, is used for methanol production.

Pure methanol is an important material in chemical synthesis. Its derivatives are used in great quantities for building up a vast number of compounds, among them many important synthetic dyestuffs, resins, pharmaceuticals, and perfumes. Large quantities are converted to dimethylaniline for dyestuffs and to formaldehyde for synthetic resins. It is also used in automotive antifreezes, in rocket fuels, and as a general solvent. Methanol is also a high-octane, clean-burning fuel that is a potentially important substitute for gasoline in automotive vehicles. The methanol derived from wood is used chiefly for rendering industrial ethyl alcohol unfit to drink.

Also called: methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, or wood spirit (Show more) Key People: Jean-Baptiste-André Dumas (Show more) Related Topics: alcohol (Show more) On the Web: IOPscience - IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineeing - Methanol as the main substitute for petroleum fuels (PDF) (Nov. 21, 2025) (Show more) See all related content

Methanol is a colourless liquid that boils at 64.96 °C (148.93 °F) and solidifies at −93.9 °C (−137 °F). It forms explosive mixtures with air and burns with a nonluminous flame. It is completely miscible in water. Methanol has an odour that is similar to ethyl alcohol, the intoxicant of alcoholic beverages, but is a dangerous poison; many cases of blindness or death have been caused by drinking mixtures containing it.

More From Britannica alcohol: Methanol This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.