Colorless, volatile, and flammable liquid with a slight alcoholic odor in its pure state. It is a highly poisonous liquid and harmful to health. It is miscible with water, alcohols, esters, ketones, and many other solvents; moreover, it forms many binary azeotropic mixtures. It is slightly soluble in fats and oils.
Methanol has a wide range of industrial applications. Its most common use is as a raw material for the production of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive. It is also used in the production of formaldehyde, acetic acid, chloromethanes, methyl methacrylate, methylamines, dimethyl terephthalate, and as a solvent or antifreeze in spray paints, wall paints, carburetor cleaners, and windshield cleaning compounds for automobiles.
