News tagged with methanol
Study cracks a secret of methanol production
(Phys.org) -- What’s the best way to make methanol? The question is more pressing than it sounds. Not only is methanol an important industrial chemical – some 50 million tons are used each year to ...
May 24, 2012 |
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High-purity hydrogen generated from a single device
(PhysOrg.com) -- There are many ways to generate hydrogen, such as water electrolysis and steam reforming of gas, but the hydrogen produced by these methods tends to be combined with other byproduct and residual ...
Oct 07, 2011 |
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Hybrid copper-gold nanoparticles convert CO2
Copper -- the stuff of pennies and tea kettles -- is also one of the few metals that can turn carbon dioxide into hydrocarbon fuels with relatively little energy. When fashioned into an electrode and stimulated ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Apr 11, 2012 |
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Astrobiologists discover 'sweet spots' for the formation of complex organic molecules in the galaxy
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists within the New York Center for Astrobiology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have compiled years of research to help locate areas in outer space that have extreme potential for ...
Nov 02, 2011 |
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Researchers pioneer molecular catalyser
Scientists in Sweden have developed a molecular catalyser with the ability to quickly oxidise water to oxygen. Presented in the journal Nature Chemistry, the results are a significant contribution to the future ...
Apr 16, 2012 |
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Defects make catalysts perfect
There is now one less mystery in chemical production plants. For many decades industry has been producing methanol on a large scale from a mixture of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as hydrogen. ...
Apr 26, 2012 |
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Researchers make key step towards turning methane gas into liquid fuel
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Washington and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have taken an important step in converting methane gas to a liquid, potentially making it more useful as a fuel ...
Oct 22, 2009 |
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Carbonized TiO2 nanotubes with semimetallic properties increase the efficiency of methanol fuel cells
(PhysOrg.com) -- Mention of nanotubes usually means carbon nanotubes. But not all tiny tubes are made of carbon. For example, layers made of nanoscopic titanium dioxide have proven to be useful materials for biotechnology, ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Sep 08, 2009 |
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New 'smart window' system with unprecedented performance
A new "smart" window system has the unprecedented ability to inexpensively change from summer to winter modes, darkening to save air conditioning costs on scorching days and returning to crystal clarity in ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Sep 21, 2011 |
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On the nanoscale, particles flow in unexpected ways
Researchers studying how fluids travel through nanoscale channels were surprised to discover that the fluids don't flow equally well in all directions. Contrary to the behavior in the macroscale world, the researchers discovered ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 25, 2011 |
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FLEX-ible insight into flame behavior
(PhysOrg.com) -- Whether free-burning or smoldering, uncontrolled fire can threaten life and destroy property. On Earth, a little water, maybe some chemicals, and the fire is smothered.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 30, 2011 |
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Cheap catalyst made easy
Catalysts made of carbon nanotubes dipped in a polymer solution equal the energy output and otherwise outperform platinum catalysts in fuel cells, a team of Case Western Reserve University engineers has found.
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Mar 22, 2011 |
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Chemical engineers invent portable hydrogen reactor for fuel cells
Chemical Engineering students at Stevens Institute of Technology are transforming the way that American soldiers power their battery-operated devices by making a small change: a really small change. Capitalizing on the unique ...
May 23, 2011 |
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Water and ammonia factories
(PhysOrg.com) -- Complex molecules, including many organic species, exist in a wide range of environments in the cosmos, and are especially abundant in giant molecular clouds of gas and dust where new stars ...
Nov 08, 2011 |
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Baking powder for environmentally friendly hydrogen storage
(PhysOrg.com) -- Hydrogen is under consideration as a promising energy carrier for a future sustainable energy economy. However, practicable solutions for the easy and safe storage of hydrogen are still being ...
Jun 14, 2011 |
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Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH (often abbreviated MeOH). It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol (drinking alcohol). At room temperature, it is a polar liquid, and is used as an antifreeze, solvent, fuel, and as a denaturant for ethanol. It is also used for producing biodiesel via transesterification reaction.
Methanol is produced naturally in the anaerobic metabolism of many varieties of bacteria, and is ubiquitous in the environment. As a result, there is a small fraction of methanol vapor in the atmosphere. Over the course of several days, atmospheric methanol is oxidized with the help of sunlight to carbon dioxide and water.
Methanol burns in air, forming carbon dioxide and water:
Because of its toxic properties, methanol is frequently used as a denaturant additive for ethanol manufactured for industrial uses — this addition of methanol exempts industrial ethanol from liquor excise taxation. Methanol is often called wood alcohol because it was once produced chiefly as a byproduct of the destructive distillation of wood.
For more information about Methanol, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
