The main factors of this article called “Methanol–the fuel in Waiting” explains how Methanol could both have positive and negative effects in the environment and the economy. The article discusses how methanol could be another alternative to gasoline and it is a made from natural gas, which makes it easier to make and use. Methanol (see Figure 1) is that it is the simplest alcohol with a chain of one carbon atom with three hydrogen atoms attached. The characteristics of this simple alcohol are that it is a light, volatile, and flammable liquid with a unique odor very similar to ethanol.
Unlike ethanol, methanol is a highly toxic chemical and should be used cautiously because it causes negative reactions when exposed to other reagents such as lead. Methanol is not like an ordinary alcohol. It is the highest environmental standards in operations around the world because it is used in fuels for vehicles. It helps remove nitrogen in the water stream, and creates electricity. Methanol is stored in an appropriate container and suitable environmental conditions because if methanol is handled carelessly, it could be extremely dangerous for human health and it is mildly corrosive to lead alloys.
Figure 1 (Methanol) CH40 or CH3OH Uses of Methanol Methanol is a compound used in making hundreds of products that used in our daily lives. Methanol is also an emerging energy fuel for running cars, trucks, buses, and even electric power turbines. Methanol is much so cheaper and burns 75% slower than gasoline or other types of fuel and also produces much less toxic emissions than gasoline. Methanol is less reactive than gasoline in the atmosphere which means that this compound is best for the long run than other fuel. Methanol is used as a wastewater denitrification for removing nitrates and converting nitrates into nitrogen from effluent streams in water.
Methanol is the most common organic compound that is used in denitrification. Methanol is as a reagent to convert chemicals such as formaldehyde when making paints, explosives or plastics. Health Effects Methanol is an extremely dangerous and a very toxic alcohol because it can lead to many health risks in people if it makes its way into the body. Methanol affects differently in every human health depending on how much methanol is present and how long it is in the body. When methanol makes its way into the body, methanol changes into formaldehyde and formic acid.
The formaldehyde reacts with the amino acids in proteins, which in this case leads them to being unable to function properly because the formaldehyde diffuses into tissue and cells where it forms cross-links between different amino acids (HowStuffWorks). When the body seeks out to metabolize the formaldehyde, it creates a substance called formic acid (how stuff works). The formic acid begins to build up in the body and it does serious damage to the central nervous system. People such as miners, who have inhaled large amounts about 10 ml of pure methanol have died or had delayed effects such as severe abdominal pains. It can also cause loss of vision or blindness, depending on how it has been taken.
Workers who work in factories, which produces a dangerous amount of methanol experience several kinds of effects in their body. The types of effects are headaches, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal problems, and optic nerve damage. When there is skin contact with methanol it can produce mild dermatitis in humans. Oxidation The oxidation reaction occurs in methanol and other alcohol when a carbon atom forms more bonds to oxygen or fewer bonds to hydrogen. Methanol is a primary alcohol because it is bonded with one alkyl group, so it means that it can be oxidized to either aldehydes or carboxylic acids, depending on the reaction condition, but in this reaction formaldehyde is formed which is an aldehyde.
The reaction (see Figure 2) forms an aldehyde because the used an excess of the alcohol, this means that there is not enough oxidizing agent present. CH3OH + [O] ==> HCHO + H20 Figure 2 Dehydration Dehydration occurs in methanol when combining two molecules by removing water. The reaction below shows that methanol is reacting with Dimethyl Sulfate to remove water from the two molecules. 2 CH3OH + H2SO4 ==> (CH3)2504 + H20 Substitution This reaction occurs when a hydrogen atom is replaced by a different functional group.
In this reaction in shows that methanol is reacting with sodium and forms a sodium methoxide and a hydrogen because the functional group is replaced by another functional group. 2 CH3OH + 2 Na ==> 2CH3ONa + H2 Elimination reaction Alcohols most of the time undergoes the reaction when it is heated in the presence of strong acids. From the elimination reaction, the atoms are removed from a molecule to form a double bond, this means that one reactant will break into two products. The reaction below shows that methanol is getting heated by a strong acid (H2504) to produce Dimethyl Sulfate and water. 2CH3OH ==>(CH3)2504 + H2O Synthesized Methanol is made by the conversion of natural gas into a synthesis gas stream.
The two compounds that make Methanol are carbon monoxide and hydrogen by synthesis gas (Methanol Institute 2011). Synthesis gas could produce from anything that comes from a plant. There are two steps to produce a natural gas into a synthesis gas that has a Carbon, Carbon Dioxide, and hydrogen. The second step is the catalytic synthesis of methanol from the synthesis gas (Methanol Institute 2011). The equation below explains the synthesis gas production of Methanol. 2 CH4 + 3 H2O -> CO + CO2 + 7 H2 (Synthesis Gas) CO + CO2 + 7 H2 -> 2 CH3OH + 2 H2 + H20 Risk/Benefits Anyone could get exposed to methanol by inhalation, skin contact, and by ingestion. Methanol should be handled carefully because it causes serious health symptoms and exposure to methanol can pose serious health risks.
Person that work in factories where methanol is manufactured should limit their exposure to the shortest possible time allowed to avoid health complications by wearing protection such as a respirator and gloves. Methane is a greenhouse gas, so it is dangerous in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. The advantage of methanol provides a path to the hydrogen economy of the future. Methanol can be used to produce hydrogen, and the methanol industry is working on technologies that would allow methanol to produce hydrogen for fuel cells. This will improve energy security by reducing the production of imported oil.
In conclusion, methanol has an important role in our life because half of the things human use is made from this compound, it is a building block used in making hundreds of products that are used in our daily lives. Methanol is also an emerging energy fuel for running our cars, trucks, buses, and even electric power turbines. It is a stable biodegradable chemical that is produced and shipped around the globe every day for a number of industrial and commercial applications.
Even though methanol has many side effects in the human body, it is beneficial for the environment because it is often employed in numerous industrial applications like wastewater treatment facilities to help remove nitrogen from effluent streams or as an antifreeze component and corrosion inhibitor in oil and gas exploration. Methanol engines are more fuel efficient than gasoline engines and methanol has little less than half of the energy.
