Methanol

History

In their embalming process, the ancient Egyptians used a mixture of substances, including methanol, which they obtained from the pyrolysis of wood. Pure methanol, however, was first isolated in 1661 by Robert Boyle, who called it spirit of box, because he produced it via the distillation of boxwood. It later became known as pyroxylic spirit. In 1834, the French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugene Peligot determined its elemental composition. They also introduced the word methylene to organic chemistry, forming it from the Greek words methu, meaning "wine," and hyle, meaning "wood". The term methyl was derived in about 1840 by back-formation from methylene, and was then applied to describe methyl alcohol. This was shortened to methanol in 1892 by the International Conference on Chemical Nomenclature.

Related Topics:
Embalming - Pyrolysis - 1661 - Robert Boyle - Boxwood - 1834 - French - Jean-Baptiste Dumas - Eugene Peligot - Greek - 1840 - Back-formation - 1892

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In 1923, the German chemist Matthias Pier, working for BASF developed a means to convert synthesis gas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen derived from coke and used as the source of hydrogen in synthetic ammonia production) into methanol. This process used a zinc chromate catalyst, and required extremely vigorous conditions—pressures ranging from 30–100 MPa (300–1000 atm), and temperatures of about 400 °C. Modern methanol production has been made more efficient through the use of catalysts capable of operating at lower pressures.

Related Topics:
1923 - German - Matthias Pier - BASF - Carbon monoxide - Hydrogen - Coke - Ammonia - Zinc chromate - Catalyst - Atm - C

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