METHANOL

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a toxic chemical with chemical formula CH3OH (often abbreviated MeOH). Drinking even small amounts can cause blindness. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless, flammable, toxic liquid with a distinctive odor that is very similar but slightly sweeter than ethanol (drinking alcohol).[1] 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 by oxygen with the help of sunlight to carbon dioxide and water.
Methanol burns in air forming carbon dioxide and water:
2 CH3OH + 3 O2 → 2 CO2 + 4 H2O