Methanal - MSN Encarta

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Methanol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical compound with chemical formula C H 3 OH (often abbreviated MeOH).
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Methanal or Formaldehyde, compound of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with the formula HCHO or CH₂O.

Methanal was discovered in 1867 by the German chemist August Wilhelm von Hofmann. It is the simplest of the aldehydes. At ordinary temperature it is a gas with a very pungent odour. It can be compressed into a liquid that boils at -21° C (-5.8° F). Methanal is prepared industrially by heating dry air and methyl alcohol vapour in the presence of a catalyst, such as copper on silver. More direct processes, whereby methanal is synthesized from carbon monoxide and hydrogen, have been developed. In one process, water gas is passed over a catalyst at a temperature between 200° and 300° C (392° and 572° F) under a pressure of 10.2 atmospheres (150 lb/sq in). Pure methanal is very reactive and polymerizes easily. See Plastics; Polymer.

Formalin is a trade name for a solution containing 40 per cent methanal and 60 per cent water or water and methyl alcohol; it is employed as a disinfectant, insecticide, fungicide, and deodorant. Formaldehyde is used extensively in the chemical industry in the synthesis of organic compounds. Its most important use is in the manufacture of synthetic resins. Recent tests have indicated that it is a carcinogen.