Methanol

About this product

Methanol is referred to as "C1-Chemistry's leader" because of its wide use. Sixty percent of all methanol is produced from natural gas, and its end use as a raw material covers a wide range of purposes, such as for adhesive agents, agricultural chemicals, coating compounds, synthetic resins, synthetic fibers, drugs for heart disease, and others. Methanol is expected to be the product which can lead to Circular Economy and Carbon Neutrality because it can be produced from CO2, biomass and wasted materials.

Abbreviation: MeOH Plant: Niigata, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Brunei, Trinidad and Tobago Main Applications: Formalin, acetic acid, methyl methacrylate, methyl chlorides, coating compounds, synthetic resins, solvent, pharmaceuticals Working for a Recycling-oriented Society Centered on Methanol Methanol is referred to as the leading chemical due to its wide-ranging applications. Approximately 60 percent of methanol is produced from natural gas resources, and it has a diversity of final applications ranging from adhesive manufacture to agricultural chemical production, paint and varnish production, synthetic resin manufacture, synthetic fiber fabrication and even pharmaceutical raw materials. In addition, methanol is increasingly being used as a clean energy source for the future. Taking conventional energy resource applications as an example, methanol has been utilized for direct fuel resources, MTBE (a gasoline additive) and biodiesel, and it has recently been attracting attention as a marine fuel. What is attracting the most attention now is the possibility of a recycling-based chemical and energy chain centered on methanol. Methanol can be produced from CO2, biomass and other raw materials, and it is also an effective carrier for hydrogen, a carbon-neutral fuel. Fuel cells that directly use methanol are already in use around the world. It will not be long before methanol is used to create a recycling-oriented society and a decarbonized society. Methanol Downstreams What Are the Unique Features of MGC’s Methanol Business? MGC is the world’s only comprehensive methanol manufacturer. Business activities include ownership of overseas methanol plants that use MGC's unique technologies, transportation of methanol products via private-use ships, receiving at dedicated methanol terminals owned in Japan, in-house consumption and sales for both domestic and foreign markets. In addition, MGC provides a wide range of derivative products made from methanol. MGC's methanol business history begun with the first successful synthesis of methanol from natural gas resources in Japan extracted through its own efforts at Niigata Prefecture in 1952. Based on manufacturing, catalytic and operational technologies that have been developed since then, we have expanded our manufacturing bases globally to Saudi Arabia in 1983, Venezuela in 1994, Brunei in 2010, and Trinidad and Tobago in 2020. At present, MGC handles approximately 60 percent of the total required volume in Japan, which imports 100 percent of its methanol. The Kozan Maru Ⅴ