Glossary
Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms used across this site and in supplier documentation — including the ones that carry no fixed technical meaning at all.
OverviewHow to use it
Plain-English definitions of the terms that appear across this site and in supplier documentation. Every technical term used elsewhere on the Methanol Register is defined here once and linked from its first use, so a page never assumes knowledge it has not offered you a route to.
Where a term has a common alternative name, both are given. Where a term is routinely used loosely in trade documentation — “green methanol” is the worst offender — the entry says so, because knowing which words carry no fixed technical meaning is as useful as knowing what the precise ones mean.
Index39 terms
A
- ADR
- The European agreement governing international carriage of dangerous goods by road, applied in Great Britain through the carriage regulations. Methanol travels as Class 3 with a 6.1 subsidiary risk, Packing Group II.Also: Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations
- Acetic acid
- A major methanol derivative, produced by carbonylation. Used in paints, coatings, adhesives and as a feedstock for vinyl acetate. One of the demand streams that moves the methanol price.
- Acute toxicity
- Harm caused by a single or short-term exposure. Methanol is classified acutely toxic by three routes — oral, dermal and inhalation — which is why the skin notation on its exposure limit matters as much as ventilation.
B
- Bio-methanol
- Methanol produced from biogenic feedstocks such as waste, residues or biogas. Chemically identical to conventional methanol; distinguished only by certification. Sold at a premium reflecting its greenhouse gas profile.Also: renewable methanol
- Bunding
- Secondary containment around a storage vessel, sized to retain the contents if the primary vessel fails. Required for methanol storage and normally specified at 110% of the largest vessel.Also: secondary containment
- Bunkering
- Supplying fuel to a ship. Methanol bunkering infrastructure is the constraint on methanol as a marine fuel; the UK's first commercial bio-methanol bunkering service launched at Immingham in February 2026.
C
- CAS number
- The unique Chemical Abstracts Service registry identifier. Methanol is CAS 67-56-1. Quoting it removes any ambiguity about which substance is being discussed.
- CLP
- Classification, Labelling and Packaging — the regulation governing how chemical hazards are communicated. The GB version applies in Great Britain post-EU exit. Methanol carries the signal word Danger and five hazard statements.
- COSHH
- The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations. Requires a suitable and sufficient assessment for every task involving a hazardous substance, and control of exposure below the workplace exposure limit.
- Certificate of analysis
- A batch-specific document recording the tested properties of the material actually supplied, against a named specification. Distinct from a product datasheet, which describes the product generally and is not batch-specific.Also: CoA
D
- DGSA
- Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser. Since the end of 2022 the requirement falls on any undertaking whose activities include consigning, carrying, packing, filling, loading or unloading dangerous goods. A site that takes bulk methanol deliveries is an unloader and may be in scope.
- DSEAR
- The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations. Because methanol's flash point sits below normal room temperature, storage and handling areas require hazardous-area classification, ignition-source control and a documented explosion protection basis.
- Denitrification
- The biological removal of nitrate from wastewater. Methanol is widely used as the supplementary carbon source that drives the process, making water companies a steady industrial demand stream.
E
- E-methanol
- Methanol synthesised from captured carbon dioxide and hydrogen produced with renewable electricity. Lower volume and higher cost than bio-methanol, and most closely tied to maritime decarbonisation commitments.Also: electro-methanol, power-to-methanol
- EH40
- The HSE publication listing Great Britain's workplace exposure limits. Methanol's entry is 200 ppm over 8 hours and 250 ppm short-term, with an Sk skin notation.
F
- FAME
- Fatty acid methyl ester — biodiesel. Produced by transesterifying oils and fats with methanol, making biodiesel production a significant methanol demand stream.
- Flash point
- The lowest temperature at which a liquid gives off enough vapour to form an ignitable mixture with air. Methanol's is around 11 °C, which is below ordinary British room temperature — the single most important safety fact about handling it.
- Formaldehyde
- The largest single methanol derivative, feeding resins for engineered wood, insulation and adhesives. Its demand tracks construction activity, which in turn transmits into the methanol price.
G
- Grade AA
- A commercial methanol purity designation originating in US Federal Specification O-M-232, commonly quoted alongside IMPCA in producer documentation. Note that Grade AA is the Federal designation and ASTM D1152 is the associated test standard — two separate documents.
- Green methanol
- An informal umbrella term covering both bio-methanol and e-methanol. Because it has no fixed technical definition, it should never be accepted in place of a named certification scheme and certificate reference.
I
- IBC
- Intermediate bulk container. Typically 1,000 litres, holding roughly 792 kg of methanol. The standard mid-volume format; check whether the container is sold, rented or exchanged and who carries cleaning liability.
- IMPCA
- The International Methanol Producers and Consumers Association, whose reference specification is the global standard for bulk methanol trade. It sets purity at a minimum of 99.85% and caps water at 0.100% by weight, along with limits on acetone, ethanol, chloride and iron.
- ISCC
- International Sustainability and Carbon Certification — the scheme most commonly used to certify bio-methanol. ISCC PLUS covers non-fuel applications. A low-carbon claim without a named scheme and certificate reference is not auditable.
- Import parity
- The delivered cost of imported material, which sets the effective floor under UK prices for a commodity the UK does not produce at scale. Freight rates and terminal availability feed directly into it.
M
- MTBE
- Methyl tertiary-butyl ether, a gasoline blendstock and significant methanol derivative. Its demand is tied to fuel specifications and is expected to decline with vehicle electrification.
- MTO
- Methanol-to-olefins. The process converting methanol into ethylene and propylene, deployed at scale in China. The largest driver of methanol demand growth over the past decade.
- Mass balance
- A chain-of-custody model in which certified and conventional material are physically mixed but the certified volume is tracked administratively. Widely used for bio-methanol. Confirm your reporting framework accepts it before paying a premium.
N
- Non-discounted reference price
- A published price set deliberately above where contracts settle, used as a benchmark in North America. Comparing it directly with posted contract prices from other regions overstates the regional spread.
P
- Packing group
- The ADR classification indicating degree of danger for transport. Methanol is Packing Group II — medium danger — which determines packaging standards and carriage requirements.Also: PG
- Posted contract price
- A producer-published reference price against which contracts are benchmarked and from which they are discounted. Not a transaction price. The European posting resets quarterly; other regions monthly.
R
- REACH
- The regulation governing registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals; the GB version applies in Great Britain. Annex XVII entry 69 restricts methanol in consumer windscreen washing and defrosting fluids at 0.6% or more by weight.
S
- SDS
- Safety data sheet. The document a supplier must provide setting out hazards, handling, storage and emergency information in a prescribed sixteen-section format. Request the GB-format sheet before purchase — you need it for your COSHH assessment.Also: safety data sheet
- STOT SE
- Specific target organ toxicity, single exposure. Methanol is classified STOT SE 1 — the most severe category — reflecting its capacity to cause organ damage from a single exposure.
- Skin notation
- The Sk marking against a workplace exposure limit, indicating that absorption through intact skin contributes materially to total dose. Methanol carries it, which is why glove selection and breakthrough time matter alongside ventilation.
T
- Tare weight
- The unladen weight of a vehicle or container. It determines how much methanol a road tanker can legally carry within the 44 tonne gross vehicle limit, which is why payload varies between carriers.
- Transesterification
- The reaction converting oils and fats into biodiesel using methanol. The reason biodiesel production is a substantial and seasonally variable methanol demand stream.
U
- UN 1230
- The United Nations number identifying methanol for transport purposes. It appears on tanker placards, in carriage documentation and on packaged goods, and is the unambiguous identifier for the material in transit.
W
- WEL
- Workplace exposure limit — the concentration of a substance in air that must not be exceeded, published in EH40. Methanol's is 200 ppm over 8 hours and 250 ppm short-term.
- Water content
- The headline specification figure in bulk methanol trade, capped by IMPCA at 0.100% by weight. Processes needing tighter than this are into bespoke specification and bespoke pricing.
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