Methanol global

J. R. Crocco, Methanol global outlook. Proceedings of the 1993 Asian Methanol Conference, Sin pore, May 1993, pp. II18II20. 

M. Henning, "Formaldehyde A Global Perspective," presentation and paper from 1989 Msian Methanol Conference, Siagapore, Oct. 30—Nov. 1, 1989. 

Methanol is a major bulk chemical, and its global annual production exceeds 37 million tons. It is mainly used for the production of formaldehyde and methyl 6butyl ether (MTBE). Especially, formaldehyde is dominantly used for producing resins. At present, methanol and its decomposed derivatives can be oxidized to CO2 and H2O by the proper selection of supported noble metal catalysts such as palladium, platinum, and gold. 

The preparation of single isomers for methanol dimer, trimer, and presumably tetramer [16] in a supersonic jet expansion contrasts the structural diversity that can be prepared and manipulated in cryogenic matrices [34]. It underscores the ability of supersonic jet expansions to funnel all intermolecular isomers down to the global minimum, if there are no major barriers to overcome on the way. 

The formation of prepolymer can also be achieved by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) with EG, releasing the by-product methanol. High-purity DMT is easily obtained by distillation and in the early years of PET production, all processes were based on this feedstock. During the late 1960s, highly purified TPA was produced for the first time on an industrial scale by re-crystallization. Since then, more and more processes have shifted to TPA as the feedstock and today more than 70 % of global PET production is based on TPA. The TPA-based PET production saves approximately 8 % of total capital investment and 15% of feedstock cost (Figure 2.1). 

The Glaxo synthesis of zanamivir (2) started with the esterification of commercially available A-acetyl-neuraminic acid (88) with methanolic HCl to give the methyl ester as shown in Scheme 7.14 (Chandler and Weir, 1993 Chandler et ah, 1995 Patel, 1994 Weir et al., 1994). Global acetylation of all the hydroxyl groups with acetic anhydride in pyridine with catalysis by 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) led to the penta-acetoxy compound 89. Treatment of 89 with trimethylsilyl triflate in ethyl acetate at 52°C introduced the oxazoline as well as the 2,3-double bond to provide 86. Addition of trimethysilyl azide to the activated allylic oxazoline group led to the stereoselective introduction of azide at the C-4 position to afford 83 as in Scheme 7.13. 

Today aspartame is used in more than 6,000 food products. Aspartame is 160 times as sweet as sucrose based on mass equivalents. Approximately 16,000 tons are consumed annually on a global basis, with approximately 8,000 tons used in the United States and 2,500 tons in Europe. In the body aspartame is metabolized into its three components aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol (Figure 11.1). Aspartic acid is a nonessential amino acid and phenylalanine is an essential amino acid. The condition called phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disorder that occurs when a person lacks the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase and cannot process phenylalanine. This results in high phenylalanine blood levels that are metabolized into products one of these is phenylpyruvate, which contains a ketone group and... 

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