The thermal decomposition of methyl alcohol

Abstract

A comparison of the thermal decomposition of methyl alcohol with those of formaldehyde, the ethers, and other compounds of similar structure seems of interest in relation to kinetic problems. Methyl alcohol is known to decompose catalytically in the presence of zinc oxide to formaldehyde and hydrogen at 300° C. The same reaction occurs thermally at a measurable speed between 650° and 750° C. The presence of formaldehyde can be detected by Schryver’s test. Formaldehyde at these temperatures rapidly decomposes into carbon monoxide and hydrogen, so that the resultant equation is CH 3 OH = CO + 2H 2 . Analyses of the end-products of the reaction, made for initial pressures of approximately 200 mm, show that the gas consists entirely of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The ratios in three analyses were 1·92, 1·83, and 1·85.