Methanol
Methanol Safety Information Page 2
TRANSPORTATION &
DISTRIBUTION
At all stages of
transport and distribution, methanol must be stored securely and
handled responsibly. This minimizes risk to people and the
environment, and preserves product quality.
The most common modes of bulk transportation of methanol worldwide are
ship, barge, rail, truck, and pipeline.
Storage & Handling
Comprehensive product handling procedures and systems must be in place
at all storage and transfer points.
Contamination Avoidance
When transferring or storing methanol, dedicated systems are
preferable. Non-dedicated systems should be cleaned, flushed and
sampled before being used, in order to ensure product integrity.
Equipment should be clearly labeled to indicate that it is for
methanol service only. When not in use, the equipment must be
protected from contamination.
Materials of Construction
Materials and methods of construction must be compatible with methanol
service.
Methanol is non-corrosive to most metals at ambient temperatures;
exceptions include lead, magnesium and platinum. Mild steel is usually
selected as the construction material.
Tanks built with copper alloys, zinc (including galvanized steel),
aluminum or plastics are not suitable for methanol-water solutions.
While plastics can be used for short-term storage, they are generally
not recommended for long-term storage due to deterioration effects and
the subsequent risk of contamination.
Furthermore, coatings of copper (or copper alloys), zinc (including
galvanized steel) or aluminum are attacked slowly.
Many resins, nylons and rubbers, particularly nitrile (Buna-N),
ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM), Teflon and neoprene are used
satisfactorily as components of equipment in methanol service.
Methods of Construction
Storage containers and transfer systems must be designed according to
appropriate engineering standards, and comply with all legislative
requirements.
Storage tanks of welded construction are normally satisfactory. They
should have secondary containment such as dikes or bunds to reduce
fire risks and prevent large spills. Large tanks and containers must
have control devices such as level gauges, conservation vents and
pressure vacuum relief valves, as well as grounding. In some
locations, vapour recovery may be required.
In confined areas or buildings, ventilation systems may be necessary
in order to keep airborne concentrations of methanol below permissible
exposure limits. Storage areas must be secure from unauthorized
access.
Grounding
Carbide tipped clamps (to ensure good contact through paint) and dip
tube filling are generally used to guard against ignition from static
electricity.
Loading Conversion Factors
for Methanol
The following table [7] may be used to calculate the volume of
methanol in gallons from weigh scale weights, or to determine weigh
scale equivalent weights from gallons.
The tabulated conversions are derived from true mass densities that
have been modified to account for the effect of air buoyancy that
occurs in weigh scale measurements.
