EPA has developed information summaries on selected chemicals to describe how you might be exposed to these chemicals, how exposure to them might affect you and the environment, what happens to them in the environment, who regulates them, and whom to contact for additional information. EPA is committed to reducing environmental releases of chemicals through source reduction and other practices that reduce creation of pollutants. It occurs naturally in wood and in volcanic gases.
Methanol is also a product of decaying organic material.
US demand for methanol is likely to increase over the next several years. The largest users of the methanol sold in the US are companies that make methyl t-butyl ether, a gasoline additive. Companies also use methanol to make chemicals such as formaldehyde, acetic acid, chloromethanes, and methyl methacrylate. Companies add methanol to paint strippers, aerosol spray paints, wall paints, carburetor cleaners, and car windshield washer products. Methanol is also a gasoline additive and, in some cases, a gasoline substitute for use in automobiles and other small engines.