Methyl Chloride is used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, mainly as raw material for the production of silicones and methyl celluloses, but also for surfactants, pharmaceuticals and dye stuffs. Methyl chloride is also present in some lakes and streams and has been found in drinking water at very low levels. A small portion is used as low temperature solvent for the production of butyl rubbers.
At ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure Methyl Chloride is a colourless inflammable gas heavier than air and with a very weak sweetish odour. In water it is only sparingly soluble but well in organic solvents. It can be liquefied by cooling below -24 °C or by pressurizing to approx. Chloromethane was first synthesized by the French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugene Peligot in 1835 by boiling a mixture of methanol, sulfuric acid, and sodium chloride. This method is similar to that used today. Globally huge amounts of natural Methyl Chloride (approx 4 million tons per year) are released by these sources into the atmosphere.
Methyl chloride is used mainly in the production of silicones where it is used to make methylate silicon. It is also used in the production of agricultural chemicals, methyl cellulose, quaternary amines, and butyl rubber and for miscellaneous uses including tetramethyl lead.
Large amounts of chloromethane are produced naturally in the oceans by the action of sunlight on biomass and chlorine in sea foam. However, all chloromethane that is used in industry is produced synthetically.
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