Methanol is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the chemical formula CH₃OH. It is a light, volatile, colorless and flammable liquid with a distinctive alcoholic odour similar to that of ethanol. Methanol acquired the name wood alcohol because it was once produced chiefly by the destructive distillation of wood. Today, methanol is mainly produced industrially by hydrogenation of carbon monoxide. Methanol consists of a methyl group linked to a polar hydroxyl group.