IMPCA REFERENCE SPECIFICATIONS

The evolution of the market ( development of worldscale plants in remote areas, necessity to transport the Methanol over the ocean in big only sometimes dedicated vessels, increasing swapped quantities …) forced the IMPCA to reconsider the specifications.

Some years ago consumers had to buy mainly according to the well known ASTM 1152. But ASTM stands for the American Standard Test Method which is based on local American situation where the means of transportation are mainly rail or road tank car or barges over sweet water rivers. No attention was given to possible sea water contamination. New technologies and new applications as well as new regulation ( ISO 9000 ) are demanding more detailed specification.

IMPCA decided in 1992 to create a Specification Subcommittee with representatives of both manufacturers and end users, assisted by a chemical engineer from an independent well known surveyor company operating all over the world. After having collected all possible information from producers ,traders, transporters and end users the subcommittee tried to establish a specification which could be met and accepted by the main producers in the world taking into consideration the requested items from the downstream applications .We avoid to create a " second grade " Methanol or to influence production or competition by putting limits too marginal. Then we compared our conclusions with the known ASTM 1152 and incorporated as much as possible the already ASTM Test Methods. When they were not existing we had to come up with new Test Method under IMPCA nomination (IMPCA 001 , 002, 003, 004)

Our aim was to try to reach a certain consensus between producers and traders who want a specification as wide as possible and consumers who want a specification as tight as possible. IMPCA specification is not and will not pretend to be a specific one, ruling for the industry .It is a REFERENCE SPECIFICATION. Any specific request has to be dealt with on a contractual basis between a consumer and a supplier.

The subcommittee is at the service of the members :it welcomes the remarks and try to answer ; it follows the evolution : limits as well as methods are changing due to new equipments and new technologies ;a follow up of the ASTM is also in place so to inform the members of the last reviews (they can even be consulted on www.astm.org).

We are glad to state that to day, in many part of the world, Methanol is sold under the IMPCA Reference Specification.