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What Is Denatured Alcohol or Ethanol?
By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Denatured alcohol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) made unfit for human
consumption by adding one or more chemicals (denaturants) to it.
Denaturing refers to removing a property from the alcohol (being
able to drink it), not to chemically altering or decomposing it, so denatured
alcohol contains ordinary ethyl alcohol.
Key Takeaways: Denatured Alcohol
· Denatured alcohol is ethanol or grain alcohol that contains
additional chemicals called denaturants that make it unfit for human
consumption.
· Denatured alcohol is fine for some types of lab work and as an
ingredient in certain products, but it's not safe to drink.
· Some countries color denatured alcohol as a warning. The United
States does not have this requirement, so it's impossible to identify denatured
alcohol by its appearance.
· Denaturants may be either chemicals that make the alcohol taste
bad or they may be toxic.
· One common toxic denaturant is methanol or methyl alcohol.
Methanol is absorbed through skin and produces symptoms resembling intoxication
if ingested. However, it also causes nervous system damage and other serious
health effects. It is very difficult to separate from ethanol.
Why Is Alcohol Denatured?
Why take a pure product and make it toxic? Basically, it's because alcohol is
regulated and taxed by many governments.
Pure alcohol, if it was used in household products, would offer
a much less expensive and readily available source of ethanol for
drinking.
If alcohol wasn't denatured, people would drink it.
What Denatured Alcohol Looks Like
In some countries, denatured alcohol must be colored blue
or purple using an aniline dye, in order to distinguish it from
consumption-grade ethanol.
In the United States, for example, denatured alcohol need not be
colored, so you can't tell whether alcohol is pure or not simply by looking at
it.
What Happens If You Drink Denatured Alcohol?
Short answer: nothing good! In addition to the
effects of the alcohol, you'd experience effects from the other
chemicals in the mixture.
The exact nature of the effects depends on the denaturing agent.
If methanol is the agent, possible effects include nervous
system and other organ damage, increased risk of cancer, and possibly death.
Other denaturing agents carry risks, plus many products also
contain perfumes and dyes not intended for human consumption.
Some of these toxic compounds can be removed by distilling the
alcohol, but others have boiling points close enough to ethanol that it's
unlikely an inexperienced distiller could remove them to the point where the
product would be safe for human consumption.
However, the distillation of a fragrance-free, dye-free
product might be a viable option if alcohol is to be
used in laboratory situations.
Denatured Alcohol Chemical Composition
There are hundreds of ways ethanol is denatured.
Denatured alcohol that is intended for use as a fuel or solvent
typically contains 5% or more methanol.
Methanol is flammable and has a boiling point close to that of ethanol.
Methanol is absorbed through the skin and is highly toxic, so
you really shouldn't use denatured alcohol for making perfume or bath
products.
There are types of denatured alcohol that are suitable for
healthcare products.
Specially denatured alcohol (SDA) contains ethanol and another
chemical that isn't harmful for use in cosmetics or pharmaceuticals.
SDAs often list the denaturant, to aid in guiding proper use.
Examples of Products Containing Denatured Alcohol
You'll find denatured alcohol in reagent alcohol for use in
labs, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, and fuel for
alcohol lamps.
It's also found in cosmetics and other personal care products.
Denatured Alcohol for Cosmetics and Labs
Denatured alcohol for use in cosmetics often
contains water and a bittering agent (Bitrex or Aversion which are denatonium
benzoate or denatonium saccharide), but other chemicals are sometimes used.
Other common additives include (but are not limited to)
isopropanol, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, pyridine, benzene,
diethyl phthalate, and naphtha.
Now that you know about denatured alcohol, you may be interested
in learning about the ingredients in rubbing alcohol or how you can purify alcohol yourself using
the simple process of distillation.
Anne
Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Chemistry
Expert
Education
Ph.D.,
Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
B.A.,
Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College
Introduction
Ph.D.
in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak
Ridge National Laboratory.
Science
educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology, astronomy, and
physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
ThoughtCo
and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.
Widely-published
graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic tables and other
illustrations used in science.
Experience
Anne
Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education
since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology,
astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
She has worked as a research scientist and also abstracting and indexing
diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.
In
addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently serves as a
scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an interdisciplinary
approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and college
professor.
Education
Dr.
Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of
Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and mathematics with a minor
in chemistry from Hastings College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine
developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.
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