Ethyl alcohol

“ It so happens that methyl alcohol, while as good as the other for many purposes, is horrible to the taste and so it forms a very convenient adulterant for this purpose. Therefore, when methylated spirit is sold to you for drying your photographs, the chemist gives you ethyl alcohol with enough methyl alcohol in it to make sure that neither you nor anyone else will ever want to drink it. ”

“ The point of interest is not the degree of variation present, but the relatively slight toxicity of methyl alcohol when compared with ethyl alcohol. We shall see that the same is true when we study this as measured by another toxic limit.
For the entire series of primary alcohols which we have considered—methyl, ethyl and the higher alcohols—the following table summarizes the experimental toxic equivalent and its relation to molecular weight and boiling point.
Such are the results when death is produced while the experiment is in progress. ”

“ A more delicate method consists in adding a very little anthraquinone and sodium amalgam; absolute alcohol gives a green coloration, but in the presence of minute traces of water a red coloration appears. Traces of ethyl alcohol in solutions are detected and estimated by oxidation to acetaldehyde, or by conversion into iodoform by warming with iodine and potassium hydroxide. An alternative method consists in converting it into ethyl benzoate by shaking with benzoyl chloride and caustic soda.
Alcohol is extensively employed as a solvent ”

“ Ethyl chloride (from the phosphorus chlorides and alcohol) is an ethereal liquid boiling at 12·5° C., soluble in alcohol, but sparingly so in water. Oxidation of ethyl alcohol gives acetaldehyde and acetic acid. Chlorine oxidizes it to acetaldehyde, and under certain conditions chloral (q.v.) is formed.
In almost all countries heavy taxes are levied on manufactured alcohol mainly as a source of revenue. In the United Kingdom the excise duty is eleven shillings per proof gallon of alcohol, while the customs duty is eleven shillings and fivepence ”

“ Wood spirit, by which is meant, as has already been said, a crude methyl alcohol containing many impurities, notably in the neighborhood of 25 per cent, of acetone, obtained as one of the products of the dry distillation of wood, is one of the most satisfactory denaturing agents. It is difficult to remove from ethyl alcohol, it is readily detected and it is fairly cheap. ”

“ It is not too much to say that if we arrange all the liquids known to us in the order of their general usefulness, water, which heads the list of course, will be followed immediately by ethyl alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is colorless and of an agreeable odor. It is an admirable cleaning agent, and a good antiseptic and disinfectant as well. It is an ideal source of heat and power and is capable of being developed into an ideal source of light. Ideal, because the products of its combustion, carbon dioxide and water, both of which are normally present in the air, are quite odorless and are harmless ”

“ Pure ethyl alcohol is a colourless, mobile liquid of an agreeable odour. It boils at 78.3 deg. C. (760 mm.) ; at -90 deg. C. it is a thick liquid, and at -130 deg. it solidifies to a white mass. Its high coefficient of thermal expansion, coupled with its low freezing point, renders it a valuable thermometric fluid, especially when the temperatures to be measured are below -39 deg. C., for which the mercury thermometer cannot be used. It readily inflames, burning with a blue smokeless flame, and producing water and carbon dioxide, with the evolution of great heat ”

“ Whiskey is ethyl alcohol and natural flavor. Brandy is ethyl alcohol and natural flavor. The difference is the difference in flavor. The flavor of genuine whiskey comes from the grain, secondary products—fusel oil—distilled over with the ethyl alcohol and ripened into the flavors of 'rye' and 'Bourbon' whiskey. The new whiskey with its unripened secondary products is like the green peach, unfit for consumption. ”

“ Normal propyl alcohol, CH3·CH2·CH2·OH, was obtained in 1853 by G. C. B. Chancel, by submitting fusel oil to fractional distillation. It may be prepared by any of the methods applicable to primary alcohols. It is an agreeable-smelling liquid, boiling at 97.4° C., and miscible with water in all proportions. It cannot be separated from water by fractional distillation, since it forms a mixture of constant boiling point (see Distillation) . Oxidation converts it into prop ionic acid. It is distinguished from ethyl alcohol by its insolubility in a cold saturated calcium chloride solution. ”

“ It may be objected by some that glycerine belongs to the family of alcohols, hence hospitals using glycerine tinctures are not, strictly speaking, non-alcoholic. To this the answer is, that while glycerine certainly is classed in the family of alcohols, it is of a very different nature from ethyl alcohol, which is used for beverage purposes. Ethyl alcohol, the alcohol in all intoxicating beverages in common use, and the alcohol generally used in medicine, creates a fatal craving for itself, and is injurious to the body. ”

“ The effects of propyl, butyl, and amyl alcohols upon the nervous system are not only more marked than those of ethyl alcohol, but they are more rapid. The stage of excitement is speedily induced, and its manifestations are intense. Hence the preference often manifested by drunkards for cheap, coarse spirits. On the other hand, the stage of depression quickly follows, and is itself of relatively shorter duration than that induced by ethyl alcohol, probably for the reason that the amount required to bring it about is smaller. ”

“ Acetylene. Ethane. Ethyl chloride. Ethyl alcohol.
Alcohol is the basis of a number of substances used in medicine. On treating it with a dehydrating agent such as strong sulphuric acid, the elements of water are removed, and two molecules of alcohol unite into one, the resulting product being ether (diethyl oxide) . ”

“ When wood is placed in an air-tight retort and heated, a number of compounds are evolved, the most important of which are the three liquids, methyl alcohol, acetic acid, and acetone. Methyl alcohol is obtained entirely from this source, and on this account is commonly called wood alcohol. It is a colorless liquid which has a density of 0.79 and boils at 67°. It burns with an almost colorless flame and is sometimes used for heating purposes, in place of the more expensive ethyl alcohol. ”

“ The attempt had been made by Dumas and Boullay in 1828 to classify the derivatives of alcohol and ether as compounds containing a common radical etherin. Gay Lussac had pointed out that the vapour density of ethyl alcohol seemed to show that it consisted of equal volumes of ethylene and water. ”

“ The people who do not drink alcoholic beverages know little and care less about the composition and labeling of these products. "They are all bad because they contain ethyl alcohol, and there can be little difference between the adulterated and the pure." Some of the prohibitionists even fear that the investigation might help to 'legalize part of the traffic' But it would seem wiser to insist that the searchlight of chemistry and the law of the honest label shall be applied to all substances intended for human consumption, whether foods, drugs or liquors. ”

“ The most volatile portions of the petroleum are separated by distillation, until the thermometer shows 200° C. These portions are separated, as they exert great solvent action upon paraffine. At the same time he finds that no pyro-paraffine is formed under this temperature. A weighed portion of the residue is taken and mixed with ten parts by weight of amyl alcohol and ten parts of seventy-five per cent. ethyl alcohol: the mixture is then chilled for twelve hours to 0° C. It is then filtered cold, washed first with a mixture of amyl and ethyl alcohols, and then with ethyl alcohol alone. ”

“ As the agents adapted to and adopted for use in complete de-naturation render the alcohol de-natured unfit for use in many industries in which ethyl alcohol, withdrawn free of tax, can be profitably employed, therefore in order to give full scope to the operation of the law, special de-naturants will be authorized when absolutely necessary. ”

“ The fluid essence or pure spirit obtained by distillation. [Obs.] Boyle.
3. Pure spirit of wine; pure or highly rectified spirit (called also ethyl alcohol) ; the spirituous or intoxicating element of fermented or distilled liquors, or more loosely a liquid containing it in considerable quantity. It is extracted by simple distillation from various vegetable juices and infusions of a saccharine nature, which have undergone vinous fermentation.
Note: As used in the U. S. "Pharmacopoeia, alcohol contains 91 per cent by weight of ethyl alcohol and 9 per cent of water ”

“ New genuine whiskey is often taken from bond before it is sufficiently aged and syrups are added to make it palatable. Green whiskey is unfit for consumption, and this practise should be prohibited. In one class of rectified whiskey the mixer not only seeks to avoid the cost of producing the natural flavor, but also to reduce the tax cost of the ethyl alcohol by incorporating some one of the non-taxed intoxicants, like wood alcohol. ”

“ Thus, if 9 oz. of alcohol becomes 10 oz., it is evident we have a solution of 10 per cent.; if it becomes 12 oz., then the strength must be 25 per cent., and so on. Ordinary spirits will answer for condensing the nitrite of ethyl, but it is better to use absolute alcohol, as it is very desirable to avoid the presence of water in any form. The solutions made with weaker spirit soon turn acid; those made with absolute alcohol, on the other hand, keep a long time. It is very true the very strong solutions of 50 and 25 per cent. ”

“ The conclusion, drawn by Dujardin-Beaumetz from a long series of experiments, was that the toxic quality of alcoholic liquors is due chiefly to the presence of higher alcohols, especially amyl alcohol, the principal ingredient of fusel oil, though methyl alcohol and aldehyde may play a subordinate part. Under any circumstances no distilled liquor is safe to use till it has been 'aged' for several years in the wood. ”

“ The author has, however, shown conclusively that this is not the case, but that on the con- trary the higher alcohols generally increase during maturation. This decrease is not absolute, but only relative, and may be due to the fact that the higher alcohols are less volatile than ethyl alcohol. There is a decided increase during maturation of both the volatile and non-volatile acids. On the whole also the esters and aldehydes generally tend to increase, but not to so great an extent as was formerly believed to be the case. ”

“ The presence of so small a quantity as 1% of alcohol may be detected in ether by the colour imparted to it by aniline violet; if water or acetic acid be present, the ether must be shaken with anhydrous potassium carbonate before the application of the test. When heated with zinc dust, it yields ethylene and water. Chromic acid oxidizes it to acetic acid and ozone oxidizes it to ethyl peroxide. ”

“ Tertiary alcohols may be synthesized by a method devised by A. Butlerow in 1864, who thus discovered the tertiary alcohols. By reacting with a zinc alkyl (methyl or ethyl) on an acid chloride, an addition compound is first formed, which decomposes with water to give a ketone. If, however, a second molecule of a zinc alkyl be allowed to react, a compound is formed which gives a tertiary alcohol when decomposed with water. ”

“ For this reason they are used in confectionery, in the manufacture of liqueurs and also as a substitute for volatile oils, in the manufacture of perfumery. Chemically, fruit ethers are combinations of an organic acid—acetic, butyric, valerianic, etc.—with a so-called alcohol radicle, such as ethyl and amyl. The preparation of fruit ethers being connected with many difficulties, is seldom attempted by perfumers, especially as products of an excellent quality can at a low rate be procured from chemical laboratories making a specialty of their manufacture. ”

“ The action of methyl, ethyl, and n-propyl alcohols on diazo compounds has been well studied by the above authors, and it has been shown that the first two at ordinary pressures give the alkoxy reaction either in whole or in part; n-propyl alcohol gives the hydrogen reaction only. Also the first two give the hydrogen reaction in the presence of zinc dust or sodium carbonate, but in these cases form salts of the acid. On account of its rarity n-propyl alcohol was not used, but n-butyl alcohol which is available in large quantities and in a pure condition was employed. ”

“ It is a liquid, smelling like fusel oil and boiling at 108.4° C. Methyl ethyl carbinol, CH3·C2H5·CHOH, is the secondary alcohol derived from n-butane. It is a strongly smelling liquid, boiling at 99°. Trimethyl carbinol or tertiary butyl alcohol, (CH3) 3·COH, is the simplest tertiary alcohol, and was obtained by A. Butlerow in 1864 by acting with zinc methyl on acetyl chloride (see Alcohols) . It forms rhombic prisms or plates which melt at 25° and boil at 83°, and has a spiritous smell, resembling that of camphor. ”

“ Tertiary alcohols are thus seen to be characterized by the group ⫶C·OH, in which the residual valencies of the carbon atom are attached to alkyl groups.
In 1860 Hermann Kolbe predicted the existence of secondary and tertiary alcohols from theoretical considerations. Regarding methyl alcohol, for which he proposed the name carbinol, as the simplest alcohol, he showed that by replacing one hydrogen atom of the methyl group by an alkyl residue, compounds of the general formula R·CH2·OH would result. These are the primary alcohols. ”