What is Ethanol?

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What do you think of when I say Chloroform? You would probably think of something along the lines of spies and television burglars. Chloroform has been overly dramatized as an incredible “knock-out” liquid that a drop on a cloth can instantly get somebody unconscious. This is simply not true though. Although chloroform is an anesthesia, it is very unpractical and isn’t very applicable to any of the stories that you hear. Chloroform used to be made to the need of doctors without anesthetics. The main way to produce chloroform is by adding bleaching powder, water, and ethanol.
Ethanol has been used throughout history in a variety of ways. Every time you look at any alcoholic beverage, you are looking at a small amount of ethanol. Ethanol is what makes alcoholic beverages alcoholic. Rubbing alcohol is considered high concentrations of ethanol. Ethanol is also used as a fuel source in certain cars.
Ethanol, written as C2H6O or CH3CH2OH, has a low melting point at -144oC and a boiling point at 78oC. Because of its’ low melting point, it can be used in thermometers below -40oC. The density is also 0.789 g/mL when it is at 20oC. The chemical production of ethanol is quite simple. Fermenting simple sugar using Zymase, an enzyme from yeast, produces ethanol and carbon dioxide. The chemical formula is quite simple and can be demonstrated by this: C6H12O6 → 2 CH3CH2OH + CO2.
At this point in time, there are two ways to make ethanol naturally, wet milling and dry milling. Wet milling is the process of milling any grain and then cooking it. The cooked grain is then liquidized and fermented. It is then distilled and the solids get removed. The liquid is then passed through a molecular sieve, a filter, and mixed with a denaturant. The mix ...

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...t a viable option to use as for fuel. Drinking alcohol is going to stay around for a long time is my guess. Alcohol is still used every day in nearly everybody’s homes.

Works Cited

DiMarco, Paul. Grain and Synthetic Ethanol Production. Pharmco-AAPER. PDF.
"Ethanol History - From Alcohol to Car Fuel." Ethanol History. 06 Mar. 2014 .
"How Ethanol is Made | RFA: Renewable Fuels Association." How Ethanol is Made | RFA: Renewable Fuels Association. 06 Mar. 2014 .
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"Pros and Cons of Ethanol in Gas." HubPages. 06 Mar. 2014 .
Shakhashiri. Ethanol. Www.scifun.org. 5 Feb. 2009. PDF.

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