Home > Ethyl alcohol

**Properties**
General
Name	Ethanol

Chemical formula	C₂ H₅ OH
Molecular weight	46.07 amu
CAS number	64-17-5
UN number	1170
Phase behavior
Melting point	158.8 K (-114.3 °C)
Boiling point	351.5 K (78.4°C)
Triple point	159 K (-114°C)
Critical point	514 K (241°C) 63 bar
Δ_fusHHeat of fusion is the heat absorbed by a unit mass of a solid chemical element at its melting point in order to convert the solid into a liquid at the same temperature. The heat of fusion is equal to the heat of solidification. The energy that goes into m	4.9 kJ/mol
Δ_fusSThe Entropy of fusion of a substance represents the increase in the degree of disorder involved in the transition from an organized crystalline solid to the disorganized structure of a liquid. It is denoted as ΔS and normally expressed in J / mol ·	31 J/mol·K
Δ_vapHThe heat of vaporization is a physical property of substances. It is defined as the heat required to vaporize one mole of a substance at its boiling point under standard pressure (101325 Pa). The heat of vaporization is expressed in kJ/mol. The use of kJ/	38.56 kJ/mol
Solubility	Soluble in water
Acid-base properties
pKaIn chemistry and biochemistry, the acidity constant or acid dissocation constant is a specific type of dissociation constant that indicates the extent of dissociation of hydrogen ions from an acid. An acid with an acidity constant much greater than 1 is a	15.9
pHAlternate uses: see Ph pH (potential (of) hydrogen) is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution and, therefore, its acidity or alkalinity. The concept was introduced by S. Sorensen in 1909. The p stands for the German potenz mean	7.0 (Neutral)
Liquid properties
Δ_fH⁰_liquidThe standard enthalpy of formation of a compound is the change of enthalpy that accompanies the formation of 1 mole of that substance from its component elements, at their standard states (the most stable form of the element or compound at 25 degrees Cels	-277 kJThe joule (symbol J also called newton metre or coulomb volt is the SI unit of energy and work. The unit is pronounced to rhyme with "tool", and is named in honour of the physicist James Prescott Joule (1818-1889). 1 joule 1 N · 1 m 1 newton · 1 metre 1 k/ mol
S⁰_liquid	159.9 J/mol·K
C_p	112.4 J/mol·K
Density	789 gram/ L
Gas properties
Δ_fH⁰_gas	-235.3 kJ/ mol
S⁰_gas	? J/mol·K
C_p	65.21 J/mol·K
Safety
Acute effects	Nausea, vomiting, CNS depression. Respiratory failure in severe cases.
Chronic effects	Dependency. Liver cirrhosis.
Flash point	17°C
Autoignition temperature	425°C
Explosive limits	3.5-15%
More information
Properties	NIST WebBook
MSDS	Hazardous Chemical Database
Unless otherwise stated, all data was produced under conditions of standard temperature and pressure. Disclaimer and references

Properties

General

Name

Ethanol

C₂ H₅ OH

46.07 amu

64-17-5

1170

Phase behavior

158.8 K (-114.3 °C)

351.5 K (78.4°C)

159 K (-114°C)

514 K (241°C)
63 bar

Δ_fusHHeat of fusion is the heat absorbed by a unit mass of a solid chemical element at its melting point in order to convert the solid into a liquid at the same temperature. The heat of fusion is equal to the heat of solidification. The energy that goes into m

4.9 kJ/mol

Δ_fusSThe Entropy of fusion of a substance represents the increase in the degree of disorder involved in the transition from an organized crystalline solid to the disorganized structure of a liquid. It is denoted as ΔS and normally expressed in J / mol ·

31 J/mol·K

Δ_vapHThe heat of vaporization is a physical property of substances. It is defined as the heat required to vaporize one mole of a substance at its boiling point under standard pressure (101325 Pa). The heat of vaporization is expressed in kJ/mol. The use of kJ/

38.56 kJ/mol

Solubility

Soluble in water

Acid-base properties

pKaIn chemistry and biochemistry, the acidity constant or acid dissocation constant is a specific type of dissociation constant that indicates the extent of dissociation of hydrogen ions from an acid. An acid with an acidity constant much greater than 1 is a

15.9

pHAlternate uses: see Ph pH (potential (of) hydrogen) is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution and, therefore, its acidity or alkalinity. The concept was introduced by S. Sorensen in 1909. The p stands for the German potenz mean

7.0 (Neutral)

Liquid properties

Δ_fH⁰_liquidThe standard enthalpy of formation of a compound is the change of enthalpy that accompanies the formation of 1 mole of that substance from its component elements, at their standard states (the most stable form of the element or compound at 25 degrees Cels

-277 kJThe joule (symbol J also called newton metre or coulomb volt is the SI unit of energy and work. The unit is pronounced to rhyme with "tool", and is named in honour of the physicist James Prescott Joule (1818-1889). 1 joule 1 N · 1 m 1 newton · 1 metre 1 k/ mol

S⁰_liquid

159.9 J/mol·K

C_p

112.4 J/mol·K

Density

789 gram/ L

Gas properties

Δ_fH⁰_gas

-235.3 kJ/ mol

S⁰_gas

? J/mol·K

C_p

65.21 J/mol·K

Safety

Acute effects

Nausea, vomiting, CNS depression. Respiratory failure in severe cases.

Chronic effects

Dependency. Liver cirrhosis.

Flash point

17°C

Autoignition temperature

425°C

Explosive limits

3.5-15%

More information

Properties

NIST WebBook

MSDS

Hazardous Chemical Database

Unless otherwise stated, all data was produced under conditions of standard temperature and pressure.

Disclaimer and references

Ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound, one of the alcohols, that is most often found in alcoholic beverages. In common parlance, it is often referred to simply as alcohol. Its chemical formula is C₂ H₅ OH.

This article is mostly about ethanol as a chemical compound. For beverages containing ethanol, see alcoholic beverages. For the use of ethanol as a fuel, see alcohol fuel.

1 History

Ethanol has been known to humans since prehistory as the active ingredient of alcoholic beverages. Its isolation as a relatively pure compound was probably achieved first by Islamic alchemists who developed the art of distillation, such as Geber (721-815) and Al-Razi (864-930).

2 Production

Ethanol for use in alcoholic beverages is produced by fermentation: it is a product of sugar metabolism in certain species of yeast in the absence of oxygen. The process of culturing yeast under conditions to produce alcohol is referred to as brewing. Yeasts can grow in the presence of up to only about 14% alcohol, but the concentration of alcohol in the final product can be increased by distillation.

For a mixture of ethanol and water, there is a maximum boiling azeotrope at 95% and 5% water. For this reason fractional distillation of ethanol-water mixtures (of less than 95% ethanol) cannot yield ethanol purer than 95%. Therefore, 95% ethanol in water is a fairly common solvent.

To produce absolute ethanol, a small amount of benzene is added, and the mixture is again fractionally distilled. Benzene forms a trinary azeotrope with water and ethanol to remove the last of the water, and a binary azeotrope with ethanol removes most of the benzene. The resulting ethanol is water free, for processes that require it. However, several ppm of benzene remains, so consumption by humans leads to distinctive liver damage.

Ethanol is also used as a fuel and in a wide variety of industrial processes. Ethanol for industrial use is often made from petroleum feedstocks, typically from ethylene; this is cheaper than the production by fermentation.

Ethanol for industrial use is normally made unfit for human consumption ("denatured") by the inclusion of small amounts of substances that are either toxic (such as methanol) or unpleasant (such as denatonium benzoate), thus avoiding the applicable taxes or inventory controls. Denatured ethanol has the UN number UN 1987 and toxic denatured ethanol has UN 1986.

3 Use

Ethanol is used in antifreeze products for its low melting point.

It is easily soluble in water and is itself a good solvent, used in perfumes, paints and tinctures. Alcoholic drinks have a large variety of tastes because various flavor compounds are dissolved during brewing.

A solution of 70-85% of ethanol is commonly used as a disinfectant. It kills organisms by denaturing their proteins and dissolving their lipids and is effective against most bacteria and fungi, and many viruses, but is ineffective against bacterial spores. Because of this disinfectant property, alcoholic beverages can be stored for a long time.

4 See also

5 External links

Alcohol in Arabic sources ( Geber but no mention of Al-Razi).

Alcohols Over-the-counter substances Psychoactive drugs Teratogens

<Hide>

Topics: Ethyl Alcohol, History, Production, Use, See Also, External...

EthanolamineEthanolamine or 2-Amino ethanol is a toxic flammable corrosive colorless viscous liquid with an odor similar to ammonia. It has structural formula and CAS number 141-43-5. It is the second most abundant head group for phospholipids. See also methyl ethano

Ethanol fermentationEthanol fermentation is a form of anaerobic respiration used primarily by yeasts when oxygen is not present in sufficient quantity for normal cellular respiration, the cellular energy-producing system, to continue. The need for Fermentation In aerobic res