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These chemical cousins are both types of alcohol, but you’ll only want to encounter one of them at a party
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Methanol and ethanol might be rhyming alcohols that look and smell the same, but that’s about where the similarities end. These very different chemicals are used in a wide variety of products from cologne to formaldehyde, and one of them can even give you the liquid courage to chat up that attractive stranger across the bar. In this article, we’ll walk you through the differences between methanol and ethanol from the molecular level to mass factory production (including what happens if you consume either one). Let’s take a look!
Things You Should Know
- Ethanol and methanol are both types of alcohol. Ethanol is the kind found in alcoholic beverages, while methanol is toxic and used for industrial purposes.
- Both chemicals are clear, flammable, and smell like alcohol. Ethanol produces blue flames when it’s burned, and methanol burns white or nearly invisible.
- Ethanol is made through fermentation for drinkable alcohol or produced in factories for things like fuel. Methanol is made artificially to produce other chemicals.
Steps
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Warnings
- Methanol is highly toxic and should never be consumed, inhaled, or come into contact with your eyes or skin.Thanks
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References
- ↑ https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/npi/substances/fact-sheets/methanol
- ↑ https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/npi/substances/fact-sheets/ethanol-ethyl-alcohol
- ↑ https://biologydictionary.net/methanol/
- ↑ https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/articles/why-is-drinking-rubbing-alcohol-bad
- ↑ https://canadasafetycouncil.org/methanol/
- ↑ http://www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-ethanol-and-methanol/
- ↑ https://www.americanelements.com/boiling-point.html
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/science/alcohol/Commercially-important-alcohols
- ↑ https://biologydictionary.net/methanol/
- ↑ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/769779/Ethanol_PHE_general_information_070119.pdf
- ↑ https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/npi/substances/fact-sheets/ethanol-ethyl-alcohol
- ↑ https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/ethanol_fuel_basics.html
- ↑ https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/npi/substances/fact-sheets/methanol
- ↑ https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/emerging_methanol.html
- ↑ https://edu.rsc.org/experiments/a-test-to-distinguish-between-ethanol-and-methanol/548.article
About This Article
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