Alcohol fuel – ethanol

All chemical products sold retail in the US have Material Data Safety Sheets that give you insight into the contents and safety of a product. I'm sure the rest of the world has something similar.

The MSDS is being phased out for the more widely accepted SDS format. This is part of Globally Harmonized System that most industrialized countries use.

Briefly, there are several common “alcohols” including:
Ethyl Alcohol – The kind you drink
Ethanol – The same stuff only stronger
Denatured Alcohol – The same stuff with poison added
Methanol – Commonly called “wood alcohol” (although now it is mostly made from natural gas) – Very toxic
Isopropyl Alcohol – Similar to Methanol (but with a bigger molecule) and not as toxic (although still toxic)
Note: “Rubbing alcohol” often refers to Isopropyl Alcohol, but can also refer to Denatured Alcohol – i.e. toxic.

It is best to look at the MSDS/SDS for the actual product you intend to use.

Well it can't be pure Ethanol otherwise it would be taxed as such ( called Intoxicant Excise Duty in the UK).
A quick search revealed this composition :
Ethanol >50%, Propanol 1-5%, Butanone 1-5% and Denatonium Benzoate <0.01%.
I have not verified that and don't know what the missing 40% or so is either.*
This info was from a member of another forum.
Reading the reply I have had from the makers it appears that most is in fact Ethanhol however I don't know the exact quantities.
See my post further down for more details.

You can get 97% pure Ethanol in Europe as you can in most places including the US .

Where did you find that composition? I assume it refers to Fuel4 bio-ethanol as La Hacienda states on the label that their stuff is 95% ethanol.

The question is what is the other 5% – is it water (as in the polish rectified spirit, making it "pure" ethanol), or some additive to make it denatured.

Just found another company supplying ethanol for indoor fireplaces and it indeed appears to be denatured. On the bright side it is probably safe to assume that if the fuel is suitable for indoor use, it shouldn't have anything toxic in it that would give out harmful fumes…

http://www.ekofuel.org/info-bio-for-fires/

"EkoFuel bioethanol for fires is around 97+% pure ethanol with approx 1% denaturants. The denaturants are added to the fuel to make it unfit for human consumption. These denaturants have to be added to comply with HMRC regulations. All bioethanol fuels have to be denatured. The recipe we use has a very low levlel of denaturants and they do not effect the odour of the fuel or how cleanly it burns."

I don't know very much about the denaturants that are added to ethanol. I was aware that methanol was a common one, and I always had misgivings about the practice of adding a poison to something to keep people from drinking it. That seems pretty inhumane. It's akin to the TTB (formerly ATF) saying "Anyone caught drinking industrial ethanol will be shot." Desperate alcoholics will drink almost anything.

Adding benzoate salts of quaternary ammonium compounds (like denatonium benzoate) seems like a much better policy. They're among the most bitter-tasting substances on earth, they have low toxicity, and very low concentrations of them make ethanol undrinkable. I guess, if you want an ethanol fuel with low toxicity and low concentrations of additives, look for the stuff that is denatured with quaternary ammonium benzoate salts.

> Is bio-ethanol a pure substance, or is it in some way denatured?
Well, it's usually just ethanol that has been relabeled by the marketing spin doctors with a 'bio' prefix to make it sound better.

Of course it's 'pure' – as in 'pure spin'. Or perhaps 'pure vodka'?

Cheers

"> Is bio-ethanol a pure substance, or is it in some way denatured?"

If it doesn't have a tax stamp and in a liquor bottle, it is denatured to some degree and poisonous.

"Green" denatured alcohol (in the US) can be 80-90%% ethanol and the rest adulterants (see below). IMHO, it is more of a marketing thing than regulation. "Regular" denatured alcohol varies in composition and can be up to 45% methanol, and stuff like methyl isobutyl ketone, isopropylacetone, acetic acid, etc. You should keep the stuff off your hands and don't breathe the fumes. Read the MSDS!

For example:

"regular":
http://www.kleanstrip.com/uploads/documents/GSL26_SDS-1625.6.pdf

"green":
http://www.kleanstrip.com/uploads/documents/QKGA75003_SDS-1623.pdf

It can vary by brand, so read the MSDS for the brand you are using. Caveat emptor!

Thanks all for replies! I'm no chemistry major and at first had assumed that "denatured" equals "added meths". Having read up on it now I can see many other things can be used for the purpose.

In fact it appears that methanol is no longer used/popular as a denaturant in EU, instead a "bitter taste" substance is added. (MSDS are not readily available here though, probably emailing the seller/manufacturer can do the trick….)

"If it doesn't have a tax stamp and in a liquor bottle, it is denatured to some degree and poisonous."

I think you're right and the price is a sure indicator of whether the stuff is drinkable or not. I found what seems to be pure ethanol (96% + water) in a non-liquor bottle though, and it is a bit cheaper too:

Produced in Belgium: http://www.fagronpharmawhite.be/nl/consumables/solventen_inwendig_gebruik

and sold in UK: http://www.farmaline.co.uk/health/order/fagron-ethylalcohol-96/?utm_medium=gmc&curr=GBP&gclid=COOoqPPN1cYCFQEIwwodfYQLIg

So now the question becomes, is it worth it?? The pure stuff is about 10 times more expensive than denatured. Yet it is totally safe, can be used for other purposes – disinfecting, cleaning, emergency "pick me up".. But its about 10 times more expensive!

Hmmm.

"The pure stuff is about 10 times more expensive than denatured. Yet it is totally safe, can be used for other purposes – disinfecting, cleaning, emergency "pick me up" "

Go to any supermarket in Italy, Greece,France (maybe other countries too) and you will find denatured alcohol , mostly around 95% Ethanol, sold in the cleaning section.
We used that same alcohol to disinfect our wounds too. It stings so maybe now everybody has switched to something else but that is what we did.
No it can't be used as a pick me up but nothing stops you from taking a few ounces of brandy or something for that.

Geko Industries , makers of that bio-fuel, sent this comment :
"Our spirit fuel is primarily Bio-ethanol and is denatured with small amounts of Isopropanol and MEK in accordance with denaturing laws in the UK."
MEK =Methyl ethyl ketone (butanone)

"I don't know very much about the denaturants that are added to ethanol. I was aware that methanol was a common one, and I always had misgivings about the practice of adding a poison to something to keep people from drinking it. That seems pretty inhumane. It's akin to the TTB (formerly ATF) saying "Anyone caught drinking industrial ethanol will be shot." Desperate alcoholics will drink almost anything."

---

I understand what you are saying, but there are some differences. I'm not sure of the toxicity levels of denatured alcohol, but in my 24 years in EMS I've seen more than a dozen people who have drank alcohol that was not designed for drinking, usually 75% Isopropyl but occasionally denatured ethanol/methanol mixes such as SLX. None died, and all who managed to get past the taste and ingest more than a mouthful walked out the hospital after a several hour stay in the ER for nausea and sometimes abdominal pain. Not pleasant at all, but not akin a TTB ordered execution.

Alright, "shot in the leg", then.

I agree that not everyone dies, but there have been many deaths from drinking methanol-denatured industrial ethanol. A quick internet search yields lots of statistics. The incidence numbers appear small because they occur in large populations, but the absolute numbers are not insignificant. Also, the fact that most people who drink it don't die doesn't change my point. They get sick and a few die. You only have any personal experience with it because people who do it end up needing medical care.

If you objected to my original metaphor because you think alcoholics should just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and take personal responsibility for their actions, I would expect you to object to the fact that many of those who visit emergency rooms from methanol poisoning probably cant' pay for it. Using methanol denaturants creates a health care cost borne by people other than the patients. Using nonpoisonous deterrents (like benzoate salts) doesn't.

They should come up with a denaturant that makes the drinker immediately vomit. That would solve both problems at once ;)

BPLer Hikin’ Jim posted a comparison of alcohol types for stove fuel, discussing relative toxicity as well as energy density. Definitely work a look.

Based on what I’ve learned in this thread, and H.J.’s article, I’ll switch to “green” denatured alcohol. I just started using an alcohol stove (previously using canister), and had used SLX denatured alcohol simply because I had some on hand for around-the-home purposes. It is roughly half methanol, which I’ve learned is both more toxic and less energy dense.

Thanks for the link! We too previously used canister and in the process of switching to wood and alcohol.

For now I've decided to use pure ethanol and see how much we'll use it, alongside wood. If it turns out too expensive I'll fall back on ethanol sold for indoor fireplaces, this one is usually 95% and is as cheap as any other denatured stuff. I feel safer here as due to "indoor suitability" requirement no substance that can emit toxic fumes should be allowed inside.