Alcohol (Ethyl alcohol or ethanol) is a primary alcohol, a molecule with two carbon atoms. it is obtained from the fermentation of certain carbohydrates by an industrial process.
It appears as a colourless transparent, volatile, flammable liquid that can be mixed with water. Hygroscopic. Incompatible with strong oxidising agents, peroxides, acids, acid chlorides, acid anhydrides, alkali metals, ammonia. It is a reducing alcohol that cannot be mixed with potassium dichromate, chromic acid, osmium and other oxidising agents. It can dissolve fats and lipids and precipitate nucleic acid.
Ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol (C₂H₅OH), is an alcohol widely used in various applications, including as a solvent, disinfectant, ingredient in alcoholic beverages, and in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Ethanol is a colorless, volatile, and flammable liquid produced through the fermentation of sugars by yeast or, in some cases, through chemical synthesis.
Chemical Composition and Structure
Ethyl alcohol consists of two carbon atoms bonded to five hydrogen atoms and a hydroxyl group (-OH). Its chemical formula is C₂H₅OH, and it is a simple aliphatic alcohol.
The chemical structure of ethanol is:
Ethanol is soluble in water because the -OH group can form hydrogen bonds with water. It is also miscible with many organic solvents, making it an excellent solvent for various chemical compounds.
Physical Properties
Appearance: Ethyl alcohol is typically a colorless, clear liquid with a characteristic odor.
Odor: It has a distinctive alcoholic smell, easily recognizable.
Solubility: Ethanol is highly soluble in water and many other organic solvents, such as acetone and chloroform.
Boiling Point: The boiling point of ethanol is about 78.37 °C, making it volatile at room temperature.
Stability: Ethanol is stable at room temperature, but it is highly flammable and should be handled with care.
Benefits and Functions
Disinfectant and Antiseptic: Ethyl alcohol is widely used as a disinfectant due to its ability to kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi. It is commonly found in hand sanitizers, surface disinfectants, and pharmaceutical preparations.
Solvent: Ethanol is an excellent solvent for many substances and is used in cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and industrial products to dissolve active ingredients or add volume to a formulation.
Ingredient in alcoholic beverages: Ethanol is the main ingredient in all alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, and spirits.
Vehicle for drug administration: Ethanol is used as a carrier for liquid medications, allowing for easy oral or topical administration.
Cosmetics: It is used in many cosmetic products, such as toners, perfumes, and body lotions, where it acts as a solvent and evaporation agent.
Applications
Cosmetics and Personal Care
Lotions and creams: Ethyl alcohol is used to enhance the texture of lotions, creams, and skin care products, providing a smooth and hydrating feel.
Shampoos and conditioners: It is found in hair care products to improve the solubility of oils and fragrances.
Facial cleansers: Ethanol is used in cleansers and toners to effectively remove impurities and improve hydration.
Deodorants: Ethanol is used as an emulsifier in deodorant formulations for better product distribution on the skin.
Food and Beverages
Alcoholic beverages: Ethyl alcohol is the key ingredient in alcoholic beverages like beer, wine, spirits, and distilled drinks.
Flavoring and preservation: It is used as a preservative and as a base for extracting natural flavors in food products.
Pharmaceutical Industry
Solvent in pharmaceutical preparations: Ethanol is used in many medications as a solvent for creating oral solutions, syrups, and tinctures.
Disinfectant: It is widely used in hospitals and clinics to disinfect surfaces and equipment.
Environmental and Safety Considerations
Biodegradability: Ethyl alcohol is biodegradable and, when disposed of correctly, has no significant negative impact on the environment.
Safety: Ethanol is a flammable substance and should be handled with care. Prolonged exposure or ingestion in large quantities can be harmful to health, but ethyl alcohol is generally safe for use in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals at low concentrations.
Sustainability: Ethanol can be produced through the fermentation of plant biomass (such as corn or sugarcane), making it a renewable resource. However, industrial ethanol production can have environmental impacts if not managed sustainably.
Normal ethyl alcohol is 95% alcohol and never pure alcohol.
Studies
Medical
The most common use of ethanol in medicine is its external application as an antiseptic, disinfectant and antimicrobial. The action of ethanol is broad-spectrum and counteracts mycobacteria with the exception of sporigenic bacteria, vegetative bacteria, fungi (which also have some viral and bacterial resistance to alcohols) and a number of viruses. Contrast activity takes place by interfering with cell metabolism and denaturing cytoplasmic and membrane proteins. The main applications are for surface disinfection and skin antisepsis, however, due to its rapid evaporation, ethanol is combined with other antiseptics. The WHO (World Health Organisation) has classified ethanol as an essential medicine in hand washing and disinfection (1) and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) considers ethanol safe for human health although there is a risk of absorption and long-term exposure. This study ascertained the efficacy of ethanol over a 30-second period against: SARS coronavirus, MERS coronavirus, ebolavirus, influenza A viruses including human type H3N2, avian type H3N8 and human type H1N1, influenza B ivirus, HIV, HBV, vacciniavirus, duck hepatitis B virus, togavirus, pseudorabies virus Newcastle disease virus, bovine viral diarrhoea virus, zikavirus, herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 and RSV as well as numerous other viruses, all of which are listed in the study and represent the majority of clinically relevant viruses (2).
It is the most widely used compound for sclerotherapy of cysts where it has demonstrated excellent tolerance, low cost and repeatability of sclerosis in the presence of large cysts.
It has been indicated as a local analgesic agent in the treatment of spasticity and chemical neurosis, a procedure using ethanol, phenol or other alcohols injection after contrast medium injection. Other analgesic indications include neuropathic pain, manifestations of pain caused by viruses such as shingles, neuralgia and other types of pain.
For ethanol chemoembolisation, the guidelines (3) published in the 2016 edition by the e Japanese Society of Interventional Radiology (JSIR), specify aspects for the safe and effective use of absolute ethanol, such as the properties of absolute ethanol and recommendations, complications, methods of use and other aspects in typical pathologies.
Contraindications
Ethanol abuse leads to severe intoxication, neurobiological and neurochemical behavioural problems, and serious toxic effects on the liver, brain, and heart. In adolescents in particular, alcohol consumption may impair brain function and worsen health status in adulthood (4).
The concentration of ethanol in the blood varies depending on whether the subject is fasting or has consumed food, but ranges from a minimum of 1 mM, where no effects are noticed, to over 100 mM, which is highly lethal (5).
What natural products can counteract the toxic effects induced by ethanol? Vitamins, which have antioxidant functions, polyphenols extracted from plants, phenols such as resveratrol, flavonoids can generally help. However, it should be noted that the quantities of these components, when taken with vegetables, fruit and other foods, are not sufficient to prevent liver damage. Antioxidants such as catechins found in tea, blueberries are also mentioned in the scientific literature. Garlic with its enzymes, onion powder containing flavonols and sulphurates can also reduce liver damage. And then ginger, carnosine, cannabidiol.
Food
Used in the production of alcoholic beverages, wine.
Chemistry
Basic chemical raw material used in industrial processes for the production of acetic acid, ethylamine, acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, ethyl chloride etc. Analytical reagent. Organic solvent.
Cosmetics
Used mainly as a solvent and preservative.
Other uses
- Important organic solvent used in sanitary products, cosmetics, oils.
- Due to its low melting point at -114.5 °C it is used in antifreeze products.
- Nitro paints, paint solvent, fuels, inks.
The most relevant studies on this ingredient have been selected with a summary of their contents:
Ethyl alcohol studies
Typical commercial product characteristics Ethanol/alcohol
| Appearance | Colorless transparent liquid |
Boiling Point
| 72.6±3.0°C at 760 mmHg |
Melting Point
| -114°C |
Flash Point
| 8.9±0.0°C |
| Density | 0.8±0.1 g/cm3 |
Vapor Pressure
| 82.8±0.2 mmHg at 25°C |
| Refraction Index | 1.354 |
| PSA | 20.23000 |
| LogP | -0.19 |
Acid (acetic acid)
| 10 max mg/L |
| Ethylacetate | <2 mg/L |
| Acetaldehyde | ≤0.002% |
| Methanol | 16 mg/L |
Higher Alcohol(c3-c5)
| 200 mg/L |
Evaporation residue
| ≤0.0005% |
Acidity as H+
| ≤0.1 mmol/100g |
Basicity as OH-
| ≤0.0005 mmol/100g |
Carbonyl compounds as C
| ≤0.003% |
Isopropanol（CH3)2CHOH
| ≤0.003% |
Methyl alchol
| ≤0.015% |
| Safety |  |
- Molecular Formula C2H6O
- Linear Formula CH3CH2OH
- PMolecular Weight 46.07
- Exact Mass 46.041866
- CAS 64-17-5
- UNII 3K9958V90M
- EC Number 200-578-6
- DSSTox Substance ID
- IUPAC ethanol
- InChI=1S/C2H6O/c1-2-3/h3H,2H2,1H3
- InChl Key LFQSCWFLJHTTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- SMILES CCO
- MDL number MFCD00003568
- PubChem Substance ID 329757771
- ChEBI 16236
- Beilstein 1718733
- NCI c2190
- ICSC 0044
- NSC 85228
- RTECS KQ6300000
- RIDADR 1170
- UN 1987
- RXCUI 448
- FEMA 2419
- NACRES NA.25
Synonyms
References________________________________________________________________
(1) World Health Organization. (2015). The selection and use of essential medicines: report of the WHO Expert Committee, 2015 (including the 19th WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and the 5th WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children) (Vol. 994). World Health Organization.
(2) Kampf G. Efficacy of ethanol against viruses in hand disinfection. J Hosp Infect. 2018 Apr;98(4):331-338. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2017.08.025. Epub 2017 Sep 5.
(3) https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/interventionalradiology/3/1/3_3-1G3/_pdf/-char/en
(4) Khan KM, Bierlein-De La Rosa G, Biggerstaff N, Pushpavathi Selvakumar G, Wang R, Mason S, Dailey ME, Marcinkiewcz CA. Adolescent ethanol drinking promotes hyperalgesia, neuroinflammation and serotonergic deficits in mice that persist into adulthood. Brain Behav Immun. 2022 Jul 27:S0889-1591(22)00334-8. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.07.160.
(5) Contreras-Zentella ML, Villalobos-García D, Hernández-Muñoz R. Ethanol Metabolism in the Liver, the Induction of Oxidant Stress, and the Antioxidant Defense System. Antioxidants (Basel). 2022 Jun 26;11(7):1258. doi: 10.3390/antiox11071258.
Alcohol 
