Buy Ethanol (Ethanol) Cas 64-17-5

Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply Ethanol  is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH₃CH₂OH. It is an alcohol, with its formula also written as C₂H₅OH, C₂H₆O or EtOH, where Et is the pseudoelement symbol for ethyl. Ethanol is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid with a pungent taste.^[11][12] As a psychoactive depressant, it is the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages, and the second most consumed drug globally behind caffeine.^[13]

Ethanol is naturally produced by the fermentation process of sugars by yeasts or via petrochemical processes such as ethylene hydration. Historically it was used as a general anesthetic, and has modern medical applications as an antiseptic, disinfectant, solvent for some medications, and antidote for methanol poisoning and ethylene glycol poisoning.^[14][15] It is used as a chemical solvent and in the synthesis of organic compounds, and as a fuel source for lamps, stoves, and internal combustion engines. Ethanol also can be dehydrated to make ethylene, an important chemical feedstock. As of 2023, world production of ethanol fuel was 112.0 gigalitres (2.96×10¹⁰ US gallons), coming mostly from the U.S. (51%) and Brazil (26%).^[16]

The term “ethanol”, originates from the ethyl group coined in 1834 and was officially adopted in 1892, while “alcohol”—now referring broadly to similar compounds—originally described a powdered cosmetic and only later came to mean ethanol specifically.^[17] Ethanol occurs naturally as a byproduct of yeast metabolism in environments like overripe fruit and palm blossoms, during plant germination under anaerobic conditions, in interstellar space, in human breath, and in rare cases, is produced internally due to auto-brewery syndrome.

Ethanol has been used since ancient times as an intoxicant. Production through fermentation and distillation evolved over centuries across various cultures. Chemical identification and synthetic production began by the 19th century.

Ethanol is the systematic name defined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry for a compound consisting of an alkyl group with two carbon atoms (prefix “eth-“), having a single bond between them (infix “-an-“) and an attached −OH functional group (suffix “-ol”).^[18]

The “eth-” prefix and the qualifier “ethyl” in “ethyl alcohol” originally came from the name “ethyl” assigned in 1834 to the group C
₂H
₅− by Justus Liebig. He coined the word from the German name Aether of the compound C
₂H
₅−O−C
₂H
₅ (commonly called “ether” in English, more specifically called “diethyl ether“).^[19] According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Ethyl is a contraction of the Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr, “upper air”) and the Greek word ὕλη (hýlē, “wood, raw material”, hence “matter, substance”).^[20] Ethanol was coined as a result of a resolution on naming alcohols and phenols that was adopted at the International Conference on Chemical Nomenclature that was held in April 1892 in Geneva, Switzerland.^[21]

The term alcohol now refers to a wider class of substances in chemistry nomenclature, but in common parlance it remains the name of ethanol. It is a medieval loan from Arabic al-kuḥl, a powdered ore of antimony used since antiquity as a cosmetic, and retained that meaning in Middle Latin.^[22] The use of ‘alcohol’ for ethanol (in full, “alcohol of wine”) was first recorded in 1753. Before the late 18th century the term alcohol generally referred to any sublimated substance.^[23]

As a central nervous system depressant, ethanol is one of the most commonly consumed psychoactive drugs.^[24] Despite alcohol’s psychoactive, addictive, and carcinogenic properties,^[25] it is readily available and legal for sale in many countries. There are laws regulating the sale, exportation/importation, taxation, manufacturing, consumption, and possession of alcoholic beverages. The most common regulations are excise, and prohibition for minors.

In mammals, ethanol is primarily metabolized in the liver and stomach by ADH enzymes.^[26] These enzymes catalyze the oxidation of ethanol into acetaldehyde (ethanal):^[27]

CH₃CH₂OH + NAD⁺ → CH₃CHO + NADH + H⁺

When present in significant concentrations, this metabolism of ethanol is additionally aided by the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP2E1 in humans, while trace amounts are also metabolized by catalase.^[28] The resulting intermediate, acetaldehyde, is a known carcinogen, and poses significantly greater toxicity in humans than ethanol itself. Many of the symptoms typically associated with alcohol intoxication—as well as many of the health hazards typically associated with the long-term consumption of ethanol—can be attributed to acetaldehyde toxicity in humans.^[29]