ORIGINAL: CP140
The term "alcohol" is very non-specific and can refer to a number of different compounds. There are 3 types of alcohol you're likely to see.
Methanol...the stuff in our airplane fuel, gas line antifeeze, alcohol stove fuel, fondue fuel. Also called methyl hydrate. Toxic...can often be found in the paint section as 99% pure.
Ethanol... the stuff you might drink. If sold for drinking purposes, is taxed beyond belief. If sold as a solvent, it is "denatured" by the addition of a trace amounts of various compounds such as benzene. This renders it almost impossible to drink and darned difficult to distill to a form suitable for drinking. Now taxed much less than the drinking version. Often sold in drugstores in various purities (70%, 95% etc) as "rubbing alcohol compound." Other than the trace impurities added to denature it, will contain some water.
Isopropanol...often found in drugstores as "rubbing alcohol". Can be anywhere from 70-99% pure... the rest usually being water. Toxic...not as bad as methanol, but still not good for you. May have to ask for it at the pharmacy counter as some people have found a use for it as a solvent in the production of illegal drugs and it had a tendancy to "walk" out of the store.
Yes
But they don't sell pure Methanol in my paint section....I wish.
Ethanol is typically denatured by mixing in Methanol. And typically not in trace amounts....usually 15% or so. Methanol is purposively put in to "denature" it. All versions of Ethanol including the stuff you buy in the paint section is made by distillation of grain products. They denature it so it will blind you unless you go to the
other store and pay the tax...lol
And, I noticed someone early saying that
Denatured alcohol is much less toxic than acetone or paint thinner. Hmm, drink some denatured alcohol and you probably will end up blind unless you get to the hospital within a few hours. Within a few hours, your probably only loose some of your sight. And, you'd be surprised at how much acetone is already in your milk and the water you drink. If you live with a woman in the house that paints her nails, your probably drinking even more of it. And, I've gone to some friends houses where the woman stores this stuff in the refrigerator. Acetone is highly volatile and is everywhere.
The entire purpose of "denaturing" is to make it poisionous.... Treat all of this stuff as very much poision.