Ethanol is a volatile, flammable, colorless straight-chain, primary alcohol. Ethanol is the principal type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs still used by humans. It can cause alcohol intoxication when consumed to excess. It is used in thermometers, as a solvent, and as a fuel. Ethanol intended for industrial use is often produced from ethylene. Ethanol has widespread use as a solvent of substances intended for human contact or consumption, including scents, flavorings, colorings, and medicines. In chemistry, it is both a solvent and a feedstock for the synthesis of other products. It has a long history as a fuel for heat and light, and more recently as a fuel for internal combustion engines. Ethanol is a versatile solvent, miscible with water and with many organic solvents, including acetic acid, acetone, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, diethyl ether, ethylene glycol, glycerol, nitromethane, pyridine, and toluene. It is also miscible with light aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as pentane and hexane, and with aliphatic chlorides such as trichloroethane and tetrachloroethylene. Ethanol is produced both as a petrochemical, through the hydration of ethylene and, via biological processes, by fermenting sugars with yeast. Ethanol can be oxidized to acetaldehyde and further oxidized to acetic acid. Ethanol may also be utilized as a rocket fuel, and is currently in lightweight rocket-powered racing aircraft. |