Ethanol

Ethanol or ethyl alcohol is commonly called alcohol. Ethanol in its pure state is a colorless flammable liquid which is completely miscible with water. Ethanol is made from the fermentation of sugars from agricultural crops such as 1. barley used to make beer or 2. grapes used to make wine. The process of distillation is used to concentrate the ethanol to around 95% which is the maximum that can be achieved by this process. Molecular sieves are used to produce 100% ethanol. Ethanol produced from crops or biomass material is known as bioethanol. Ethanol may also be produced by the hydration of ethylene gas from the petroleum industry.

The complete structural formula for ethanol is shown in the diagram below.
 

The chemical formula for ethanol is CH₃CH₂OH or C₂H₅OH (condensed structural formulas)

The molecular formula fro ethanol is C₂H₆O and its molar mass is 46.068 g/mol.

Pure ethanol is used as solvent for esters, medicines, solvent based paints and perfumes. It is also used as a cleaning product (methylated spirits).