The key difference between industrial alcohol and absolute alcohol is that industrial alcohol can be methanol or ethanol with 95% purity, whereas absolute alcohol is ethanol with 99% purity.
Alcohol is an organic compound having the -OH functional group. There are many different alcohol forms that are industrially very useful. Absolute alcohol is another form of alcohol that is useful both industrially and in laboratory needs.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Industrial Alcohol
3. What is Absolute Alcohol
4. Industrial Alcohol vs Absolute Alcohol in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Industrial Alcohol vs Absolute Alcohol
What is Industrial Alcohol?
Industrial alcohol is the form of alcohol that is used in industrial needs. The most common type of industrial alcohol is methanol. Typically, about 12 million tons of methanol is produced per year for industrial needs. The other most common industrial alcohol is ethanol, which was one of the earliest alcohols that were produced as industrial alcohols.
Figure 01: Industrial Alcohol
Industrial alcohols can come in two types: pure form or denatured form. Pure form does not contain a considerable amount of impurities, and it is useful in some industrial applications where we need a pure form without contaminants. Denatured alcohol is the form of alcohol with additives.
Industrial alcohol is mainly used as a solvent for industries. Moreover, this chemical substance is important as a raw material for the production of chemical compounds such as acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, acetic acid, ethylene dibromide, glycols, and ethyl chloride.
What is Absolute Alcohol?
Absolute alcohol is a form of ethanol containing less than 1% of water by weight. In other words, this liquid solution contains at least 99% pure alcohol by weight. It is a common name for ethanol. It occurs as a colourless liquid having the chemical formula C2H5OH. We can find this form of alcohol in beverages.
Figure 02: Absolute Alcohol Bottles
Absolute ethanol is a purer form than any other form of ethanol. That is because it contains 99-100% ethanol. This form of ethanol is very useful in laboratory techniques that are very sensitive to the presence of water. To obtain absolute ethanol via distillation, additives are used during the distillation process. These additives can break down the azeotrope state of ethanol and allow more ethanol to be distilled. Therefore, absolute ethanol may contain some additives such as benzene but in trace amounts.
What is the Difference Between Industrial Alcohol and Absolute Alcohol?
Alcohol is an organic compound having the -OH functional group. There are many different alcohol forms that are industrially very useful. Industrial alcohol is the form of alcohol that is used in industrial needs, while absolute alcohol is a form of ethanol containing less than 1% of water by weight. The key difference between industrial alcohol and absolute alcohol is that industrial alcohol can be methanol or ethanol with 95% purity, whereas absolute alcohol is ethanol with 99% purity.
The following table summarizes the difference between industrial alcohol and absolute alcohol.
Summary – Industrial Alcohol vs Absolute Alcohol
Alcohol is an organic compound having the -OH functional group. There are many different alcohol forms that are industrially very useful. In brief, the key difference between industrial alcohol and absolute alcohol is that industrial alcohol can be methanol or ethanol with 95% purity, whereas absolute alcohol is ethanol with 99% purity.
Reference:
1. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. “Absolute Alcohol Definition and Formula.” ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Bottles in laboratory (1)” By Diane A. Reid (Photographer) – This image was released by the National Cancer Institute, an agency part of the National Institutes of Health, with the ID 3868 (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Absolut Vodka Collection” Originally uploaded by Martinlebel (Transferred by Komischn) – Originally uploaded on en.wikipedia (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
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