Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between

Home / Science & Nature / Science / Chemistry / Organic Chemistry / What is the Difference Between Methylated Spirit and Surgical Spirit

What is the Difference Between Methylated Spirit and Surgical Spirit

January 14, 2022 Posted by Madhu

The key difference between methylated spirit and surgical spirit is that methylated spirit is used mainly for the removal of stains and as a fuel in small lamps and heaters, whereas surgical spirits are useful as a disinfectant, in preventing bedsores, and for hardening the skin of the feet.

Both methylated spirits and surgical spirits are useful alcoholic liquids. They have nearly similar chemical compositions, but they are used in different applications.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Methylated Spirit  
3. What is Surgical Spirit
4. Methylated Spirit and Surgical Spirit in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Methylated Spirit vs Surgical Spirit

What is Methylated Spirit?

Methylated spirits are alcohols that are made unfit for drinking by the addition of about 10 percent methanol. Typically, methylated spirits contain some pyridine and a violet dye. These liquids are also called denatured alcohol, meaning ethyl alcohol is mixed with other chemical substances, including chemicals like methanol, methyl isobutyl ketone, and benzene. This liquid is highly toxic due to the addition of toxic substances such as methanol; thus, this liquid is not suitable for human consumption.

Methylated Spirit and Surgical Spirit -Side by Side Comparison

Furthermore, methylated spirits are colourless solutions. We can colour these solutions by adding aniline. This colouration is important to easily recognize the methylated spirit. After the addition of aniline, the liquid appears in a violet colour. Moreover, the presence of ethyl alcohol and methanol makes methylated spirits toxic, extremely flammable, and volatile. Our skin can absorb this liquid due to the presence of methanol. Due to this reason, we cannot use this liquid to make perfumes or bath products. Moreover, methylated spirit has a bad odour and poor taste as well.

Methylated spirit is important as solvents, hand sanitizers, cosmetics, and as fuel for heating, lighting, etc. There is a colourless form of this liquid that is important in killing mildew on leather surfaces. In addition, we can use methylated spirit as a solvent for dissolving compounds like glue, wax, and grease. As this liquid does not react with glass, we can also use it for window cleaning. Although it is not good for human consumption, it is still important in cosmetic production due to its antibacterial activity.

What is Surgical Spirit?

Surgical spirit, rubbing alcohol, or denatured ethanol is a form of ethanol containing a high amount of additives and denaturants, which makes it poisonous. In surgical terms, we often use the term surgical spirit. This chemical has an unpleasant taste and a foul smell. Sometimes there can be some additives such as dyes to distinguish denatured ethanol from undenatured ethanol. The process of denaturing ethanol to make surgical spirit does not alter the chemical structure of ethanol nor decompose it. In this production process, ethanol is only altered to make it undrinkable.

Methylated Spirit vs Surgical Spirit in Tabular Form

The additives used in producing this type of ethanol are methanol, isopropanol, and pyridine. These compounds are useful to get a poisonous solution, and sometimes denatonium is useful to make the solution bitter. The purpose of producing surgical spirit is to reduce recreational consumption and to reduce taxes on alcoholic beverages. The traditional additive used for this type of spirit is 10% methanol. Denatured ethanol is cheaper than undenatured forms of ethanol.

What is the Difference Between Methylated Spirit and Surgical Spirit?

Both methylated spirits and surgical spirits are useful alcoholic liquids. The key difference between methylated spirit and surgical spirit is that methylated spirit is used mainly for the removal of stains and as a fuel in small lamps and heaters, whereas surgical spirits are useful as a disinfectant, in preventing bedsores and for hardening the skin of the feet.

The below infographic presents the differences between methylated spirit and surgical spirit in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Methylated Spirit vs Surgical Spirit

Methylated spirits and surgical spirit are useful alcoholic liquids. They have nearly similar chemical compositions, but they are used in different applications. The key difference between methylated spirit and surgical spirit is that methylated spirit s used mainly for the removal of stains and as a fuel in small lamps and heaters, whereas surgical spirits are useful as a disinfectant, in preventing bedsores and for hardening the skin of the feet.

Reference:

1. “Surgical Spirit BP – Summary Of Product Characteristics (Smpc) – (Emc)“. Medicines.Org.Uk, 2022.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Borse-percept-antiseptic-medical” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “Rubbing Alcohol (51013600587)” By ajay_suresh – Rubbing Alcohol (CC BY 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia

Related posts:

Difference Between Ethanol and MethanolDifference Between Ethanol and Methanol Difference Between Dioctahedral and TrioctahedralDifference Between Dioctahedral and Trioctahedral Difference Between HCFC and HFCDifference Between HCFC and HFC What is QuercetinDifference Between Quercetin and Quercetin Dihydrate What is Carboxymethyl CelluloseDifference Between Carboxymethyl Cellulose and Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose

Filed Under: Organic Chemistry

About the Author: Madhu

Madhu is a graduate in Biological Sciences with BSc (Honours) Degree and currently persuing a Masters Degree in Industrial and Environmental Chemistry. With a mind rooted firmly to basic principals of chemistry and passion for ever evolving field of industrial chemistry, she is keenly interested to be a true companion for those who seek knowledge in the subject of chemistry.

Comments

  1. Nadeeka says

    March 10, 2022 at 10:47 am

    can we use alcohol hand rub (70% alcohol) behalf of surgical spirit(90% alcohol) for the theater purposes of the hospital because unavailability of surgical spirit at the moment. thank you.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request Article

Featured Posts

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

You May Like

Difference Between Corn Flour and Arrowroot

Difference Between Gender and Gender Roles

Difference Between Gender and Gender Roles

Difference Between Entrepreneur and Inventor

Difference Between Transaction and Exchange

Difference Between Transaction and Exchange

Difference Between Paraffin Wax and Candle Wax

Difference Between Paraffin Wax and Candle Wax

Latest Posts

  • What is the Difference Between Flakiness Index and Elongation Index
  • What is the Difference Between Salmonella and Shigella
  • What is the Difference Between NTU and FTU
  • What is the Difference Between Escherichia coli and Entamoeba coli
  • What is the Difference Between Education and Socialization
  • What is the Difference Between Nurse Crop and Cover Crop
  • Home
  • Vacancies
  • About
  • Request Article
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2010-2018 Difference Between. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal.