Ethanol

Ethanol is a colorless, volatile alcohol with the formula C₂H₅OH. Its solvent properties and effects on the nervous system make it useful in beverages, industry, medicine, and fuel.

Alcohol functional group: A hydroxyl group bonded to a saturated carbon atom, defining alcohols in organic chemistry. Ethanol’s hydroxyl group gives it characteristic alcohol chemistry.
Alcoholic beverage: A drink containing ethanol produced by fermentation or added during production. Beverages are ethanol’s most familiar use and the main source of human consumption.
Alcoholic fermentation: A metabolic process in which microorganisms convert sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide. Yeast fermentation produces ethanol in beverages and many biofuel processes.
Methanol: The simplest alcohol, with the formula CH₃OH; ingestion can cause severe poisoning and blindness. Methanol resembles ethanol chemically but is far more acutely toxic when ingested.
Hydrogen bonding: An attractive interaction involving a hydrogen atom bonded to an electronegative atom and another electronegative atom. Hydrogen bonds help explain ethanol’s water miscibility and relatively high boiling point.
Bioethanol: Ethanol produced from biological feedstocks and used chiefly as a transport fuel. Fuel-grade ethanol is commonly made from crops or other biomass.
Yeast: Single-celled fungi that reproduce by budding or division; some species ferment sugars. Yeasts carry out the fermentation used to make many ethanol-containing drinks.
Isopropyl alcohol: A three-carbon alcohol, also called 2-propanol, commonly used as a solvent and disinfectant. It is a familiar antiseptic alternative but is not the alcohol found in beverages.
Ethanol metabolism: The enzymatic conversion of ethanol in the body, principally into acetaldehyde and then acetate. Metabolism determines how ethanol is cleared and contributes to its physiological effects.
Ethanol fuel: Ethanol burned as a fuel, often blended with gasoline for use in engines. Its oxygen content and renewable production make it a gasoline blend component.

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