Alcohols

Alcohols are organic compounds containing a hydroxyl group, -OH, substituted for a hydrogen atom. The names of alcohols start with the name of the alkane but end with the suffix -ol, like the simplest alcohol, methanol.

methanol

Ethanol is the alcohol in alcoholic beverages and it is also widely used as a solvent.

ethanol

Alcohols can have more than one hydroxyl group. Ethylene glycol, used as antifreeze in automobiles, has two hydroxyl groups.

ethylene glycol

Methanol

Methanol, or methyl alcohol, is the simplest alcohol derived from the alkanes. Methanol is also called wood alcohol. It is poisonous if ingested, causing blindness by damage to the optic nerve. Methanol is often used to denature industrially produced ethanol to prevent it being used for drinking. Methanol is also used as a fuel in some types of racing cars.

Ethanol

Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is the alcohol used in alcoholic beverages and as a solvent in many drugs and food preparations. It mixes with water in any proportion and is the least toxic and most important of the alcohols.

It is often called grain alcohol because it can be prepared from grain by the action of yeast on the sugars in the grain in the process of fermentation. It is made synthetically by reacting ethene and water in the presence of sulfuric acid.