Thread: Pure Ethanol

I know that the type of alcohol you drink is ethanol, and also racing fuel, but if you were to drink 100% ethanol without mixing it with anything, would you die, I've heard you can. But if you mixed it with something would you still die? I'm not trying to get drunk, just wondering.

I think it wouldn't be a matter of concentration (100% vs. 25% or whatever) but of actual amount. I don't think pure ethanol would kill you if you drank it in the same amount that it's present in in alcoholic drinks, but if you drank enough, it would kill you. Same thing with mixing it with something: it doesn't matter that its mixed or the percent of the solution it makes up, what matters is its total amount in mLs or Ls...whichever would be more appropriate. i'm guessing mLs.

yes you would die, the ethanol would literaly dry your throat completly dry of water, and with your throat and all gone yo die

Actually, ethanol affects to nervous system, and if you drink too much ethanol, your respiratory organs will slacken, and that's what kills. And i'm don't sure about that throat thing. It might burn your throat, but not fataly. And there's no such thing as 100 % ethanol. The pures ethanol that can be made is about 99-99.7%.

it will dry your throat becuase it sux so much water by the osmosic pressure

I know you would die if you have pure caffine, so I don't see why you wouldn't with pure ethanol.

you would

Youd die even if you mixed it? I've heard about the dry out your throat thing, but I dont know.

if you mix it with enough water it is safe

try beer, it's safe :wink:

Originally Posted by avoid

I know you would die if you have pure caffine, so I don't see why you wouldn't with pure ethanol.

Caffiene takes 10 grams (quite a substancial ammount). Ethanol itself being hygroscopic, absorbs water. Pure ethanol would kill (unless if VERY small ammounts).

I've used it to mix into drinks before. I got hammered.

Think about it, most spirits that people drink are around 40% ethanol. So a shot of pure ethanol is only 2.5 times stronger than a shot of vodka or scotch or something. Plus there's stuff on the market (eg absinthe, bacardi 151) that clock in at around 75% ethanol.

A friend of mine says he's taken a shot of pure ethanol before. He said it burned, but he's still alive.

And some guy came into my work once (liquor store) and said that when he goes back to his home country they regularly have shots of surgical grade ethanol (~97% I think?).

To take anything around 90% and up is dangerous. Whisky, vodka, and such are all around 40-60%. You could get moonshine/everclear which is around 75-80%. You can get pure ethanol at a hardware store (as a solvent), and other places.

I'm pretty sure you're not going to find pure ethanol that is meant for drinking though.

You could get moonshine/everclear which is around 75-80%.

I was about to say that you're wrong about the alcohol content of everclear, but looking it up in Wikipedia, I see that there are low alcohol content versions of everclear.

Weird.
Only 151 proof?
The everclear I'm familiar with is 190 proof. That's 95% alcohol.
Of course, it's illegal in most states, I believe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everclear_%28alcohol%29

both are as bad?
if you drink 100% ethanol - too much it can kill you,
just like too much vodka can

tragic story - the captian of a gealic football team won some cup. big cup. he filled it with whiskey and drank from it. he died instantly.

despite the fact he was probably exahuasted, it still killed him

fact is ethanol is a poison. too much poision can kill instantly!

If he drank it all in one, it would kill him, the guy already being dehydrated. If he didn't drink it all in one though, he woulda just passed out.

It would kill you, doctors use a few millilitres to cause a minor heart attack in surgery, but if you diluted it, then depending on how diluted it is, it wouldn't kill you.

I have a condensing column if anyone is interested in making their own alcohol. You can see it at www.wellstonesolutions.com/forsale. Check it out and email me if you have any questions.

SAFETY WARNING FOR chubbza5:

If you have by chance found yourself in possession of a flask of lab/medical ethanol, DO NOT DRINK IT!

This alchohol is produced by petrochemical INDUSTRY not by yeast in a fermentor. This alchohol WILL also contain trace amounts of methanol (even if the flask says 99.9% ethanol). Your body will metabolize methanol into methanal (formaldehyde) which cross-links proteins.

The upshot of this is that drinking methanol leads to blindness and dementia. This is a price that you do not want to pay.

Just go and buy yourself some beers

Don't drink 100% ethanol as benzene is used in production to get rid of the water. Because small amounts of benzene probably remain 100% ethanol should be considered quite poisonous and carcinogenic.