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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Ethanol
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1992-09-02
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C2H5OH (common name ethyl alcohol) the
chemical term for the alcohol found in beer,
wine, cider, spirits, and other alcoholic
drinks. When pure, it is a colourless liquid
with a pleasant odour, miscible with water or
ether, and burning in air with a pale blue
flame. The vapour forms an explosive mixture
with air and may be used in high-compression
internal combustion engines. It is produced
naturally by the fermentation of
carbohydrates by yeast cells. Industrially,
it can be made by absorption of ethene and
subsequent reaction with water, or by the
reduction of ethanal in the presence of a
catalyst, and is widely used as a solvent.
Ethanol is used as a raw material in the
manufacture of ether, chloral, and iodoform.
It can also be added to petrol, where it
improves the performance of the engine, or
used as a fuel in its own right. Crops such
as sugar cane may be grown to provide ethanol
(by fermentation) for this purpose.