What makes cleaning/sanitizing alcohol different from drinking alcohol? When distilleries switch from making vodka to making sanitizer, what are doing differently?
In: Chemistry
CAUTION: Ethanol that is sold for cleaning has been denatured, i.e. made poisonous to drink. It is pretty close to impossible to purify denatured alcohol to make it safe for drinking. Isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) is also sometimes used for cleaning, but it is also toxic. Ethanol for drinking has been distilled or fermented from plant sources.
A distillery could easily switch from vodka to sanitizer by making sure the percent ethanol is high enough (above 60% or 120 proof) and adding one of the many solvents that is used to denature ethanol.
Retired organic chemist here.
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