What is medical ethyl alcohol? Methods of using the standard.

Ethanol or ethyl alcohol belongs to the group of antiseptics. It is used externally to treat skin surfaces before various medical procedures. Various dosage forms are made on the basis of the product. Most often, they are intended for external use. Internal medications based on ethanol are used in accordance with the instructions and only with medical recommendations.

Content

• 1 Etymology of names
• 2 Preparation 2.1 Fermentation 2.1.1 Industrial production of alcohol from biological raw materials
• 2.1.2 Hydrolysis production

Receipt

There are 2 main ways to produce ethanol - microbiological (alcoholic fermentation) and synthetic (ethylene hydration):

Fermentation

The method of producing ethanol, known since ancient times, is the alcoholic fermentation of organic products containing carbohydrates (grapes, fruits, etc.) under the action of yeast and bacterial enzymes. The processing of starch, potatoes, rice, corn looks similar; the source of fuel alcohol is raw sugar produced from cane, etc.

The solution obtained as a result of fermentation contains no more than 15% ethanol, since yeast is not viable in more concentrated solutions. The ethanol thus produced needs to be purified and concentrated, usually by distillation.

Industrial production of alcohol from biological raw materials

Modern industrial technology for producing ethyl alcohol from food raw materials includes the following stages:

• Preparation and grinding of starchy raw materials - grain (primarily rye, wheat), potatoes, corn, etc.
• Fermentation. At this stage, the enzymatic breakdown of starch into fermentable sugars occurs. For these purposes, recombinant alpha-amylase preparations obtained by bioengineering are used - glucamylase, amylosubtilin.
• Fermentation. Due to the fermentation of sugars by yeast, alcohol accumulates in the mash.
• Bragorectification. It is carried out on accelerating columns.

Fermentation waste includes carbon dioxide, stillage, ether-aldehyde fraction, fusel alcohol and fusel oils.

The alcohol coming from the bragon rectification unit (BRU) is not anhydrous; the ethanol content in it is up to 95.6%. Depending on the content of foreign impurities in it, it is divided into the following categories:

• 1st grade
• highest purification
• basis
• Extra
• Lux
• Alpha

The productivity of a modern distillery is about 30,000–100,000 liters of alcohol per day.

Hydrolysis production

On an industrial scale, ethyl alcohol is produced from raw materials containing cellulose (wood, straw), which is preliminarily hydrolyzed. The resulting mixture of pentoses and hexoses is subjected to alcoholic fermentation. This technology was not widespread in the countries of Western Europe and America, but in the USSR there was a developed industry of feed hydrolytic yeast and hydrolytic ethanol.

Ethylene hydration

• In industry, along with the first method, ethylene hydration is used. Hydration can be carried out according to two schemes: direct hydration at a temperature of 300 °C, a pressure of 7 MPa, orthophosphoric acid applied to silica gel, activated carbon or asbestos is used as a catalyst.
• hydration through the stage of intermediate sulfuric acid ester, followed by its hydrolysis (at a temperature of 80-90 ° C and a pressure of 3.5 MPa).

This reaction is complicated by the formation of diethyl ether.

Ethanol purification

Ethanol, produced by hydration of ethylene or fermentation, is a water-alcohol mixture containing impurities. For its industrial, food and pharmacopoeial use, purification is necessary. Fractional distillation produces ethanol with a concentration of about 95.6% (wt.); this azeotrope, inseparable by distillation, contains 4.4% water (wt.) and has a boiling point of 78.15 °C.

Distillation frees ethanol from both volatile and heavy fractions of organic substances (bottom residue).

Absolute alcohol

Absolute alcohol is ethyl alcohol containing virtually no water. It boils at 78.39 °C, while rectified spirit containing at least 4.43% water boils at 78.15 °C. Obtained by distillation of aqueous alcohol containing benzene and other methods.[1]

Story

Ethanol has been used by mankind since ancient times. It played a role in drinks, medicines, as a sedative and an aphrodisiac, and also had a place in religious ceremonies.

In Ancient Egypt it was extracted by fermentation of plant materials. In this way, only a dilute alcohol solution was obtained. In order to increase concentration, a distillation method was invented in China. As evidenced by paintings on Chinese ceramics, drinks from a fermented mixture of rice, fruit and honey were made 9,000 years ago. Around the same time, in the Middle East, alcohol was obtained from grapes and barley, as evidenced by records on clay tablets in Mesopotamia.

In the Middle Ages, ethyl alcohol played the role of a basis for the preparation of numerous medicines and tinctures. Alchemists always used ethanol in their works, giving it the name lat. Aqua vitae, that is, living water.

Pure ethanol was first obtained in 1796 by the Russian-German chemist Toviy Egorovich Lovitz. According to the description of the leading scientist of the time, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, the compound under study consisted of the chemical elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. In 1808, Swiss biochemist Nicolas Théodore de Saussure established the chemical formula of ethanol, and fifty years later Scottish chemist Archibald Scott Cooper proposed its structure.

The first synthetic method for producing ethylene was developed independently by the English chemist Henry Hennel and the French pharmacist Georges-Simon Serulla in 1826. And in 1828, the English physicist and chemist Michael Faraday obtained ethanol by catalytic hydration of ethene, a by-product of oil and gas refining. This method formed the basis of many methods that are used in ethanol production to this day.

Properties

Physical properties

Appearance: Under normal conditions it is a colorless volatile liquid with a characteristic odor.
A popular mistake should be avoided: the properties of 95.57% alcohol and absolutized alcohol are often mixed. Their properties are almost the same, but the values ​​begin to differ, starting from the 3rd - 4th significant digit. Properties of ethanol

A mixture of 95.57% ethanol + 4.43% water is azeotropic, that is, it does not separate during distillation.

Chemical properties

Reacts with alkali metals to form ethylates (or, in general, alcoholates) and hydrogen.

Narcotic properties

There is a difference between the chemical-pharmacological and legal definitions of the narcotic properties of ethanol. From a chemical and pharmaceutical point of view, ethanol has narcotic properties, while from a legal point of view, ethanol is not recognized as a drug, although indications of narcotic properties are also present in some technical and legal documentation.

Indications of the narcotic properties of ethanol are present in a number of textbooks on pharmacology, in specialized pharmaceutical and chemical dictionaries[2], and in encyclopedias.[3] Thus, the chemical-pharmacological definition, taken from the Textbook of Pharmacology, ed. S.V. Anichkov, M.L. Belenky, says:

Ethyl alcohol - wine alcohol, Spiritus Vini (C2H5OH) according to its pharmacological properties belongs to the narcotic substances of the fatty series.

The narcotic properties of ethanol are also manifested in the characteristic alcoholic excitation, which is followed by depression of the functions of the central nervous system, including blocking the work of inhibition centers.

The narcotic nature of the effects of ethanol is also confirmed by the fact that alcoholism, which is a form of dependence on ethanol, is considered a form of drug addiction [4].

Grain distillate according to GOST

Currently, GOST R 55799-2013 “Grain distillate” is in force in the Russian Federation. Technical specifications" .

Table 3 presents organoleptic indicators for grain distillates.

Table 3

In terms of physico-chemical properties, grain distillates must correspond to the values ​​indicated in Table 4.

Application

Fuel

Ethanol can be used as fuel, including for rocket engines and internal combustion engines in its pure form. Limited due to its hygroscopicity (flakes off), it is used in a mixture with classic petroleum liquid fuels. It is used to produce high-quality fuel and a component of gasoline - ethyl tert-butyl ether, which is more independent of fossil organic matter than MTBE.

Chemical industry

• Serves as a raw material for the production of many chemicals, such as acetaldehyde, diethyl ether, tetraethyl lead, acetic acid, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethylene, etc.;
• Widely used as a solvent (in the paint and varnish industry, in the production of household chemicals and many other areas);
• It is a component of antifreeze and windshield washers.
• In household chemicals, ethanol is used in cleaning products and detergents, especially for the care of glass and plumbing. It is a solvent for repellents.

Medicine

In medicine, ethyl alcohol is primarily used as a solvent, extractant and antiseptic.

• In terms of its action, ethyl alcohol can be classified as an antiseptic;
• as a disinfectant and drying agent, externally;
• the drying and tanning properties of 96% ethyl alcohol are used to treat the surgical field or in some techniques for treating the surgeon’s hands;
• solvent for medicines, for the preparation of tinctures, extracts from plant materials, etc.;
• preservative for tinctures and extracts (minimum concentration 18%);
• defoamer when supplying oxygen, artificial ventilation;
• in warm compresses;
• for physical cooling during fever (for rubbing)[5];
• possible use as a component of parenteral nutrition (in the form of a 5% solution) in weakened patients, taking into account the high energy value of the substance
• component of general anesthesia in situations of drug shortage
• As an antifoam agent for pulmonary edema in the form of inhalation of a 33% solution.
• Ethanol is an antidote for poisoning with certain toxic alcohols such as methanol and ethylene glycol. Its action is due to the fact that the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, in the presence of several substrates (for example, methanol and ethanol), carries out only competitive oxidation, due to which, after timely
  (almost immediate, following methanol/ethylene glycol) intake of ethanol, the current concentration of toxic metabolites decreases (for methanol - formaldehyde and formic acid, for ethylene glycol - oxalic acid).

Perfumes and cosmetics

It is a universal solvent for various substances and the main component of perfumes, colognes, aerosols, etc. It is part of a variety of products, including even toothpastes, shampoos, shower products, etc.

Food industry

Along with water, it is a necessary component of alcoholic drinks (vodka, whiskey, gin, etc.). It is also found in small quantities in a number of drinks obtained by fermentation, but not classified as alcoholic (kefir, kvass, kumiss, non-alcoholic beer, etc.). The ethanol content in fresh kefir is negligible (0.12%), but if it has stood for a long time, especially in a warm place, it can reach 1%. Kumis contains 1-3% ethanol (in strong ethanol up to 4.5%), kvass - from 0.6 to 2.2%.

Solvent for food flavorings. Can be used as a preservative for bakery products, as well as in the confectionery industry.

Registered as a food additive E1510

[6].

The energy value of ethanol is 7.1 kcal/g.

The effect of alcohol on the skin and muscles of the human body

As a rule, the effect of alcohol on the human body is always negative, because when it gets inside, it quickly spreads through the blood to all organs, often causing their destruction.

Ethanol (ethyl alcohol), C2H5OH, is a toxin, when taken, the liver tries to neutralize it. This volatile transparent liquid, which has a characteristic odor and pungent taste, is easily diluted with water.

This yeast fermentation product can be produced chemically.

Important!

It burns well, is easily ignited, and is used as a technical brake fluid, as a solvent or fuel.

Often a disease such as alcoholism is hereditary; if both parents drank in the family and they were not given proper treatment, then their child may also become an alcoholic in the future.

People who love strong drinks are often interested in the question of how alcohol affects the human body? Ethanol tends to concentrate in the brain and liver and can quickly kill cells in these organs.

In addition, alcohol is a mutagen. As a rule, in an adult body, mutant cells are eliminated by the immune system, but if it fails, then people with alcoholism develop cancer of the stomach, oral cavity, liver, and esophagus.

Alcohol also affects the following:

• Disrupts fetal development. The brain often suffers, the child’s heart is affected, and limbs are underdeveloped.
• Activates GABA acid receptors, the main inhibitory transmitter in the nervous system. As a result, cell excitability decreases.
• High ethanol content enhances the synthesis of endorphins and dopa. The patient experiences euphoria.
• Disturbs metabolism in the body. This factor provokes the development of a psychological syndrome.
• Toxic effect. As a rule, it is determined by an increase in pulse, lack of air, and disruption of the heart.
• Systematic consumption of strong drinks provokes fatty degeneration and inflammation of the liver. Hepatocytes are destroyed and cirrhosis occurs.
• Provokes alcoholic encephalopathy. The disease begins with mental disorders with static or monotonous visual illusions and hallucinations.

Everyone else, as a rule, experiences the harmful effects of drinking ethyl alcohol. Alcohol is good for the body only in small doses, but if you drink a little too much, there will be more harm than good.

Each person has their own lethal dose of alcohol. For a 70 kg man who does not drink, this is:

• 750 ml of vodka, drunk over five hours;
• 300 ml of pure alcohol drunk over five hours.

For women it is:

• 450 ml of vodka, drunk over five hours.

If a person constantly drinks alcohol, he can die from 3 bottles of vodka or 600 ml of pure alcohol, drunk in 5 hours or less.

Blood can normally contain 0.4 ppm (‰) and this is an acceptable level.

When the alcohol concentration is more than 3.8 ppm, paralysis of the respiratory tract can occur, resulting in death. Death is still possible when the concentration reaches 2.2-3.2‰.

At the same time, alcohol has a devastating effect on the heart, brain, stomach and reproductive system.

The mucous membranes dry out, the body's immunity weakens, and there is a high risk of tuberculosis. The first sign of its appearance is a severe cough, which can occur on the second day after excessive drinking.

In addition, the negative effects of alcohol on the respiratory system can cause the following diseases:

• emphysema;
• tracheobronchitis;
• Chronical bronchitis.

This contributes to the fact that the absorption of beneficial nutrients is disrupted, the secretion of enzymes is inhibited, and food stagnation occurs in the intestines and stomach.

As a rule, the negative effects of alcohol on the stomach can cause:

• diabetes;
• chronic stage of pancreatitis;
• gastritis;
• stomach cancer;
• severe abdominal pain.

Representatives of the stronger half of humanity also suffer from excessive drinking of strong drinks. The harmful effect of alcohol on the male reproductive system is expressed in a decrease in libido, the development of impotence and infertility.

Drunkenness also provokes testicular atrophy, leading to the birth of an unhealthy child.

In addition, sugar regulation is disrupted, which causes irreversible consequences: improper brain function, diabetes, vascular problems.

The following diseases may indicate this:

• high blood pressure;
• atherosclerosis;
• arrhythmia;
• ischemic heart disease.

Alcohol is toxic to brain tissue, so intoxication can often occur after drinking strong drinks. Alcohol can cause destruction, numbness and death of the cerebral cortex.

Negative effects of how alcohol affects the brain:

• endocrine functions are disrupted;
• brain centers that regulate vascular tone are affected;
• the reaction of vegetative origin changes;
• problems arise with the psyche, memory, and mental development.

Alcohol's effect on the skin and muscle condition is manifested in the following:

• dehydration occurs;
• testosterone decreases;
• estrogen increases;
• muscle mass decreases;
• muscles weaken, atrophy, lose tone;
• protein synthesis decreases;
• there is a deficiency of rals (phosphorus, calcium, zinc) and vitals (A, B and C);
• there is an uncontrolled replenishment of calories in the body.

For example, red wine contains trace elements and antioxidants that the body needs. In this case, you should drink no more than three glasses a week.

In addition, red wine removes waste and toxins, normalizes metabolism, and is an excellent preventative against atherosclerosis. Based on the drink, we can highlight the positive effects:

• champagne can be taken in small doses for a weak heart;
• mulled wine supports the body during bronchitis, colds, pneumonia, and flu;
• vodka can lower cholesterol;
• beer slows down the aging process and reduces the risk of heart disease.

But what dose of alcohol is good for a person? Doctors recommend that men drink no more than 20 g of pure alcohol, and women - 10 g. As a rule, this amount is contained in 100 grams of wine, 30 grams of vodka and 300 ml of beer.

Taking one spoon of alcohol twice a week can act as a mobilizer for the body, i.e., a hormesis effect occurs. This method helps a person to shake himself up quickly. It is strictly forbidden to give strong drinks to a child.

The use of ethanol as automobile fuel

Different countries have different government programs for the use of ethanol in transport:

In the United States, the Energy Bill, signed by President Bush in August 2005, provides for the annual production of 30 billion liters of ethanol from grain and 3.8 billion liters from cellulose (corn stalks, rice straw, forest waste) by 2012.

Ethanol mixes well with water, unlike gasoline. The problem of segregation of a mixture of gasoline and ethanol has not yet been solved.

Vehicle fleet running on ethanol

A mixture of ethanol and gasoline is designated by the letter E. The number next to the letter E indicates the percentage of ethanol. E85 means a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.

Blends up to 20% ethanol can be used on any vehicle. However, some car manufacturers limit the warranty when using blends containing more than 10% ethanol. Blends containing more than 20% ethanol in many cases require modifications to the vehicle's ignition system.

Automakers produce cars that can run on both gasoline and E85. Such cars are called "Flex-Fuel". In Brazil, such cars are called “hybrid”. There is no name in Russian. Most modern cars either natively support the use of such fuel, or optionally, upon request.

In 2005, more than 5 million vehicles in the United States had Flex-Fuel engines. At the end of 2006, 6 million vehicles with Flex-Fuel engines were in use in the United States. The total vehicle fleet is 230 million vehicles.

1200 gas stations sell E85 (May 2007). In total, about 170,000 gas stations sell automobile fuel in the United States.

In Brazil, about 29,000 gas stations sell ethanol.

Economical

The cost of Brazilian ethanol (about US$0.19 per liter in 2006) makes its use economically viable.

Environmental aspects

Bioethanol as a fuel is neutral as a source of greenhouse gases. It has a zero carbon dioxide balance because its production through fermentation and subsequent combustion releases the same amount of CO2 as was previously taken from the atmosphere by the plants used to produce it.

In 2006, the use of ethanol in the United States reduced emissions of about 8 million tons of greenhouse gases (CO2 equivalent), which is approximately equal to the annual emissions of 1.21 million cars.

Safety and Regulation

Denatured alcohol

• Ethanol is a flammable substance; a mixture of its vapors and air is explosive.
• Synthetic ethyl alcohol, technical and food grade, unsuitable for the production of alcoholic beverages, is included in the list of toxic substances for the purposes of Article 234 and other articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation[7]
• Since 2005, retail sales of alcohol have been prohibited in Russia (with the exception of the Far North) [8]

Toxicology of ethanol

Depending on the dose, concentration, route of entry into the body and duration of exposure, ethanol can have narcotic, anesthetic and toxic effects. In certain doses to body weight and concentrations it leads to acute poisoning and death (a lethal single dose is 4-12 grams of ethanol per kilogram of weight). However, ethanol is a natural metabolite of the human body, and in certain doses it is used in medicine as an independent medicine, as well as as a solvent for pharmaceuticals, extracts and tinctures.

Long-term consumption of ethanol can cause diseases such as gastritis, stomach ulcers, stomach cancer and esophageal cancer.

Ethanol consumption can cause oxidative damage to brain neurons.

Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages can lead to alcoholism.

Alcohol overdose

Consumption of drinks containing ethyl alcohol causes intoxication, the level of which depends on the amount of alcohol consumed. The presence of alcohol in the body is determined in a laboratory, by testing blood or urine, but an overdose of alcohol is also noticeable by external signs. The most common:

• confusion or unconsciousness;
• lack of coordination;
• nausea and vomiting;
• slow or irregular breathing;
• memory loss;
• weakness.

The effect of alcohol poisoning is enhanced even more if you take alcohol along with certain medications. You should not combine ethanol with antidepressants, paracetamol, painkillers or sedatives, or anticonvulsants.

And it is important to completely give up alcohol:

• pregnant women;
• people diagnosed with alcoholism;
• for diseases of the liver and pancreas;
• with heart failure and weak heart;
• persons with vascular diseases.

Notes

1. Article “Absolute alcohol” in TSB.
2. Pharmaceutical reference book Khimik.ru
3. Great Soviet Encyclopedia, article “Ethyl alcohol”
4. TSB, article “Alcoholism”
5. Drugs affecting the central nervous system
6. E1510 - ethyl alcohol
7. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2007 N 964 Moscow “On approval of lists of potent and toxic substances for the purposes of Article 234 and other articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as well as large amounts of potent substances for the purposes of Article 234 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation”
8. Article 26 of the Federal Law of November 22, 1995 N 171-FZ (as amended on April 5, 2010) (Consultant+)