In chemical terms this substance is known as Ethanol, is a colorless liquid that can be very toxic and combustible, because it is also used for such purposes, as well as it can be observed in the daily life of all people, because with this drinks created for entertainment and relaxation of people.
Excessive consumption in humans can cause severe damage to the body, although this form of production is not the only one in which ethyl alcohol is involved, since there are many industries that use this substance, since its components have different uses and functions.
Next, the chemical component known as Ethanol will be shown, and in turn some that can be given to it, showing that in some of these uses the risk of using these substances without proper knowledge, or adequate awareness, can end up in really bad situations.
What is ethyl alcohol?
Ethyl alcohol is a name by which the chemical compound «Ethanol» is known, which is a substance that can be handled with the appropriate temperature and pressure, has its own characteristics, such as not presenting colors, and being extremely flammable. under conditions that incite it.
Its chemical composition can demonstrate that of some known alcoholic beverages such as fruit wine, hot water, beers, among others, the aforementioned being CH3-CH2-OH. Which has characteristics that allow it to be miscible (it can be mixed) with water, and its boiling point is at a temperature of almost 75 degrees Celsius.
Etymology (Ethanol)
The name of this compound Ethanol was granted by the UPAC that its acronym in Spanish means the International Union of Pure Chemistry, who agreed to place that name on it because it presents a molecule with two carbon atoms for which it is given the prefix «Et», which have a link between them, because of this it is complemented with the «anus», and which in turn presents a union in its group, ending with the suffix «ol», forming the scientific name of ethyl alcohol.
In 1892, exactly in Geneva, located in Switzerland, an international conference on chemical nomenclature was held, exactly in April of that year the name Ethanol was coined as a result of a resolution agreed at that event.
Justus Liebig, a German chemist, was the one who coined the ethyl prefix to this substance that today is better known as ethyl alcohol, because it is derived from two words from different languages, the first is ether, which refers to any substance with the capacity of evaporating under the effects of temperature or pressure, and a Greek word pronounced hyle which means substance itself.
Ethyl alcohol uses
Ethanol has many uses that serve to manufacture many compounds, among which the gastronomic field stands out, because the main form of consumption of this substance is through alcoholic beverages.
Although this has very positive functions for the use of disinfectants, since it is a good bacteria fighter, and in turn it is used as an antifreeze, or solvent, it all depends on the industry that uses it and the purposes for which it is intended.
Alcoholic Beverages
The main use that is given to ethyl alcohol (Ethanol) is as manufacture of various types of these beverages, among which we can mention beers, whiskeys, hot water, rums, vodka, sweet liqueurs such as amaretto, champagne, among many others.
According to the UN, this type of psychotropic substance has earned the position of the most consumed by human beings worldwide, since around 3000 billion people admit to consuming it either in an addictive, casual, occasional or abusive way.
Fuel
Also known as burning alcohol, because if it is mixed in a certain proportion with methyl alcohol, it can produce fuel to distill, which is used in lighters.
This contains uniquely characteristic compounds such as pyrobite which makes it excellent in the use of industrial and domestic fuels. The use of ethyl alcohol as fuel is being studied more and more among all the participating countries of the UN, because it meets the requirements proposed in the Kyoto protocol, which consists of reducing the consumption of compounds that result in the production of substances harmful to the environment.
Use in chemical industries
In this particular industry it has various uses, since, as mentioned above, it has disinfectant qualities, which is why it is widely used in the manufacture of cleaning products, as well as for the manufacture of glues and solvents.
Physicochemical characteristics
Ethanol, which is mostly known as ethyl alcohol, has certain qualities that make it essential in the manufacture of some compounds, as well as some traits that can be negative for human consumption, among the most outstanding characteristics are: following.
- It is soluble in substances such as water, methyl alcohol and chloroform
- It is considered a universal diluent, because it can dilute almost any substance, if not all.
- It has a characteristic ethereal smell.
- It is an aliphatic hydrocarbon.
- It is an extremely flammable liquid, so it must be used with great caution, to avoid any type of unforeseen incident.
- It does not have any color, so it is a colorless substance.
- It has a peculiar acrid taste.
- In chemistry you can see its formula as follows: C2H5ooh
Toxicity of Ethanol in Humans
Although this substance is known in society as one of the most popular, data studied and verified by the UN, it can be very harmful to the health of human beings, of all ages, with greater emphasis on children.
Classified within psychotropic, Apart from having addictive qualities, it can lead individuals to the consumption of another substance that is equally or worse as harmful, due to the insufficiency that it causes and slowing down of the neural system.
There is even a certain point at which the consumption of these substances is fatal, not only due to the fact that it is a narcotic substance and makes people not think well of their actions, and in most cases they lose common sense, but that it possesses in her, really toxic components for the organism.
Resistance to this substance does not improve in adults, since its toxicity levels are so high that the body never ends up getting used to the doses of it. Children are the most affected in this case, because they are more vulnerable to its components, and there are cases of intoxication from covering their airways with rags impregnated with ethyl alcohol.
Consumption these drinks in pregnant women can be harmful for the development of fetuses, being born with deformities, mental retardation, disorders or diseases resulting from the effects of ethanol, which can result in a famous syndrome caused by the consumption of ethyl alcohol known as "fetal alcohol syndrome .
The lethal doses of the consumption of these substances are 5 to 8kg in adults, while in children it is a lower amount, being only 3g7kg of this substance.
Stages and Effects of Ethyl Alcohol Poisoning
The early stages of intoxication from drinking alcoholic beverages It is a situation that most have gone through, that at first you may feel a little dizzy, or vertigo, and in turn an unusual well-being, with a feeling of greatness at times, while when you reach the second stage you can get out of control a bit the situation, and the actions depend on the person.
But there are very few who know the final stages of this, because they are severely bad, and wreak havoc on social relationships, usually after the uncontrolled drunkenness comes a complete one, in which the thoughts, reasoning, senses, and perceptions of the individual are completely vanished, and this almost cannot react to any stimulus, following a critical stage, which in most cases causes death.
Regarding the nutritional effects that the consumption of ethyl alcohol can cause, there may be hyperglycemia, or hypoglycemia, which are alterations in blood sugar levels, as well as insufficient intake of vitamins and minerals, metabolism disorders , and malnutrition due to lack of calories in the body.
Patients who are not tolerant of these substances can have severe effects such as death, or in less serious cases, acute acts of stupidity, sobriety, excitement without any stimulus, confusion, euphoria and can even induce a coma.
Some effects can become more acute, because they are severe for people's health, and these usually appear with the constant abuse of their consumption, which can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular depressions, metabolic acidosis, seizures, abnormalities in behavior even if you are not consuming ethyl alcohol, unusual sweating and sniffing, such symptoms can be truly lethal for any human being.
What to do in case of severe poisoning?
There have been many cases of people who consume alcoholic beverages in excess, and end up being practically unconscious, in which in some cases they can be ethyl comas.
If for some reason any known person were to enter these states, it is extremely necessary to go to an emergency room to be administered a necessary treatment, which usually includes the provision of nutrients and hydrating serums to stabilize the condition of the people.
As well as some substances that help detoxification are used, such as some people who have the habit of drinking milk to detoxify, because this liquid when binding with alcohol inside the body induces practically instantaneous vomiting, which could help a little to the removal of ethanol from the body.