i have an alcohol burner for chemistry and it says to use "absolute ethyl alcohol". it also says "This burner will work with any denatured alcohol... there is no reason to buy 100% denatured ethel alcohol."
i used ethyl rubbing alcohol 70%... for some reason it isnt working right, the wick burned for a little while and then died down and went out. does anyone know why? is it because my alcohol wasnt denatured... or because it was only 70%?? please help
2006-11-30 04:15:42 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
1) To instruct someone to use absolute ethanol (100% etOH, with no water) cannot be correct...it is too expensive to burn...and subject to Federal taxes and/or scrutiny.
2) Denatured alcohol is 95% ethanol/ 5% water with a poison added to render it undrinkable...this small amount of water does not affect its capacity to burn...is the material of choice.
3) Rubbing alcohol is 70% isopropanol(not ethanol)/ 30% water...too much water, which will will accumulate in the wick...as you noticed :-))...moreover isopropanol offers less heat of combustion than ethanol.
Correction: last (part) sentence shoul dread '...moreover 70% isopropanol offers less...'
2006-11-30 04:42:01 · answer #1 · answered by L. A. L. 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because it is only 70%, the remainder is water, which is often used to put flames out. Denaturing involves adding a small amount of horrible tasting flammable contaminants so it won't effect the burn noticeably.
2006-11-30 12:35:18 · answer #2 · answered by Robert L. D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is because it is 70% alcohol.
2006-11-30 12:37:43 · answer #3 · answered by xox_bass_player_xox 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
alcohol evaporates more easily than water so the wick will become saturated with water what causes the flame to die
2006-11-30 12:55:35 · answer #4 · answered by paul p 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋