2006-12-21 02:26:11 · 4 answers · asked by francis 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Methanol----- CH3OH
Ethanol ------ C2H5OH
Ethanol is the higher homolouge of methanol.
Ethanol has higher boiling point than methanol.
Ethanol is much much less toxic than methanol.
Chemical tests like the haloform test can be used to distinguish between them. Ethanol is positive to this test.
2006-12-21 02:27:37 · answer #1 · answered by Som™ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bilge's response is far from "simple". By definitiion, a SIMPLE distillation is only suitable when the two compounds to be separated have BPs that are a good 80 degrees apart. 10 degrees is nothing in boiling point language, becauase of impurities, H-Bonding issues, and others, this could be a tough separation, and it goes into why reagent companies "poison" ethanol with methanol in the first place. (To prevent idiots from getting sloshed on reagent grade ethanol, they denature it with methanol - which causes blindness...)
A far better differentiation would be gas chromatography using a carbowax column and any common brand of GC. There are lab protocols for this all over the place and it's a common undergrad methods experiment.
2006-12-21 06:35:00 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Box Head is right in that the amount of methanol produced by fermentation is negligible, that only sometimes becomes a problem when distilling alcohol. You can only check the ethyl alcohol level with a hydrometer if you took the specific gravity before you added the yeast, you can't measure it with a hydrometer without this information. If it tastes bitter, it can only be for one of two reasons, you didn't put enough sugar in to start with, or some bacteria have got in either by not sterilising all your equipment in the first place, or an unsafe air-lock, taste a teaspoonful, it can't do you any harm, if it tastes a bit like vinegar then bacteria have got in and you'll have to throw it away, if it's just not sweet enough, just add more sugar, but you will have to wait until it stops fermenting again.
2016-05-23 05:08:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the easiest way is a simple distilation. The boiling point of methanol is 64.7 oC while that of ethanol is 74.8.
You will distill out methanol first and then ethanol. You can follow this easily by a temperature probe attached to distilation flask
2006-12-21 02:59:15 · answer #4 · answered by Bilge Khan 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋