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Physical Properties

Appearance and Properties: Colorless liquid with a characteristic odor.

Melting point: -114℃

Density: 0.79 g/cm3

Boiling point: 78℃

Volatile: Volatile [1]

Refractive index: 1.3611 (20℃)

Saturated vapor pressure: 5.33 kPa (19℃)

Heat of combustion: 1365.5 kJ/mol

Critical temperature: 243.1℃

Critical pressure: 6.38 MPa

Logarithm of octanol/water partition coefficient: 0.32

Flash point: 12℃ (open cup)

Upper explosive limit (V/V): 19.0%

Lower explosive limit (V/V): 3.3%

Ignition temperature: 363℃

Solubility: Miscible with water in any ratio, miscible with most organic solvents such as ether, chloroform, and glycerol

Chemical properties

1. Elimination reaction: Ethanol is rapidly heated to 170℃ under concentrated sulfuric acid conditions to produce ethylene. Concentrated sulfuric acid acts as a dehydrating agent and catalyst. 2. Substitution reaction: Ethanol reacts with hydrobromic acid under heating conditions to produce bromoethane and water.

3. Intermolecular dehydration: Ethanol, heated to 140°C in concentrated sulfuric acid, produces diethyl ether and water.

4. Esterification reaction: Ethanol reacts with carboxylic acids under heating in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid to produce the corresponding ester compounds.

5. Reaction with metallic sodium: Ethanol reacts with metallic sodium to produce sodium ethoxide and hydrogen gas.

6. Reaction with strong oxidizing agents: Ethanol reacts with acidic potassium permanganate solution or acidic potassium dichromate solution to be oxidized to acetic acid.

Uses and Applications

Ethanol is an important organic solvent, widely used in medicine, coatings, hygiene products, cosmetics, oils, and other fields, accounting for approximately 50% of total ethanol consumption. Ethanol is an important basic chemical raw material used to manufacture acetaldehyde, ethylene, ethylamine, ethyl acetate, acetic acid, chloroethane, and many other products. It also gives rise to numerous intermediates in pharmaceuticals, dyes, coatings, fragrances, synthetic rubber, detergents, pesticides, and other products, with over 300 different derivatives. However, the use of ethanol as a chemical intermediate is gradually declining; many products, such as acetaldehyde and acetic acid, no longer use ethanol as a raw material but instead use other alternatives. A 75% aqueous solution of ethanol has strong bactericidal properties and is a commonly used disinfectant. Specially refined ethanol can also be used in beverage manufacturing. Similar to methanol, ethanol can be used as an energy source. Some countries have begun using ethanol alone as automotive fuel or blending it into gasoline (at least 10%) to save gasoline.