Alcohol - History, Names, Properties, And Uses, Production, Reactions
carbon chemical alcohols
Alcohol is commonly thought of as either rubbing alcohol, the active ingredient in an alcoholic drink, or the additive that makes gasoline into gasohol. Chemists generalize its meaning to include almost any carbon-hydrogen compound with at least one hydroxyl group (symbolized as -OH) in its molecular structure. Categorized by the number and placement of the -OH groups, and the size and shape of the attached carbon molecule, alcohols are fundamental to organic chemical synthesis. The chemical industry produces and uses many different kinds of alcohols.
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Techniques for producing the first alcoholic beverages, beer and wine, were developed millennia ago by various Middle Eastern and Far Eastern cultures. The word alcohol is of Arabic derivation. Ancient Egyptian papyrus scrolls exist with directions for making beer from dates and other plant foods. The alcohol in these drinks was ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Pure alcohol could not be made at that time;…
The formal name of an alcohol tells the number of hydroxyl (-OH) groups and the number of carbon atoms in the molecule, the names of any other atoms, and the attachment of the atoms in the molecule, although many older names are still used. Most simple alcohols end with the -ol suffix, added to the name of the molecule that had the same number of carbon atoms, but with a hydrogen atom in place of …
Alcohols are produced industrially from petroleum, coal, or other natural products. The "cracking" of crude petroleum yields many lower-molecule-weight chemical compounds, including some starting materials for alcohols such as ethylene and propylene. Ethylene reacts with hot steam over a catalyst to yield ethanol directly. A process known as hydration produces isopropyl alcohol when …
The plastics industry is a major consumer of all types of alcohols, because they are intermediates in a large variety of polymer syntheses. The hydroxyl group is the part of an alcohol that makes the molecule relatively reactive and thus very useful in synthesis. Dozens of reactions are possible. Important esters made from ethanol include the insecticide malathion, the fragrance compound ethyl cin…
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User Comments
about 1 year ago
Godwin
what are the uses of alcohol
about 1 year ago
GODWIN
uses of alcohol
12 months ago
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about 1 year ago
Ellie
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about 1 year ago
By president of nava bharat party:This article helps us in anti alcohal mivement, please provide additional information.Thanking you.