Comparative characteristics of methyl and ethyl alcohol. Ways to distinguish methanol from ethanol at home

There are several ways to distinguish ethanol from industrial alcohol at home. This does not require special equipment, fixtures, devices (with the exception of a thermometer).

Sample heating

After heating alcohol in a metal container on the fire of a home stove burner, it is necessary to measure the boiling point of the liquid. At ethyl alcohol it is higher - (78С), the technical analogue is lower (64С).

Copper wire testing

Now it is not the test sample that will have to be heated, but the copper wire. To increase the contact area, it is better to roll it into a spiral.

Heating is necessary until white or black, so that copper oxide begins to stand out.

The red-hot wire is lowered into a liquid, the nature of which is determined by the smell: methanol has bad smell, ethyl alcohol smells like an apple (rotten, but distinguishable).

Chemical reaction method for manganese

For this test, you need a transparent container in which alcohol is placed. A few drops of potassium permanganate (or crystals) will cause a vinegar smell without bubbles in drinking alcohol. In methanol, the reaction will begin with the release of gases (bubbles).

Iodine reaction

You will need water heated to 50C, alkali (sodium hydroxide), a drop of iodine, alcohol. When mixing all the components in drinking alcohol, iodoform (yellow precipitate) should appear. In industrial alcohol, such a reaction is impossible - there will be no precipitate.

long-term way

In methyl alcohol, a raw peeled potato turns pink AFTER A FEW hours, but in drinking alcohol it does not change color.

All of these methods can only be used to clean products. They are not suitable for their mixture. A person risks going blind from the use of methanol.

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Any modern strong and light alcohol in detailed chemical analysis, it is a mixture various additives: water, fragrances, herbal derivatives, natural or chemical dyes and the nth content of ethyl alcohol.

Exactly this species is the main one for medical applications or use as food additive or the production of quality alcohol.

Its relative, methyl alcohol, is technical and is used in the falsification of alcohol production, in other words, in the manufacture of surrogates.

And if the first type of alcohol in a reasonable amount is harmless to humans, then methanol is a poison in pure form fatal even at low doses. How to distinguish between two types of alcohol and not fall victim to unscrupulous manufacturers - we will figure it out further.

Methanol is a technical type of alcohol that can be mixed with water in absolutely any proportions and for appearance will not differ from ethyl alcohol unless it is examined in more detail.

The properties and characteristics of methanol include:

lack of color
ease of ignition;
taste characteristics and smell are identical with ethanol;
the ability to dissolve and interact not only with water, but also in organic solvents - complex ethers and benzene;
boils when heated to 64 degrees.

Reference. The production of methanol occurred during the processing of dry wood products at the end of the 19th century.

In the 20s of the 20th century, methanol began to be synthesized and produced on an industrial scale.

Formula

From the point of view of chemistry, methyl () alcohol is monoatomic, has properties like a weak acid, and as a result of interaction with water vapor (in the presence of a catalyst), it gives carbon dioxide and a mixture of hydrogen.

When this mixture is purified from the carbon dioxide component, almost pure (98%) hydrogen is obtained. When interacting with acids, it forms ester mixtures, and with metals such as sodium, potassium and others - methylates.

classical chemical formula methanol will CH3OH, the molecular weight corresponds to the characteristic 32 mol, the density of the substance is about 0.7918 cm3. In addition to boiling when heated to 64 degrees Celsius, the substance will melt when the temperature reaches 97 degrees.

How to check?

If in appearance and smell methanol practically does not differ from alcohol with an ethyl derivative, how can you recognize it and not expose yourself to negative effects?

First of all, buy only high-quality alcohol from trusted manufacturers that have all the necessary documentation and licenses. If you drink medical alcohol or purchased at a distillery, then this is definitely harmless alcohol and the matter will depend on the quantity, not the quality of the drink.

Secondly try to set fire a small amount of drink - a surrogate, life-threatening, will give a green flame.

Finally, if you doubt the origin of the sample, send it to a chemical laboratory for study.

Can you drink methanol?

Is any dose of methanol harmful to humans, is it still possible to drink it and in what quantity?

Drinking between 30 and 100 grams of methanol (depending on the physical characteristics of consumers) will be fatal. If the person survived, then in any case, methanol, as the strongest poison, has already had an effect on the human body.

A person who has used methyl alcohol has irreversible processes in the nervous system, blood vessels and organs of vision, up to complete blindness. No wonder methanol was originally used as a fuel, but even here, due to its characteristics, it did not give a particularly significant effect.

How to distinguish methyl alcohol from ethyl alcohol?

If you can’t afford to study the properties of an alcohol sample in a laboratory, but you want to know what type of alcohol in a glass is methanol or ethyl alcohol, there are several effective folk ways to help determine this:

Set fire to the liquid. We have already said that a small portion of methanol burns in green, ethyl alcohol will give blue shades of the flame. The test can be carried out at home by pouring a small amount of alcohol in a saucer, or by setting fire to a Q-tip soaked in an alcohol solution of the sample. Important point! The purity of the reaction will be 100% if no additives are present in the methanol sample.
We clean potatoes. A small piece of purified fresh potatoes must be thrown for several hours in an existing alcohol sample. If subsequently a piece of vegetable turns pink, then you have dangerous methanol, if it is blue, then harmless ethyl alcohol is in the sample.
Heat up the sample. If you have a thermometer with a scale of up to +100 degrees, you can determine the purity and type of alcohol by heating it. In a metal container, it is necessary to heat the sample and measure. For methyl alcohol, it is 64 degrees, for ethyl alcohol - 78.
Check the reaction to soda and potassium permanganate. In a transparent container, mix a sample of alcohol and a small amount of baking soda, then add a drop of iodine. If, after mixing the derivatives, the liquid turned cloudy and gave a precipitate, then the sample contains ethyl alcohol, if it changed color, but remained transparent, it is methyl alcohol. A similar "color" experiment can be carried out with manganese crystals - the resulting solution of alcohol and a small amount of potassium permanganate must be heated. If even at a low temperature you see the appearance of gas bubbles - the sample is dangerous methanol.
formaldehyde test. To perform this simple experiment, you will need a sample of thin copper wire. If you heat it on fire and lower it into a vessel with a sample of alcohol, you can feel or not a pungent smell by type apple cider vinegar. If it appeared, then the smell of formalin gave poisonous methanol, if the liquid is odorless, then it is ethyl alcohol.
Lang test. Another simple experiment using potassium permanganate. About 50 ml of an alcohol sample and a couple of grams of potassium permanganate are added to a metal container. We preheat the alcohol slightly and pour in a purple solution of potassium permanganate diluted in distilled water. With thorough mixing, the mixture, having reached a temperature of 18-20 degrees, will begin to change its color to yellow-pink. All you have to do is watch how quickly the color of the mixture changes. The better the quality of the drink, the longer this process takes. For example, medical ethyl alcohol will discolor in about 10 minutes.

Important. The experiments performed cannot guarantee the purity of the experiment 100%, since ethyl and methyl alcohol are rarely found in their pure form, without additives and impurities.

There are not only drinks with additives, but also some "mysterious" formulations where ethanol can mask methanol.

Symptoms of methanol and ethanol poisoning

Intoxication with ethyl and methyl alcohol also differs in its symptoms.

Classic ethyl alcohol poisoning is characterized by headaches, nausea, dizziness, and stomach upset.

A person is simply “turned away” from the further use of alcohol - any repeated attempt at a libation causes nausea even from the smell of the drink.

A person can turn away not only from drinking alcohol, but even from food until the moment when the symptoms of intoxication do not pass.

Methanol gives the following signs of poisoning:

general weakness and malaise;
sharp severe pain in the abdomen;
heaviness when breathing, the appearance of acute pain in the chest area;
a strong manifestation and extinction of a headache for a certain period of time;
the most obvious sign - a violation of the functions of vision - begins with a blurring of the contours of objects, it can end in complete blindness, photophobia and a significant dilation of the pupils.

First aid

Any poisoning is an unpleasant phenomenon for the human body, but if these are the consequences of using methanol, hospitalization and death are possible.

Therefore, if there is the slightest chance that a person has poisoned himself with methyl alcohol, you should immediately call an ambulance and carry out a series of actions on your own:

As soon as possible, make the victim gastric lavage. The absorption of methanol into the blood is quite slow, so this method can slow down pernicious influence methanol. Add to liter warm water a couple of crystals of potassium permanganate until the solution reaches a pale pink color. Let the victim drink the mixture in one gulp to induce a gag reflex.
Try to knock out a "wedge with a wedge" - drinking 50-100 grams of ethyl alcohol will help remove methanol from the body.
With quality medical care, hemodialysis should be performed.

Arriving doctors can not only provide the necessary assistance, but also prescribe appropriate treatment - at home or within the hospital. In any case, action should not be neglected, as even small doses of methanol can be fatal.

Alcohol poisoning, which leads to blindness or death, most often occurs due to ignorance of how to distinguish methyl alcohol from ethyl alcohol. In 2012, mass poisoning with counterfeit alcohol occurred in the Czech Republic. The event received great publicity due to the number of victims: 38 people died (the youngest was 16 years old), more than 50 received serious health problems, of which 7 became blind, and three had a significantly disrupted nervous system. The tragedy repeated itself in Russia in new year's eve 2016: employees of one of the fish processing plants, having discovered an ownerless container with liquid, decided to drink it. As a result, three people died immediately, the remaining 8 people were hospitalized in serious condition.

Methanol and its action

The culprit of fatal poisoning and disability - (or industrial alcohol, methanol). Poisonous liquid is practically no different from food product, they can be easily confused.

Methyl alcohol is used in industry:

To obtain formaldehyde;
In the paint and varnish industry for the production of solvents;
As a component of windscreen cleaning fluid for cars;
As an additive in engine fuel.

Also, racing cars and motorcycles are filled with methyl alcohol.

It is almost impossible to distinguish ethyl (food) alcohol from its technical counterpart. Both liquids belong to the group of monohydric alcohols. The color and taste are the same, there is a slight difference in the smell: in methyl it is slightly less pronounced.

But it is unlikely that someone who is not a specialist can "smell" the difference. Therefore, fatal errors occur so often when drinking alcohol.

However, there are cases of conscious use of methyl. In some people, due to the resistance of the body, drinking poisonous alcohol passes without a trace, which is the source of false rumors about the alleged harmlessness of methanol.

In fact, methyl is the strongest poison that can best case crippled, and at worst - will lead to death. After entering the gastrointestinal tract, industrial alcohol begins to have a toxic effect after an hour: the victim receives a narcotic effect that has nothing to do with ordinary intoxication. A particular danger when taking methanol is that it is slower than food alcohol decomposition process: the speed is 5-6 times lower.

First, methanol decomposes to formaldehyde, which then transforms into formic acid. Part of it reacts with proteins, violating biochemical processes in the retina of the eye. As a result, the person becomes blind. Formic acid, being long time in the body, is the cause of severe acidosis. And undecomposed methanol neutralizes many vital important processes: affects hemoglobin and cell constituents. As a result, the supply of tissues with oxygen stops, hypoxia occurs.

Signs of poisoning and measures of assistance

The decay products of methyl alcohol remain in the body for 3-4 days, are excreted very slowly: 60% is excreted during breathing and only approximately 10% in the urine. The kidneys remove methanol on average within three days, formic acid - even longer - about a week.

The severity of the consequences of poisoning depends on the dose taken and the strength of the body. To get poisoned, it is not necessary only to drink adulterated alcohol. It is enough to inhale vapors or allow close contact with the skin. Symptoms of intoxication appear 7-12 hours after drinking. The main symptom is visual impairment: a veil, flickering flies. If you do not take action in time, the person will go blind.

Poisoning can be recognized by:

Weakness, nausea and vomiting;
Blueness of the skin and mucous membranes;
Difficulty breathing;
severe headache;
convulsions;
Tachycardia.

To prevent drinking from turning into a tragedy, you must remember:

Do not drink suspicious liquid;
Do not drink in the company of strangers;
Buy alcohol only in licensed stores.

If, nevertheless, an accident has occurred, it is necessary to call an ambulance as soon as possible, and also take independent measures:

Induce vomiting, do gastric lavage;
Give activated charcoal.

The antidote of methyl alcohol is food grade. Therefore, it is recommended to drink the victim with ethyl alcohol or inject it intravenously.

But this should be done only with absolute certainty that the cause of the ailment is methanol poisoning. Otherwise, confusing the state with the usual intoxication with vodka, you can aggravate the situation of the victim.

How to test methyl alcohol

Due to the almost one hundred percent similarity of the two liquids, it is very difficult to determine by eye which of them is poisonous. Especially if you do it at home.

However, there are several ways to identify poison:

With copper wire. It is necessary to twist a thin copper rod into a spiral and heat it white on fire. Then lower it into a bowl with the liquid being tested, and, taking it out, sniff the fumes, making forward movements with your hand towards your nose. Methyl alcohol will give itself out as an unpleasant, pungent smell of formaldehyde. A slight smell of rotten apples will come from ethyl.
You can determine methyl alcohol at home by boiling point. Pour the liquid into a metal vessel and heat it over a fire. As soon as it starts to boil, lower the special thermometer and check the readings. The boiling point of methanol is almost 65 °, more precisely - 64.7 ° C. Ethyl alcohol has a higher boiling point - 78.4 ° C.
It is easy to recognize methyl alcohol by the flame - what color it will burn. Pour liquid into two metal bowls and set on fire. Poisonous methyl alcohol burns greenish, while ethyl alcohol will be bluish.
If you are afraid of experience with fire, it is possible to test the liquid with the help of potatoes. Immerse a piece of peeled root crop for several hours in the test liquid. Changed color and became pinkish - in front of you is methyl alcohol, remained unchanged - in a bowl of food.

However, it should be remembered that all such experiments are possible only for concentrated pure liquids. It is impossible to determine the presence of methanol in the mixture. There is only one proven method for this: if the origin of the liquid that smells of alcohol is unclear, it should never be drunk.

Everything happens mainly due to inattention or carelessness. Only a few can risk playing Russian roulette with him. If you want to keep your eyesight and stay alive, remember that you can't drink everything that burns. It is necessary to check the origin of the drink by conducting simple experiments. If they do not help, throw away the bottle without regret. Remember about health!

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The question of how to distinguish technical methyl alcohol from medical ethyl alcohol is, without exaggeration, vital. History knows cases of mass severe methanol poisoning when using counterfeit alcoholic beverages with a fatal outcome, because it is the strongest poison. Despite the absence of external and taste differences, methanol can be recognized by special tests and poisoning can be avoided.

The composition of medical alcohol (ethyl)

Ethyl alcohol can be consumed orally in a diluted form, it is an organic substance consisting of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. It is a simple monohydric alcohol, that is, with one OH hydroxyl group, its chemical formula is CH 3 CH 2 OH.

According to its physical properties, ethanol is a colorless transparent liquid with a characteristic pungent odor and burning taste, lighter than water, with a density of 0.7893 g / cm 3 (1 liter of ethyl alcohol \u003d 789 grams by weight), a boiling point of 78.39 ° C. It dissolves well in water, attaching its molecules to itself, easily mixes with many substances, entering into chemical reactions with them, which makes it a solvent. organic matter, including fats.

Ethanol finds application in chemical production, is used as rocket fuel, and is widely used in medicine, food, perfumery and cosmetics industry, and in everyday life. According to the effect on the body, ethyl alcohol (ethanol, wine alcohol, medical alcohol) is classified as a drug, and its decay products are moderately toxic to all organs.

Alcohol is highly flammable, flammable in the presence of oxygen and burns with a blue flame. Volatility is also characteristic - a high ability to evaporate if it is stored in leaky containers. Its vapors mixed with oxygen are an explosive mixture.

Composition and properties of methanol

Methyl alcohol (methanol, wood alcohol, methyl hydrate) is the simplest monohydric alcohol, its formula is CH 3 OH. Refers to chemical contaminants - potent active substances that pose a threat to the body. External signs of methanol - a clear, colorless liquid that has the smell of alcohol, but is weaker, and has a pungent taste.

In terms of physical properties, it differs little from ethyl alcohol, has the same specific gravity, mixes well with water, is very volatile, but already boils at a temperature of 60 ° C. Its chemical properties are distinguished by high activity and the ability to form toxic compounds, and when decomposed in the body, release a very toxic substance - formaldehyde.

In Russia, it is forbidden to use methanol in household chemicals, in the perfumery and cosmetics industry due to its high toxicity, which exceeds ethyl alcohol by several hundred times.

Methanol is widely used in various industries as a fuel, solvent, for the synthesis of various substances (formalin, formic acid), in gas production, and for the manufacture of denatured alcohol.

How to distinguish methyl alcohol from ethyl

Ethyl and methyl alcohol have an identical appearance, and on this basis they cannot be distinguished. The different intensity of the alcohol smell also does not guarantee that they can be distinguished. In alcoholic beverages, especially counterfeit ones, various impurities and flavorings are often added, which are an obstacle to distinguishing the smell, and it is impossible to focus on it.

Differences between methanol and ethanol are significant in terms of chemical properties, this allows you to determine what is contained in an alcoholic beverage. The laboratory method is the most accurate, but There are simple physical and chemical tests that can be used at home:

Ignition method: moisten a cotton swab with medical alcohol, the other with methyl alcohol, set it on fire on a saucer and compare the color of the flame, methyl alcohol will burn in color not pure blue, but with a greenish tint.
Boil method: put the liquid on the stove in a small container, do not lower the thermometer, methanol boils at 60 ° C, ethyl alcohol at 79 ° C.
Wire Definition: lower the red-hot copper wire into the liquid under study, the reaction with methyl alcohol is accompanied by a pungent unpleasant smell of formalin, this does not happen with ethanol.
potato sample: a plate of peeled potatoes is placed in a container with alcohol for 2-3 hours. The pinkish color of the potato indicates the presence of methyl alcohol.
Manganese test: add potassium permanganate at the tip of a knife to a glass with a drink. Rapid evolution of gas bubbles indicates the presence of methyl alcohol. If the drink contains ordinary drinking alcohol, gas will not be released, but a vinegary smell will appear.

All these home methods are good if the container contains pure alcohol, but as for drinks, the alcohol content in them ranges from 10 to 45 °, and that's it. listed tests may not be so pronounced as to be sure of their safety.

It is more reliable to purchase alcoholic beverages in trusted, high-rated markets, whose products are subject to regular control. And in order to have reliable information about the seller of the drink, the Russian Federal Service for Market Regulation alcoholic beverages developed and released free app Anti-Counterfeit Alco for mobile phones.

This is a program that contains all the information about legal sellers of alcohol with a license. In fact, it scans all excise stamps. Other similar applications are the Alcohol Scanner and EGAIS checking checks that scan product QR codes and excise stamps. They can be found and downloaded through the GooglePlay app.

Lethal doses of both types of alcohol

Ethyl or medical alcohol is a psychotropic substance that has a depressing effect on the central nervous system. Its decomposition products are toxic substances - acetaldehyde and acetic acid. A lethal outcome can occur with an overdose both from the first exposure to directly pure alcohol, and from the toxic effect of its decay products.

This
healthy
know!

The lethal dose may vary, depending on the state of the nervous and cardiovascular systems , the quality of the neutralizing function of the liver and the excretory function of the kidneys. That is, in unhealthy people, it can be half as much. The average value for adults is 5 or more ppm, for children 3-4, for adolescents 4-4.8, where a ppm unit means the amount of pure alcohol in 1 liter of blood.

As for methyl alcohol, it does not so much cause intoxication as a toxic effect prevails, because its decay products are formaldehyde and formic acid - deadly poisons for the body. For an adult, taking about 10 ml causes dangerous poisoning, and death can occur if 80 or more ml of ethanol is drunk, that is, 1-2 ml per 1 kg of weight. This amount may also vary, depending on the state of health.

Is it possible to use ethanol and methanol

It so happened that ethyl alcohol in the composition various drinks mankind has been using since the Neolithic period and up to today. Doctors note beneficial features small amounts of alcohol to prevent atherosclerosis, stimulate the immune system. Many medical preparations are prepared on alcohol - tinctures, extracts, extracts.

Medicine does not know cases of death from rare and moderate alcohol consumption. Addiction to alcohol inevitably leads to the destruction of health and death. So it's just a matter of dose. In its pure form, medical alcohol (ethyl), if necessary, it is permissible to use in small quantities, but always diluted by half with water, so as not to cause burns to the mucous membranes.

Methyl alcohol is the most dangerous poison, its use is unacceptable- neither in its pure form, nor as part of denatured alcohol or other liquids. Medical drinking alcohol is freely available in the pharmacy and distribution network, but methyl alcohol and products containing it are not produced for free sale to the public.

What we are accustomed to calling alcohol or the more familiar concepts of “cognac”, “wine”, “tequila”, vodka and “beer”, at a deep chemical level, is a carefully adjusted mixture of ethyl alcohol with various aromatic or coloring additives. Ethyl alcohol, also known as drinking, food or medical, also known as ethanol, which is also a substance with the chemical formula C2H5OH, underlies all alcoholic beverages - but not surrogates. A surrogate drink is created on the basis of another substance from the same chemical-organic group, the name of which is methanol (methyl alcohol, formula CH3OH). It is a pure poison for the body, so being able to distinguish it at home from relatively safe ethanol can be vital.

Alcohol at the chemical level is a verified mixture of ethyl alcohol with various aromatic or coloring additives.

All right

Ethyl alcohol is not just called drinking or food - its ingestion does not have devastating consequences for the body, unless, of course, the use is reasonable and moderate. Ethanol in small doses has a stimulating effect on the human nervous system, inhibits the production of hormones that affect the inhibitory centers of the brain, and has a narcotic effect. With excessive passion, a person develops addiction.

The scope of ethanol is very wide:

alcohol industry;
cosmetics and cleaning products;
paint and varnish products;
pharmaceutical industry;
production of cosmetic and household cleaning products;
medical products.

In addition, ethanol is used as a substitute for fuel, that is, it is a means that is widespread and firmly established in the life of every person.

Methanol or methyl (technical) alcohol is the purest poison for human body, and the negative impact is guaranteed after its use in the amount of more than 30-50 gr. This alcohol is mainly used in industry:

in the production of organic dyes and glass;
when creating artificial silk;
in the production of solvents and various technical compositions.

There are other areas of ethanol exploitation, the harm of which is not the most important for the consumer - alcohol. It is strictly forbidden to produce alcoholic beverages based on methyl alcohol due to its toxicity, but this does not stop unscrupulous manufacturers, as a result of which every year in Russia methanol takes responsibility for 60% of all fatal poisoning.

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Indistinguishable in appearance

Ethanol and methanol are very difficult to identify at home by the look and smell alone. Food alcohol, medical alcohol and technical alcohol are colorless substances with similar taste and smell (methyl has a less saturated aroma). Those who want to distinguish methanol from ethanol can be advised to conduct a small and simple experiment: take the liquid under study and peeled potatoes, which will have to be immersed in alcohol for several hours. If over time the tuber turns pink, dangerous methyl alcohol is available, but if it turns blue or remains unchanged, it is food, medical, that is, ethyl alcohol.

And if distinguishing drinking alcohol from technical is not as important as checking the quality of alcohol, you can conduct a study called the Lang test.

You need to take 50 ml of alcohol poured for analysis into a container suitable for constant heating, as well as 2 ml of a solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). The solution can be prepared by diluting 0.2 g of the powder in distilled water.
Alcohol must be warmed to 18 ° C, then pour the manganese solution into it and mix thoroughly.
Next, the countdown starts for the time it takes for the mixture to change its color from purple to yellow-pink.

The Lang index, that is, an indicator of the quality level of alcohol, is the higher, the longer the process of changing the color of the investigated liquid lasts. As experiments show, the Lang test is considered "passed" if the process of discoloration of the medical, drinking alcohol walked for at least 10 minutes.

A few simple experiments

There are several elementary experiments during which even at home it is possible to differentiate methanol from ethanol.

The liquid for research should be poured into a metal container and heated. It is necessary to measure the temperature of alcohol at the moment of boiling - ethanol boils at 78 ° C, technical methanol already at 64 ° C.
A copper wire heated on fire should be lowered into cold medical alcohol - if during the reaction of interaction of copper oxide with aldehyde the smell of rotten apples (vinegar) arises, then ethyl alcohol is being examined, if the liquid emits an unpleasant, pungent odor (formalin vapor), it is methyl alcohol.
In a small amount of alcohol should be thrown a little baking soda, thoroughly mix it and see if a precipitate forms in the liquid. An insoluble yellow precipitate precipitates during the reaction of iodine with ethanol, methanol remains pure and transparent.
You should throw "potassium permanganate" on the tip of a knife into the alcohol under study and heat the solution to see if gas bubbles form. This allows you to determine methyl alcohol.

Important: all of the above methods make it possible to identify pure ethyl and methyl alcohols with a greater or lesser degree of accuracy. All kinds of mixtures, as well as full-fledged ones, cannot be explored by such experiments. The only way to get confidence in the content of drinkable alcohol is to purchase licensed drinks in reliable stores.

Do not think that carrying out the activities described above with 100% accuracy will help to avoid the danger of methanol poisoning. There are mixtures of alcohols in which pure medical ethyl "masks" the addition of technical methyl, there are drinks with such additives that they literally "jam" those signs of methanol that should be noticeable during checks. If there is at least some doubt about the origin and quality of the performance of alcohol, it is better to refuse to use it.