Carbinol

Obsolete term for derivatives of methanol; see there.

Monohydric alcohol (also carbinol, methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood spirit) is a colourless, burning-tasting liquid with an unmistakable, sweetish odour. Although it differs significantly from ethanol (drinking alcohol), it can hardly be recognised in terms of taste due to superimposition with other aromatic substances in alcoholic beverages. The ancient Egyptians already produced methanol by pyrolysis (splitting of organic compounds by high temperatures from 200 °C) of wood and embalmed their dead with a substance mixture. The name "methylene" was given to it in 1834 by the French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugène-Melchior Péligot; it is composed of "méthy" for wine and "hylé" for wood. Methanol itself is of low toxicity, but its metabolic products are toxic, especially formaldehyde (methanal).

Methanol - Symbole leicht entzündlich, giftig und gesundheitsschädlich

Difference between methanol and ethanol

The chemical difference between the alcohol types ethanol and methanol is actually very small. Compared to methanol, ethanol only has a carbon chain that is one atom longer. Both alcohols are not toxic (in small quantities), but they have completely different rates of degradation after consumption. ADH (alcohol dehydrogenases) are involved in this process in the human body. While ethanol is first converted to acetaldehyde and then...

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Carbinol

Methanol

Difference between methanol and ethanol

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