Question

What is denatured spirit?

Answer 1

Hint- In order to solve the question, we will first understand what is denatured spirit made up of and how is it made. Further we will see the reason behind the use of denatured spirit and also the uses of denatured spirit.

Complete answer:
Denatured alcohol, also known as methylated spirits or denatured rectified spirits, is ethanol that incorporates additives such as methyl alcohol and pyridine to make it toxic, sensitive, odorless or nauseating, to prevent recreational usage.
Denatured alcohol is sometimes referred to as methylated alcohol. For the production of alcoholic beverages alcohol or ethyl alcohol is used. Government has levied high excise duty on the manufacturing and selling of alcoholic drinks to regulate its production and consumption. But the alcohol used for other purposes like varnish preparation, spirit lamp fuel, etc., is cheaper and duty-free.
It is made unfit for drinking by adding some poisonous substances to it to prevent misuse of industrial alcohol. Substances like methyl alcohol and pyridine are added to the alcohol and it is known as methylated spirit or denatured spirit.

Note- Denatured alcohol is used as solvent for alcohol burners and camping stoves, and as fuel. Hundreds of additives and denaturing methods have been used, due to the diversity of industrial uses for denatured alcohol. Alcohol's effectiveness as an antibacterial or antifungal disinfectant increases with increasing molecular weight. Denatured ethanol is known to be more effective as a virucidal disinfectant because isopropanol is not effective against viruses that are not enveloped.