Ethanol poisoning

Although it is the least toxic alcohol, ethanol is still a poisonous substance. When someone is suffering from a mild case of ethanol poisoning, we say that he or she is intoxicated. Animals often consume food that has fermented and contains alcohol. Their bodies must detoxify any alcohol in the food to keep it from building up in the blood and poisoning the brain. To detoxify ethanol, the liver produces an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). 

An elevated serum osmolality and an increased osmolal gap can be of diagnostic vaiue in acute ethanol poisoning. 

Cirrhosis Chronic liver disease caused by chronic ethanol poisoning. Other hepatox-icants may also cause cirrhosis. 

What are some of the alternatives for this procedure Well, one can use NaOH (lye) in place of KOH but the yields will go down. Also, what about using denatured alcohol instead of pure ethanol Denatured alcohol is ethanol contaminated with 5-10% methanol. The methanol is there because it is poisonous and prevents people from using the ethanol for drinking. This means that places like the giant hardware stores can carry gallons of cheap contaminated ethanol as many of you have discovered. This product CAN be used. 

Alkali AletalIodides. Potassium iodide [7681-11-0] KI, mol wt 166.02, mp 686°C, 76.45% I, forms colorless cubic crystals, which are soluble in water, ethanol, methanol, and acetone. KI is used in animal feeds, catalysts, photographic chemicals, for sanitation, and for radiation treatment of radiation poisoning resulting from nuclear accidents. Potassium iodide is prepared by reaction of potassium hydroxide and iodine, from HI and KHCO, or by electrolytic processes (107,108). The product is purified by crystallization from water (see also Feeds and feed additives Photography). 

The advent of a large international trade in methanol as a chemical feedstock has prompted additional purchase specifications, depending on the end user. Chlorides, which would be potential contaminants from seawater during ocean transport, are common downstream catalyst poisons likely to be excluded. Limitations on iron and sulfur can similarly be expected. Some users are sensitive to specific by-products for a variety of reasons. Eor example, alkaline compounds neutralize MTBE catalysts, and ethanol causes objectionable propionic acid formation in the carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid. Very high purity methanol is available from reagent vendors for small-scale electronic and pharmaceutical appHcations. 

Crystd from water or ethanol/ether. POISONOUS. 

Mercuric bromide [7789-47-1 ] M 360.4, m 238.1°. Crystd from hot saturated ethanolic soln, dried and kept at 100° for several hours under vacuum, then sublimed. POISONOUS. 

Potassium cyanide [15]-50-8 M 65.1, m 634 , d 1.52. A saturated solution in H20-ethanol (1 3) at 60° was filtered and cooled to room temperature. Absolute EtOH was added, with stirring, until crystallisation ceased. The solution was again allowed to cool to room temperature (during 2-3h) then the crystals were filtered off, washed with absolute EtOH, and dried, first at 70-80° for 2-3h, then at 105° for 2h [Brown, Adisesh and Taylor J Phys Chem 66 2426 7962]. Also purified by vacuum melting and zone refining. HIGHLY POISONOUS. 

Frequently, ethanol that is not destined for human consumption is denatured by adding small quantities of methanol or benzene. This avoids the high federal tax on beverage alcohol denatured alcohol is poisonous. 

Meredith TJ, Ruprah M, Liddle A, et al Diagnosis and treatment of acute poisoning with volatile substances. Hum Toxicol 8 277-286, 1989 Merry J, Zachariadis N Addiction to glue sniffing. Br Med J 5317 1448, 1962 Mihic SJ Acute effects of ethanol on GABAA and glycine receptor function. Neuro-chemint 35 115-123, 1999... 

Attempts to diminish the overall metabolism of trichloroethylene might be useful (e.g., hypothermia, mixed-function oxidase inhibitors, competitive inhibitors of trichloroethylene metabolism [i.e., P-450 substrates]), if instituted soon enough after trichloroethylene exposure. Catecholamines (especially beta agonists) act in concert with trichloroethylene, increasing the risk of cardiac arrhythmias. Hence, catecholamines should be administered to patients only in the lowest efficacious doses and for certain limited presentations of trichloroethylene poisoning. Ethanol should also be avoided because concurrent exposure to trichloroethylene and ethanol can cause vasodilation and malaise and may potentiate central nervous system depression at high dosage levels of either compound. 

Alcohols such as methanol and ethanol are readily available and are occasionally used despite significant disadvantages, such as low boiling points. During summer months significant amounts of alcohol can be lost due to evaporation. Such losses lead to costly replacement of the additive. Furthermore, alcohols have low flash points, which may cause safety problems. Moreover, methanol is highly poisonous. Therefore, the use of alcohols has ceased almost completely in recent years. 

Poisoning of platinum fuel cell catalysts by CO is undoubtedly one of the most severe problems in fuel cell anode catalysis. As shown in Fig. 6.1, CO is a strongly bonded intermediate in methanol (and ethanol) oxidation. It is also a side product in the reformation of hydrocarbons to hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and as such blocks platinum sites for hydrogen oxidation. Not surprisingly, CO electrooxidation is one of the most intensively smdied electrocatalytic reactions, and there is a continued search for CO-tolerant anode materials that are able to either bind CO weakly but still oxidize hydrogen, or that oxidize CO at significantly reduced overpotential. 

It is well established that the main products of ethanol electro-oxidation on Pt in acidic media are acetaldehyde and acetic acid, partial oxidation products that do not require C—C bond breaking, with their relative yields depending on the experimental conditions [Iwasita and Pastor, 1994]. Apart from the loss of efficiency associated with the partial oxidation, acetic acid is also unwanted, as it constitutes a catalyst poison. 

Gold is generally considered a poor electro-catalyst for oxidation of small alcohols, particularly in acid media. In alkaline media, however, the reactivity increases, which is related to that fact that no poisoning CO-hke species can be formed or adsorbed on the surface [Nishimura et al., 1989 Tremihosi-Filho et al., 1998]. Similar to Pt electrodes, the oxidation of ethanol starts at potentials corresponding to the onset of surface oxidation, emphasizing the key role of surface oxides and hydroxides in the oxidation process. The only product observed upon the electrooxidation of ethanol on Au in an alkaline electrolyte is acetate, the deprotonated form of acetic acid. The lack of carbon dioxide as a reaction product again suggests that adsorbed CO-like species are an essential intermediate in CO2 formation. 

Cyanide poisoning (e.g., nitroprusside), methanol, ethanol, and ethylene glycol... 

During basic hydrolysis of VX up to about 10% of the agent if converted to EA2191 (diisopropylaminoethyl methylphos-phonothioic acid). Based on the concentration of EA2192 expected to be formed during hydrolysis and its toxicity (1.4 mg/kg dermal in rabbit at 24 h in a 10/90% by wt ethanol/water solution), a Class B poison would result. 

---