Alcohol Specifications

European Union

Ethanol Denaturants
22 November 1993

Please note: The text below is copied directly from the original, without correcting what appears to be factual and typographical errors.

The denaturants which are employed in each Member State for the purposes of completely denaturing alcohol in accordance with Article 27 (1) (a) of Directive 92/83/EEC are as described below:

Belgium

Five litres of methylene per 100 litres of ethyl alcohol irrespective of the alcoholic strength and sufficient colourant to produce a good markable blue or purple (violet) colour.

The following are included within the meaning of "methylene":

• actual methylene, that is to say raw methyl alcohol produced from the dry distillation of wood and containing at least 10 % by weight of acetone,
• a mixture of methylene and methanol containing at least 60 % by weight of actual methylene and 10 % by weight of acetone,
• a mixture of methanol, acetone and pyrogenetic impurities with a strong empyreumatic colour, containing at least 10 % by weight of acetone.

Denmark

Per hectolitre pure alcohol:

•  2 litres methylethylketone, and
•  3 litres methylisobutylketone.

Germany

Per hectolitre pure alcohol:

1) 0.75 litres methylethylketone, consisting of

• 95 to 96 % by weight of methylethylketone,
• 2.5 to 3 % by weight of methylisopropylketone,
• 1.5 to 2 % by weight of ethylisoamylketone (5-methyl-3-heptanon)
  together with 0.25 litres of pyridine bases;

2) One litre methylethylketone, consisting of

• 95 to 96 % by weight of methylethylketone,
• 2.5 to 3 % by weight of methylisopropylketone,
• 1.5 to 2 % by weight of ethylisoamylketone (5-methyl-3-heptanon),
  together with one gram denatonium benzoate.

Greece

Five litres of methyl alcohol per hectolitre of impure ethyl alcohol, plus:

• 0.5 % lamp oil,
• 4 p.p.m methylene blue,
• 1 % oil of turpentine.

Spain

Per hectolitre of pure alcohol:

• 1 gram denatonium benzoate,
• 2 litres methylethylketone (butanone), and
• 0.2 grams methylene blue (CI basic blue 52015).

France

To one hectolitre ethyl alcohol at 90 % vol add:

• 3.5 litres of methylene, and
• 1 litre of isopropyl alcohol.

"Regie type" - methylene

Definition:

• it must register 90 % vol at a temperature of 20°C, with a tolerance of 0.5,
• it must contain at least 6 % pyrogenic impurities (disregarding products that can be saponified by soda and expressed as methyl acetate),
• it must contain ketones and water to bring the methyl alcohol up to 100,
• it must be obtained exclusively from the carbonization of wood, carried out under the supervision of the tax authorities.

The pyrogenic impurities are the real denaturants. They give the mixture an unpleasant taste, making the alcohol unfit for oral consumption.

Through its chemical properties, acetone makes it easier, in the laboratory, to isolate the denaturant in the alcohol.

Lastly, methyl alcohol indicates denaturation. Its boiling point is much the same as that of ethyl alcohol. It can therefore be separated only by using special techniques and apparatus.

In principal, its presence, above a certain percentage, which varies according to the different types of ethyl alcohol, indicates whether the alcohol analysed has been previously denatured by the general process.

Ireland

Mineralized methylated spirits:

• 9.5 % wood naphtha,
• 0.5 % crude pyridine,
• 0.025 ounce methyl violet dye (per 100 gallons of pure ethyl alcohol),
• 0.375 % petroleum oil.

NB: The wood naphtha and crude pyridine may be substituted with 10 % methyl alcohol.

Italy

Per hectolitre of pure alcohol:

• 125 grams of tiofene,
• 0.8 grams of denatonium benzoate,
• 0.4 grams of CI acid red 51 (red colourant),
• 2 litres of methylethylketone

Luxembourg

Five litres methylene per hectolitre of ethyl alcohol irrespective of the alcoholic strength and sufficient colourant to produce a good markable blue or purple (violet) colour.

The following are included within the meaning of "methylene":

• actual methylene, that is to say raw methyl alcohol produced from the dry distillation of wood and containing at least 10 % by weight of acetone,
• a mixture of methylene and methanol containing at least 60 % by weight of actual methylene and 10 % by weight of acetone,
• a mixture of methanol, acetone and pyrogenetic impurities with a strong empyreumatic odour, containing at least 10 % by weight of acetone.

Netherlands

Per hectolitre of ethyl alcohol:

Five litres of a mixture consisting of:

• 60 % by volume of methanol,
• 11 % by volume of fusel oil (a concentrate of by-products of alcohol distillation),
• 20 % by volume of acetone,
• 8   % by volume of water,
• 0.5 % by volume of butanol,
• 0.5 % by volume of formalin (a watery solution of 37 % by weight of formaldehyde),

together with colouring the quantity and constituents of which meet the conditions laid down by the chemist of the Fiscal Service.

United Kingdom

Base:

• 90 % vol ethanol,
• 9.5 % vol "wood naphtha" (¹), and
• 0.5 % vol crude pyridine.

To each 1,000 litres of which is added:

• 3.75 litres of mineral naphtha (petroleum oil) and
• 1.5 p.p.m of methyl violet.

(¹) Wood naphtha is a product which may be synthetic but must produce such properties as to render a mixture of 5 % wood naphtha with 95 % spirits unfit for use as a beverage. This is achieved by producing a relatively complex but stable "cocktail" of substances which cannot be easily removed from the spirits.

Composition of "wood naptha":
There is no prescriptive list of ingredients, but some or all of the following are found in approved synthetic wood naptha:

• pyridine,
• pyridine bases,
• allyl alcohol,
• crotenaldehyde,
• picolene,
• denatonium benzoate,
• methyl alcohol.

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