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Why is propanol better cleaner than ethanol?
"David Peters" wrote in message ... Why is isopropyl alcohol (propanol) reckoned by many people to be a better general cleaner around the house than the ethyl alcohol (ethanol) which is found in methylated spirits? Thanks for any info. David ------ FOOTNOTE: I can add that here in the UK the main type of denatured alcohol we can buy for home use is "methylated spirits" and in the UK this is made up almost entirely of ethyl alcohol. http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1987/Uks...n_5.htm#mdiv14 I know that in the US denatured alcohol is not necessarily made of ethyl alcohol. This can lead to confusion about what someone is referring to, so for clarity I can repeat that I am referring to UK meths/ethanol. ] I strongly suspect that the cleaning power of ethanol vs. propanol depends on the nature of the dirt being removed. While it is an oversimplification, think of dirt as being either water soluble or oil soluble. Ethanol (two carbons and one hydroxyl group) will be more effective in removing water soluble dirt, while propanol (three carbons and one hydroxyl) will be more effective at removing grease (oil like substances). Lighter fuel is very effective at removing grease, but is even is more fire hazard than the alcohols. Ernie |
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On Fri, 3 Jun 2005 11:32:03 -0400, "Ernie"
wrote: "David Peters" wrote in message ... Why is isopropyl alcohol (propanol) reckoned by many people to be a better general cleaner around the house than the ethyl alcohol (ethanol) which is found in methylated spirits? Thanks for any info. David ------ FOOTNOTE: I can add that here in the UK the main type of denatured alcohol we can buy for home use is "methylated spirits" and in the UK this is made up almost entirely of ethyl alcohol. http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1987/Uks...n_5.htm#mdiv14 I know that in the US denatured alcohol is not necessarily made of ethyl alcohol. This can lead to confusion about what someone is referring to, so for clarity I can repeat that I am referring to UK meths/ethanol. ] I strongly suspect that the cleaning power of ethanol vs. propanol depends on the nature of the dirt being removed. While it is an oversimplification, think of dirt as being either water soluble or oil soluble. Ethanol (two carbons and one hydroxyl group) will be more effective in removing water soluble dirt, while propanol (three carbons and one hydroxyl) will be more effective at removing grease (oil like substances). Lighter fuel is very effective at removing grease, but is even is more fire hazard than the alcohols. Ernie Ernie is essentially correct. There are other nuances of chemistry that enter into consideration such as the relative acidity of ethyl alcohol versus iso-propanol and the molecular shape, but the "grease" solubilizing idea is a simple way of representing the why you might use 2-propanol over ethanol. Gary Dyrkacz Radio Control Aircraft/Paintball Physics/Paintball for 40+ http://home.comcast.net/~dyrgcmn/ |
#3
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"David Peters" wrote in message
Why is isopropyl alcohol (propanol) reckoned by many people to be a better general cleaner around the house than the ethyl alcohol (ethanol) which is found in methylated spirits? FOOTNOTE: I can add that here in the UK the main type of denatured alcohol we can buy for home use is "methylated spirits" and in the UK this is made up almost entirely of ethyl alcohol. http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1987/Uks...n_5.htm#mdiv14 I know that in the US denatured alcohol is not necessarily made of ethyl alcohol. This can lead to confusion about what someone is referring to, so for clarity I can repeat that I am referring to UK meths/ethanol. ] On Fri 03 Jun 2005 16:32:03, Ernie wrote: I strongly suspect that the cleaning power of ethanol vs. propanol depends on the nature of the dirt being removed. While it is an oversimplification, think of dirt as being either water soluble or oil soluble. Ethanol (two carbons and one hydroxyl group) will be more effective in removing water soluble dirt, while propanol (three carbons and one hydroxyl) will be more effective at removing grease (oil like substances). Thanks for the info. Can I ask about what you have written in that paragraph. Does propanol's "three carbons and one hydroxyl" mean that it is more likely than ethanol (with only two carbons and one hydroxyl) to actually DISSOLVE some types of plastics which I am might be trying to clean? |
#4
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In article , David Peters wrote:
Does propanol's "three carbons and one hydroxyl" mean that it is more likely than ethanol (with only two carbons and one hydroxyl) to actually DISSOLVE some types of plastics which I am might be trying to clean? Don't know about your side of the pond, but over here (US) propanol is normally sold in plastic bottles. I've used 2-propanol to clean a lot of things, and never had it damage any plastic. IMO your premise is wrong (that a longer-chain moleule is more likely to dissolve plastic than a shorter one). I've also successfully used paint thinner (mineral spirits) to clean various plastics without damage. And I've not observed gasoline to be particularly harmful to plastics either. OTOH, acetone (2-propanone) and MEK (2-butanone) are terribly destructive to many common plastics. IOW, it ain't the length of the chain, but what's attached to it, that does the damage. -- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com) Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time? |
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Doug Miller wrote:
In article , David Peters wrote: Does propanol's "three carbons and one hydroxyl" mean that it is more likely than ethanol (with only two carbons and one hydroxyl) to actually DISSOLVE some types of plastics which I am might be trying to clean? Don't know about your side of the pond, but over here (US) propanol is normally sold in plastic bottles. I've used 2-propanol to clean a lot of things, and never had it damage any plastic. IMO your premise is wrong (that a longer-chain moleule is more likely to dissolve plastic than a shorter one). I've also successfully used paint thinner (mineral spirits) to clean various plastics without damage. And I've not observed gasoline to be particularly harmful to plastics either. OTOH, acetone (2-propanone) and MEK (2-butanone) are terribly destructive to many common plastics. IOW, it ain't the length of the chain, but what's attached to it, that does the damage. Actually, what he stated is generally correct, but ethanol and propanol are very close, so one would probably never see any significant difference. Of course, what you said is correct also, what is on the end is important, but when comparing two alcohols, the same thing is on the end. As for plastics, oil has some fairly long chains and it is sold in plastic bottles and oil/gas mixtures certainly don't bother the oil bottle plastics. And then of course, there are plastic gas containers. It would be a pretty lousy plastic that would be bothered by methanol, ethanol, or propanol. |
#6
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George E. Cawthon wrote:
Doug Miller wrote: In article , David Peters wrote: Does propanol's "three carbons and one hydroxyl" mean that it is more likely than ethanol (with only two carbons and one hydroxyl) to actually DISSOLVE some types of plastics which I am might be trying to clean? Don't know about your side of the pond, but over here (US) propanol is normally sold in plastic bottles. I've used 2-propanol to clean a lot of things, and never had it damage any plastic. IMO your premise is wrong (that a longer-chain moleule is more likely to dissolve plastic than a shorter one). I've also successfully used paint thinner (mineral spirits) to clean various plastics without damage. And I've not observed gasoline to be particularly harmful to plastics either. OTOH, acetone (2-propanone) and MEK (2-butanone) are terribly destructive to many common plastics. IOW, it ain't the length of the chain, but what's attached to it, that does the damage. Actually, what he stated is generally correct, but ethanol and propanol are very close, so one would probably never see any significant difference. Of course, what you said is correct also, what is on the end is important, but when comparing two alcohols, the same thing is on the end. As for plastics, oil has some fairly long chains and it is sold in plastic bottles and oil/gas mixtures certainly don't bother the oil bottle plastics. And then of course, there are plastic gas containers. It would be a pretty lousy plastic that would be bothered by methanol, ethanol, or propanol. Surprisingy enough, methanol is quite agrresive. Dunno why. I had a toy plastic plane once, with an engine that ran on methonol/nitromethane/oil mix. I tried to clean it with petrol...and it dissolved the surface!!! There is no single simple amswer to which solvent dissolves which plastic. |
#7
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According to The Natural Philosopher :
Surprisingy enough, methanol is quite agrresive. Dunno why. I had a toy plastic plane once, with an engine that ran on methonol/nitromethane/oil mix. I tried to clean it with petrol...and it dissolved the surface!!! There is no single simple amswer to which solvent dissolves which plastic. That's for sure. First, there are "polar" and "non-polar" solvents. Alcohols are an example of the former (OH bond), and gasoline/kerosene etc are an example of the latter. What they dissolve _tends_ to be fairly mutually exclusive. And of course, "curing type" plastics (ie: epoxy resin, polyethylene) are immune to most solvents of either kind. -- Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them. |
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George E. Cawthon wrote:
It would be a pretty lousy plastic that would be bothered by methanol, ethanol, or propanol. Styrofoam cups seem to melt with booze in them. -- I miss my .signature. |
#9
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"Chris Lewis" wrote in message ... According to The Natural Philosopher : Surprisingy enough, methanol is quite agrresive. Dunno why. I had a toy plastic plane once, with an engine that ran on methonol/nitromethane/oil mix. I tried to clean it with petrol...and it dissolved the surface!!! There is no single simple amswer to which solvent dissolves which plastic. That's for sure. First, there are "polar" and "non-polar" solvents. Alcohols are an example of the former (OH bond), and gasoline/kerosene etc are an example of the latter. What they dissolve _tends_ to be fairly mutually exclusive. And of course, "curing type" plastics (ie: epoxy resin, polyethylene) are immune to most solvents of either kind. Except that methanol will dissolve many epoxies. It is rather slow though..... William... -- Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them. |
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