As many regular Bikerowavers know, denatured alcohol is our preferred substance for removing grips from handlebars.
But everyone always asks, "What is DENATURED alcohol, anyway?"
Well, here's your answer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcoholDenatured alcohol is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous or unpalatable, and thus, undrinkable. In some cases it is also dyed.
Denatured alcohol is used as a solvent and as fuel for spirit burners and camping stoves. It is also known as methylated spirits, especially in Australia and New Zealand. Because of the diversity of industrial uses for denatured alcohol, hundreds of additives and denaturing methods have been used. Traditionally, the main additive is 10% methanol, giving rise to the term 'methylated spirit'. Other typical additives include isopropyl alcohol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and denatonium.[1]
Denaturing alcohol does not chemically alter the ethanol molecule. Rather, the ethanol is mixed with other chemicals to form an undrinkable mixture.
Different additives are used to make it difficult to use distillation or other simple processes to reverse the denaturation. Methanol is commonly used both because of its boiling point being close to that of ethanol and because it is toxic. In many countries, it is also required that denatured alcohol be dyed blue or purple with an aniline dye.
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