Ethanol is one of many alcohols. Specifically it is ethyl alcohol — the same alcohol that is in alcoholic drinks like wine, beer, and whiskey. Commonly made from the fermentation of various grains, it is sometimes called grain alcohol. Ethanol has many chemical and physical properties that make it desirable for industrial uses as a solvent in medicines or fragrances since it is generally not harmful when it contacts the skin or ingested in small quantities.

Ethanol is Easily Produced from Grains or Pure Sugar

The production of ethanol dates back to antiquity. Humans realized that the fermentation of fruits and grains produced substances similar to modern beers and wines which produced a relaxing intoxicating effect.

The modern production of ethanol from corn differs from the ancient method in the ability to concentrate the ethanol to nearly 100%. Modern plants are high-tech moonshine stills that produce a cleaner product in large quantities.

Moonshiners use sugar to produce a reasonably high percentage of alcohol. As a beverage, it is of questionable purity and taste and sometimes deadly due to impurities, but they achieve over 90% ethanol.…