October 27, 2015

Detection and General Deterrence Standardized Field Sobriety Test Course Ethyl Alcohol (Intended for human consumption) Chemical Symbols ETOH C2H5OH Ethanol

Session 2 – Detection and General Deterrence
Standardized Field Sobriety Test Course
Ethyl Alcohol
(Intended for human consumption)
Chemical Symbols
ETOH
C2H5OH
Ethanol
2-41
H H
H H
H C C OH
The ingestible alcohol is known as ethyl alcohol, or ethanol. Its chemical abbreviation is
ETOH. The "ET" stands for "ethyl" and the "OH" represents the single oxygen atom
bonded to one of the hydrogen atoms, ("hydroxy radical"). Ethanol is the variety of
alcohol that has two carbon atoms. Two of ethanol's best known analogs are methyl
alcohol (or methanol), commonly called "wood alcohol", and isopropyl alcohol (or
isopropanol), also known as "rubbing alcohol".
Session 2 – Detection and General Deterrence
Standardized Field Sobriety Test Course
Yeast combines with sugars from fruit or
grains in a chemical reaction that results in
ETOH
Ethanol Production - Fermentation
2-42
Ethanol is what interests us because it is the kind of alcohol that features prominently in
impaired driving. Ethanol is beverage alcohol, the active ingredient in beer, wine,
whiskey, liquors, etc. Ethanol production starts with fermentation. That is a kind of
decomposition in which the sugars in fruit, grains and other organic materials combine
with yeast to product the chemical we call ethanol. This can occur naturally, as yeast
spores in the air come into contact with decomposing fruit and grains. However, most of
the ethanol in the world didn't ferment naturally, but was produced under human
supervision.
When an alcoholic beverage is produced by fermentation, the maximum ethanol content
that can be reached is about 14 %. At that concentration, the yeast dies, so the
fermentation stops. Obtaining a higher ethanol content requires a process called
distillation. This involves heating the beverage until the ethanol "boils off", then
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HS 178 R5/13 29 of 39
collecting the ethanol vapor. It is possible to do this because ethanol boils at a lower

temperature than does water.Source: DWI Detection and
Standardized Field
Sobriety Testing
March 2013 Edition

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