Talk:Isopropyl alcohol

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Are there pure undiluted versions for sale to clean computer parts? Would the regular rubbing alcohol pharmacy brand work fine for say, getting the thermal grease between the heatsink and processor cleaned off?

Non-azeotropic distillation?

This paragraph is confusing: "Isopropyl alcohol forms an azeotrope with water at 87.4% alcohol. It is impossible to dehydrate isopropanol further using non-azeotropic distillation. For this reason, more expensive means, such as using a drying agent, are necessary for production of 100% isopropyl alcohol."

I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as "non-azeotropic distillation". There's azeotropic distillation. All simple alcohols form azeotropes and need to be combined with a drying agent to be concentrated to 100%. If nobody objects, I'm just going to change the text. --Rhombus 04:00, 23 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Nice improvement, Rhombus, thanks! (I presume the author meant "without recourse to a third solvent that allows the azeotropic removal of water as a separate phase" but they can be forgiven for not writing that!). We have a lot of overly technical phrases in the Wikipedia science articles that make it hard for non-experts to understand. You explained the situation in plain English, thanks a lot! Walkerma 04:38, 23 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Frequently Asked Questions about Isopropyl

Folks, if you're going to leave discussion entries, please sign them. --Rhombus 04:00, 23 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Where can I get a PvT diagram for Isopropyl alcohol?

The current Merck Index has some data on this

Can it be used as a substitute for lighter fluid in a zippo?

I would doubt it, simply because it is nowhere near as volatile as butane.

Actually butane is only used in Bic-type lighters, Zippo-style lighters use lighter fuel, and isopropyl alcohol does work as a substitute, but, since not formulated purposely for Zippo-style lighters, it may have adverse effects on the longevity of said lighters. -- Aron G 04:38, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The "lighter fuel" used by "zippo-style" lighters is naptha. Also, it isn't a good idea to use OTC 2-propanol because it comes with significant quantities of water in with the alcohol. The common 91% will work to a degree, anything less will be a problem to light if it will work at all. Same if you want to use 2-propanol in an alcohol burner. TheLiberalTruth 21:42, 11 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

When does Isopropyl alcohol freeze?

-89.5 C is given in the Merck Index- close to the melting point.

I noticed recently that a product sold in Pharmacies for "Swimmers Ear" (blocked ear) is 99% Isopropyl alcohol.

Expansion request

Please explain the method/reaction by which this substance removes or isolates water (normal freezing point depression?), especially for medical and automotive use, and also explain its mode of toxicity.

I will be working on expanding this article over the coming weeks, but I confess I don't know much about these topics. I will try to ask some people who may know. I would suspect that the removal of water works the same way as with almost any water-miscible organic solvent such as methanol, ethanol or acetone, I don't think there's anything unique about isopropanol.Walkerma 22:21, 5 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I answered the automotive use. I don't know about the medical use. ~K 02:10, 6 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I would like to see some information regarding the use of Isopropyl Alcohol as a fuel in an internal combustion engine, specifically, what is it's stoichiometric air/fuel ratio, octane, energy content, latency of heat, and so on.

Production/Synthesis Information request

This article should include information on how 2-Propanol is synthesized.

This is on my "to-do" list. From my preliminary reading on this, it is by acid-catalysed hydration of propene. There should be a full length section appearing in the next month or two. Walkerma 13:58, 19 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Heat Capacity

What is the specific heat capacity of isopropanol?

siafu 20:00, 29 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Is 2-propanol and Isopropyl alcohol that you buy in the drug store the same thing. Plase e-mail me if you are shure of the answer.

nyannon@triad.rr.com

Requested change in redirect for IPA from International Phonetic Alphabet to IPA (disambiguation)

Please comment. --Karnesky 15:42, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

IUPAC

I suggest changing the name of the article to the IUPAC name, propan-2-ol.

Thanks for your suggestion. I think we've debated this in the past, and the decision was made to leave the article here, because the name isopropyl alcohol is well known to non-chemists. Our policy is to use the IUPAC name for most compounds, but substances with very familiar common names are kept under the common name since these names would be the usual ones used in links and searches. One problem with this particular compound is that it has so many names - IPA, isopropyl alcohol, isopropanol, propan-2-ol, 2-propanol (that is the American version of the IUPAC name!) and 1-methylethanol (the CAS name). Thanks, Walkerma 16:52, 22 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

what if you drink screen wash - which has propanol in it

how much propanol is dangerous if you drink it in car screen wash ? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.131.141.136 (talk) 23:25, 28 December 2006 (UTC).[reply]

As mentioned in the article, propan-2-ol is twice as toxic as ethanol (normal alcohol) and the acetone it produces only mildly irritant. Nominally this implies that if you drink some by accident, you'll suffer a little over twice as much as when consuming shop alcohol. However bear in mind that

-either car screen wash is 100% propan-2-ol, and so equivalent to 200% ethanol in potency (most beverages have only a few % alcohol) - this implies that even a few sips are likely to be toxic and cause serious damage.

-or car screen wash also contains other solvents, which are likely to have a worse effect (in general, organic solvents are treated as fantastically hazardous in chemistry labs, and should be treated accordingly due to their hazards

-when used as a sterilant and disinfectant, propan-2-ol is diluted in water; no disinfectants are considered safe for consumption by humans, as the general idea behind sterilants and disinfectants is that they kill organic compounds, which includes humans.

-it is not clear how quickly or completely propan-2-ol is metabolised by the body; some degradation into acetone is noted but that does not mean that it will be completely converted nor that it will be purged by the body; many poisons are bioaccumulative.

It seems likely that any accidental ingenstion should be treated by inducing vomiting before damage is done. BEAR IN MIND THAT THE ABOVE IS A SET OF OBSERVATIONS, NOT A QUALIFIED OPINION. This is supported by some university-level chemistry, not by any form of medical degree or knowledge of the actual facts. I suggest you also see the response below. -Firien § 09:46, 11 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

somebody know about this?

acording to the EWG (envirometal working group report on Isopropyl alcohol) the say it's found in a bunch of cometics... but there's no reference here. Are their two types of Isopropyl alcohols or something? Darkblast93 17:32, 1 February 2007 (UTC)darkblast93Darkblast93 17:32, 1 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]