By law, ethanol is subject to considerable taxes and restrictions on sale unless denatured (rendered undrinkable) by adding solvents or other unpalatable ingredients. The list of ingredients used for denaturing is long and contains many toxic solvents, including acetone, benzaldehyde, n-butyl alcohol, methyl isobutyl ketone, and gasoline. It’s no surprise then that the denatured alcohol that we buy in the paint department to burn in our alcohol stove stinks and sometimes burns with an odor; it’s formulated as a solvent, not as a fuel. These denatured alcohol blends can contain as little as 50-percent ethanol, with the balance most often being methanol.
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