Dry alcohol - the history of appearance and application

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Dry alcohol is a solid, non-smoking fuel that has nothing to do with alcohols directly. This substance is produced most often in the form of large tablets, the burning time of one tablet is approximately 12-15 minutes. Dry alcohol consists of two components: hexamethylenetetramine (also called urotropin) and a small amount of paraffin. This type of fuel appeared thanks to the efforts of Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov, the great Russian chemist, who not only synthesized a number of organic compounds, but also created a theory of the structure of various chemicals. It was this scientist who in 1859 obtained a new substance by reacting formaldehyde with an aqueous solution of ammonia, which later became known as urotropin.

An interesting fact is that in Russia until June 1, 2010 urotropine was actively used in the food industry: it was used as a preservative for caviar and fish, and was registered as a substance E239. Later, this preservative was recognized as hazardous to he alth, because urotropin, when interacting with acids, is converted into formaldehyde, which provokes the appearance and growthcancerous growths, that is, in fact, is a carcinogen. Therefore, at present, urotropine is used mainly for the production of such useful products as dry fuel.

Despite the fact that people nowadays are surrounded by all the benefits of civilization, this fuel has found many applications. Dry alcohol is used for cooking and heating food in field conditions, which is especially important for areas where natural fuel cannot be found (mountains, rocky ground, steppes, etc.). This fuel is still used for individual rations of soldiers in almost all armies of the world. Dry alcohol can also be used to light fires in damp weather. The price of this fuel (which is especially nice) is low, a pack of tablets can be purchased for 25 rubles. This is a very good option, since the most expensive dry fuel can cost about 150 rubles. It is quite difficult to use dry alcohol for cooking (it takes a lot of time to cook a full-fledged meal), but it is ideal for warming up: for example, you can heat a can of canned food or boil a mug of tea. It is best to kindle dry fuel on a special metal stand.

The advantages of this type of fuel are quite obvious: tablets are light and compact, do not take up much space, they can be taken with you even on a hike, unlike, say, gasoline or gas burners. Tablets are very easy to use, so they have a fairly wide range of applications. But dry alcohol hasand a number of negative qualities: the flame is very sensitive to wind, so a special screen may be needed. In addition, such fuel, when wet, begins to smoke, spark and emit an unpleasant specific odor. But these disadvantages are not so significant, especially compared to the advantages that dry fuel provides.