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Educated guess: From its use as an azeotrope breaker in the distillation of ethanol from water. Normally its impossible to achieve greater than ~95% ethanol fro
by thereisnospork 3y ago
Educated guess: From its use as an azeotrope breaker in the distillation of ethanol from water. Normally its impossible to achieve greater than ~95% ethanol from an ethanol water mixture, but it is possible to achieve ~100% ethanol from a water/benzene/ethanol mixture[0].
[0]There of course have been methods invented which do not involve benzene.
- NotYourLawyer 3y agoMakes sense. And benzene is fine for ethanol you’re mixing with gasoline.
- lesuorac 3y agoNot a scientist but I mean mixing a toxic chemical with something that you burn around people sounds not fine.
- loeg 3y agoBenzene combusts to carbon dioxide and water, which are both relatively harmless. (Gasoline is also not something you want on your skin.)
- NotYourLawyer 3y agoGasoline already has benzene in it. Adding a tiny bit more with the ethanol doesn’t matter.