Denatured alcohol in the context of "Methyl isobutyl ketone"

Rubbing alcohol, known as surgical spirit in the British Pharmacopoeia, refers to a group of denatured alcohol solutions commonly used as topical disinfectant. In addition to its medical applications, rubbing alcohol is employed in various industrial and household contexts. These solutions are primarily composed of either isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) or ethanol, with isopropyl alcohol being the more widely available formulation.

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) defines "isopropyl rubbing alcohol USP" as a solution containing approximately 70% alcohol by volume of pure isopropanol, while "rubbing alcohol USP" refers to a solution containing approximately 70% by volume of denatured ethanol. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the comparable product is "surgical spirit B.P.", defined by the British Pharmacopoeia as containing 95% methylated spirit, 2.5% castor oil, 2% diethyl phthalate, and 0.5% methyl salicylate. Known alternatively as "wintergreen oil", methyl salicylate is also a common additive in North American rubbing alcohol products.

Denatonium, usually available as denatonium benzoate (under trade names such as Denatrol, BITTERANT-b, BITTER+PLUS, Bitrex, Bitrix, and Aversion) and as denatonium saccharinate (BITTERANT-s), is the bitterest chemical compound known, with bitterness thresholds of 0.05 ppm for the benzoate and 0.01 ppm for the saccharinate. It was discovered in 1958 during research on local anesthetics by T. & H. Smith of Edinburgh, Scotland, and registered under the trademark Bitrex.

Dilutions of as little as 10 ppm are unbearably bitter to most people. Denatonium salts are usually colorless and odorless solids, but are often traded as solutions. They are used as aversive agents (bitterants) to prevent inappropriate ingestion. Denatonium is used in denatured alcohol, antifreeze, preventive nail biting preparations, respirator mask fit-testing, animal repellents, liquid soaps, shampoos, and Nintendo Switch game cards to prevent accidental swallowing or choking by children. It is not known to pose any long-term health risks.

Rectified spirit, also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is highly concentrated ethanol that has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. In some countries, denatured alcohol or denatured rectified spirit may commonly be available as "rectified spirit", because in some countries (though not necessarily the same) the retail sale of rectified alcohol in its non-denatured form is prohibited.

The purity of rectified spirit has a practical limit of 97.2% ABV (95.6% by mass) when produced using conventional distillation processes, as a mixture of ethanol and water becomes a minimum-boiling azeotrope at this concentration. However, rectified spirit is typically distilled in continuous multi-column stills at 96–96.5% ABV and diluted as necessary. Ethanol is a commonly used medical alcohol — spiritus fortis is a medical term for ethanol solutions with 95% ABV.

Resinous glaze is an alcohol-based solution of various types of food-grade shellac. The shellac is derived from the raw material sticklac, which is a resin scraped from the branches of trees left from when the small insect, Kerria lacca (also known as Laccifer lacca), creates a hard, waterproof cocoon. When used in food and confections, it is also known as confectioner's glaze, pure food glaze, natural glaze, or confectioner's resin. When used on medicines, it is sometimes called pharmaceutical glaze.

Pharmaceutical glaze may contain 20–51% shellac in solution in ethyl alcohol (grain alcohol) that has not been denatured (denatured alcohol is poisonous), waxes, and titanium dioxide as an opacifying agent. Confectioner’s glaze used for candy contains roughly 35% shellac, while the remaining components are volatile organic compounds that evaporate after the glaze is applied.