SLX Denatured Alcohol?

P

pArTy

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 21, 2004
Messages
433
I asked my parents to get me 99% rubbing alcohol and instead they come back with SLX Denatured Alcohol. I dont know what the hell it is. I do know it is some kind of fuel. It says it has ethanol and methanol. Would it work to clean the thermal paste off my video card?
 
It should work fine. Just don't smoke or use it near an open flame. :eek:
 
Denatured alcohol is somewhere around 95% or so pure ethanol, "denatured" with another 5% or so methanol. The reason is this: the methanol takes your formerly-200-proof ethanol and makes it poisonous. Methanol is often used because it evaporates at a temperature close to that of ethanol, so it's hard to distill. Since it's not fit for human consumption, it can't be taxed like your various liquors (that's the real reason!).

It's still safe to use for cleaning. No (additional) danger of destroying anything. FYI, here is the applicable wikipedia entry.
 
From what I remember in biology, denaturation is the restructuring of amino chains in proteins. How do you denature alcohols, which are just carbon and hydrogen?
 
Denatured proteins is a special case of "denature", with it's own specific definition.
 
I wouldn't use anything denatured on computers. My underground chemistry experience have proben that denatured = chems like butyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone, and acetone which are really bad on some plastics, pcb's could be suseptable to damage. Just use 91% IPA, it's available at walmart.
 
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