Denaturation

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Denatured ethanol (alcohol 96.5%)

Denaturing or denaturing is called altering the natural odor, taste or appearance (color) of a substance by the addition of auxiliaries,

  • to make food inedible ( e.g. neutral alcohol to be exempt from alcohol tax),
  • in order to make substances less tasty or odorless but harmful to health easier to recognize and thus less dangerous, e.g. B. Poisons and explosive gases (such as natural gas ).

Denaturation of food and luxury foods

Substances that are subject to higher taxation when used as food can be used differently at low cost if they are brought into circulation in an inedible form for these purposes.

It is then of central importance to use a denaturant that is difficult to remove. At least the removal should be more expensive than the undenatured substance. Substances with an unpleasant smell or taste are primarily used as denaturants .

alcohol

Alcohol for human consumption ( ethanol , agricultural alcohol ) is taxed (in Germany through the alcohol tax ), so ethanol is denatured.

In addition to the substances approved in Germany, other denaturants are also permitted if they meet the requirements of the tax authorities and are approved as denaturants in another EU country. In the Netherlands, for example, this is mint oil for alcohols in cosmetic products.

Denatured alcohol is completely denatured, usually with a mixture of the denaturants MEK ( methyl ethyl ketone ) and denatonium benzoate , which tastes extremely bitter.

Until June 2013, the addition of one liter of the following ketone mixture to 100 liters of absolute ethanol was required by customs in the Federal Republic of Germany:

Since July 1, 2013, the addition of the following mixture to 100 liters of absolute ethanol has been mandatory throughout the EU for complete denaturation of ethanol:

On June 23, 2017, the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1112 of June 22, 2017 amending Regulation (EC) No. 3199/93 on the mutual recognition of procedures for the complete denaturation of alcohol for the purpose of excise duty exemption was published. In Germany, due to this change in law, from August 1, 2017, alcohol must be consumed per 100 liters of alcohol

must be added so that it can be viewed as completely denatured according to Section 43 of the Spirits Tax Ordinance (BrStV) [from January 1, 2018: Section 53 of the Alcohol Tax Ordinance (AlkStV)].

As part of a provisional transitional arrangement, however, the spirit manufacturers are permitted to use up any remaining supplies of the old denaturing agent after the deadline.

Alcohols for technical and chemical purposes are only incompletely denatured because they are still further processed. MEK can usually not be used here.

salt

Table salt was taxed with the salt tax in the Federal Republic of Germany until 1993 . The icing generally accessible, even road salt called, was marked by dyes. Magnesium chloride is ideal for denaturing , as it also has a good thawing effect and tastes bitter.

Clarified butter

Until 2008, clarified butter had to be treated with the plant sterol stigmasterin in order to prevent subsidy fraud. If butter is to be recovered from the clarified butter , it is associated with considerable effort to separate this substance from the naturally occurring cholesterol in the butter .

Denaturation of energy sources

Natural gas, propane, butane

The odorless gases natural gas , propane and butane are fragrances , mostly mercaptans , added to detect gas leaks ( odorisation ). Tetrahydrothiophene , which smells like garlic, is mainly used as an additive . After the introduction of this safety measure, the number of gas explosions fell significantly.

Heating oil

Since heating oil can be used in diesel engines, heating oil is colored red for tax reasons. However, the dye used can be removed again relatively easily, which is why Solvent Yellow 124 is also added throughout the EU , as it is difficult to remove but is easy to detect.

Denaturation of poisons

Poisons are also clearly marked by denaturing in order to prevent accidental spread or ingestion. The pesticide Zyklon B was provided with a fragrance to warn of the active ingredient hydrogen cyanide , which is very toxic. Usually this was methyl bromoacetate or chlorine gas .

Denatonium benzoate is often used in household cleaners and personal care products to prevent children from swallowing it.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Brockhaus ABC Chemie , VEB FA Brockhaus Verlag Leipzig 1965, p. 274.
  2. ↑ Customs online: Denaturation .
  3. ↑ Customer information Carl Roth GmbH + Co. KG from July 18, 2017, accessed on July 25, 2017 PDF .
  4. ↑ Regulation (EU) No. 162/2013 (PDF) of February 21, 2013 amending the annex to Regulation (EC) No. 3199/93 on the mutual recognition of procedures for the complete denaturation of alcohol for the purpose of excise duty exemption.
  5. ↑ Wolfgang Legrum: Fragrances, between stink and fragrance , Vieweg + Teubner-Verlag (2011) pp. 161–163, ISBN 978-3-8348-1245-2 .