Distilled ethanol contains about 95 percent ethanol, which is usually sufficient for use in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, solvent and chemical industries. Distillation does not provide higher concentrations of ethanol because of its euboiling point with water. However, in order to be blended with gasoline, ethanol must have a purity of at least 99.2% [119], which is obtained by dehydration or drying of ethanol after distillation. Distillation can be achieved using a variety of methods, such as extractive distillation or total evaporation, azeotropic distillation, membrane technology, CO2 extraction, and steam recompression [118]. However, molecular sieve drying techniques are the most commonly used today. In this method, ethanol from distillation passes through layers of synthetic zeolite with the same pore size, which selectively adsorbs water molecules.

Ethanol absorption through the stomach wall is minimal. Since rapid absorption occurs in the small intestine, factors that delay or enhance gastric emptying will affect the rate at which ethanol is absorbed into the blood. Enzymatic oxidation of ethanol occurs mainly in the liver, where it is first converted to acetaldehyde by ethanol dehydrogenase and then to acetic acid by acetaldehyde dehydrogenase. Acetic acid is used to form acetyl-coA, which enters the Krebs cycle and is eventually metabolized to carbon dioxide and water. Ethanol is distributed evenly in all tissues and body fluids. The distribution volume is 0.47 -- 0.6 L kg-1. Approximately 2-10% are cleared by the kidneys and lungs. Ethanol follows Michaelis-Menton kinetics. Therefore, half-life measurements are meaningless. An average adult reduces blood ethanol levels by 15-20 mg DL-1 H-1.

Ethanol is one of the most used organic chemicals in industry and consumer products. The main industrial use of this fatty alcohol is as an intermediate and solvent in the production of other chemicals. Ethanol is used to make medicines, plastics, paints, polishes, plasticizers and cosmetics. Ethanol is used in medicine as a topical anti-infective agent and as an antidote to excess ethylene glycol or methanol. Products containing ethanol include beverages, perfumes, aftershave and cologne, lotions, mouthwashes, liniment and some rubbing alcohols.