Quote:
Originally Posted by Montanan
.... The new Maximum Incremental Reactivity Value of Isopropyl alcohol set by by the California Air Resource Board is 0.61 Maximum Incremental Reactivity (MIR) is one measure of photochemical reactivity, which estimates the weight of ozone produced from a weight of a chemical (e.g. lbs ozone per lb of chemical) under worst case conditions....
...
"THE CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD IS CONSIDERING FURTHER REDUCTIONS IN CONSUMER PRODUCTS’ VOC CONTENT TO REDUCE CALIFORNIA’S EMISSIONS UNDER THE CALIFORNIA CLEAN AIR ACT
denatured alcohol, .....
CARB will hold a second public workshop in Fall 2019, and then CARB hopes to bring a regulatory amendment to the Board for its consideration by late 2020. ...
|
1. Denatured alcohol is ethanol that has been "denatured" - made unsafe to drink - by the deliberate addition of contaminants. Sometimes just a bitterant, sometimes methanol (yet another alcohol), sometimes some other poison.
2. Ethanol's chemical formula is C2H5OH (
CARB definition/datasheet - note synonym "denatured alcohol"). Isopropyl alcohol is C3H8O (
CARB definition/data sheet). Isopropyl alcohol is not ethanol.
Regulations pertaining to isopropyl alcohol having nothing to do with ethanol - denatured or not.
3. The very article you referenced says that CARB is
considering changes related to denatured alcohol, with proposed rules to be made public
later this year. That's why my post said "no new rules (
yet)". They are on the horizon, but they are not here yet. So far we've had public workshops but there hasn't even been a notice of proposed rulemaking with proposed text for public comment. Stay tuned this summer.
4. The point later about Sunnyside is exactly what I said. They will no longer sell denatured alcohol in California. That doesn't mean there is ban, or that it is illegal, it means one business made the business decision to exit the market. The same has happened with home
insurance companies and any other number of companies who have decided they don't like the regulatory climate. Nevertheless, the chemical itself is still
legal and still available, albeit with a bit of scarcity and
price increase because a major supplier has exited the market.
I suspect, but have zero evidence, that Sunnyside saw the handwriting on the wall, doesn't want to get mired in the solvent vs.
fuel debate (with possible attendant liabilities if they come out on the wrong side) and made their business decision.