What is FCC Grade Ethanol?

What is Ethanol?

Ethanol is multi-faced solvent that is used in a variety of applications for multiple forms of extraction all dependent on the grade of the ethanol. That being said several grades of ethyl alcohol (Ethanol) exist and are readily available in the market. The differences between these are primarily in the purity of the ethanol, or in other words the amount of impurities present. The higher quality ethanol will have the least amounts of impurities. So, what are the different grades of Ethanol?

“GNS” Grain Neutral Spirits, or beverage quality. This is the highest level of ethanol purity.
FCC Grade Ethanol – A very pure form of Ethanol used in food applications.
Industrial Grade Ethanol – A pure form of Ethanol that comes from fermentation or synthetic origin.
Fuel Grade – The least pure form of Ethanol used as an additive for gasoline.

Food Chemical Codex Ethanol otherwise known as FCC ethanol is preferred for consumption through food applications. FCC-grade ethanol is “GRAS” certified meaning it is generally regarded as safe. FCC-grade ethanol is used in food grade products to purify and establish acceptable levels of ingredient quality for products, that is GRAS, for human consumption. FCC-grade ethanol is especially favored for use when heavy metals may have caused food/product contamination which in turn could be transferred to customers.

Applications of FCC Grade Ethanol

FCC-grade ethanol as stated before is GRAS or “generally regarded as safe” and is considered a safe food-grade solvent used in multiple extraction processes. The reason behind FCC-grade ethanol being GRAS is due to its lack of additives. Furthermore, the lack of additives in FCC-grade ethanol allows the solvent to be used in many applications such as the manufacturing process, herbal tincture production, botanical oils and extracts, and of course food processing.

How to Purchase Ethanol?

Want to learn more about FCC Grade Ethanol? Contact us here at Extraction Grade Solvents for more information! Our trusted team is standing by to answer all your questions, you can contact us here!