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In biochemistry, denaturation is a process in which proteins or nucleic acids lose folded structure present in their native state due to various factors, including application of some external stress or compound, such as a strong acid or base, a concentrated inorganic salt, an organic solvent (e.g., alcohol or chloroform), agitation and radiation, or heat. [3]
The addition of methanol, which is poisonous, renders denatured alcohol unfit for consumption, as ingesting denatured alcohol may result in serious injury or death. [2] Thus denatured alcohol is not subject to the taxes usually levied on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages. Aniline was used to denature colza oil in the 1980s. [3]
This tendency can also have undesirable effects when extracting botanical constituents, such as polysaccharides. Certain other constituents, common among them proteins, can become irreversibly denatured, or "pickled" by the alcohol. Alcohol can also have damaging effects on some aromatic compounds.
Denaturation may refer to: . Denaturation (biochemistry), a structural change in macromolecules caused by extreme conditions Denaturation (fissile materials), transforming fissile materials so that they cannot be used in nuclear weapons
Although most of the fermentation plants have been built in corn-producing regions, sorghum is also an important feedstock for ethanol production in the Plains states. Pearl millet is showing promise as an ethanol feedstock for the southeastern U.S. and the potential of duckweed is being studied. [11]
Denatured alcohol has no advantages for any purpose over normal ethanol; it is a public policy compromise. As denatured alcohol is sold without the often heavy taxes on alcohol suitable for consumption, it is a cheaper solution for most uses that do not involve drinking. If pure ethanol were made cheaply available for fuel, solvents, or ...
Humans exploit this process to produce alcoholic beverages, by letting yeast ferment various fruits or grains. Yeast can produce and consume their own alcohol. The main alcohol dehydrogenase in yeast is larger than the human one, consisting of four rather than just two subunits. It also contains zinc at its catalytic site.
They can also be converted into glucose. [4] This glucose can then be converted to triglycerides and stored in fat cells. [5] Proteins can be broken down by enzymes known as peptidases or can break down as a result of denaturation. Proteins can denature in environmental conditions the protein is not made for. [6]