Cristal Union shifts from fuels to pharma-grade ethanol at Arcis plant in coronavirus response

This news in from Cristal Union in France:

“In the current context of an unprecedented health crisis, with an increasingly rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus, the Cristal Union Group has decided to stop the production of bioethanol at the Arcis distillery in Aube to redirect its production towards ethyl alcohol, labeled BIOCIDAL and PharmEthyl (alcohol intended for the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnologies).”

The group noted, “Cristal Union will continue to produce bioethanol in Cristanol, another large distillery of the Group, but in a smaller proportion. As part of its social responsibility, the Group is thus providing a concrete and immediate response to the explosion in demand for this type of alcohol, in particular for customers looking for disinfectant products, in a global market that is already very tense.

OK, what’s the difference between ethyl alcohol and ethanol

Um, nothing. Two names, same compound,. What Cristal Union is conveying here in this release is a shift from industrial-grade alcohol to pharma-grade, which is more about purity than a shift in the target molecule.

The backstory and links of interest

Cristal Union is the leading producer of bioethanol in France and the third in Europe with a production of 600,000 m3 per year at 3 production sites.

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