JRC shortlists denaturants to combat alcohol fraud

Denaturants are used to make alcohol unfit for human consumption and are therefore strong-smelling or bitter-tasting substances. Denatured alcohol is not subject to the harmonised excise duty applied on alcohol and alcoholic beverages. It is used, for example, in screen-washer fluid, perfumes and solvents.

The study was coordinated by the JRC under a request from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union. It compared various potential denaturants against a set of criteria, such as difficulty to remove from alcohol, ease of detection and reasonable cost. The study produced a shortlist of specific denaturant formulation and concentration for several categories of product, as detailed in the table below:

Product category

Recommended denaturants and concentrations* for completely denatured alcohol

3 litres isopropyl alcohol (IPA) + 3 litres methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) + 1 gram denatonium benzoate for solvents, thinners and screen-wash products as above

for cosmetics, perfumes and hygienic products 5 litres IPA + 1 gram denatonium benzoate or 78 gram tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) + 1 gram denatonium benzoate for biofuels

gasoline** + 2 litres ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) + 1 litre IPA for printing inks

3 litre IPA + 3-10 litres ethyl acetate (EA).

* Concentrations expressed per hectolitre absolute alcohol (hL aa)

** The denatured ethanol would still need to be mixed with gasoline in order for the final exemption to be granted. In the case of E85, more than 10% gasoline should be added.

The European Commission is currently considering how to promote the use of the proposed denaturants throughout the EU. The aim is to have a voluntary transition over time to the new denaturants per product category. The European Chemicals Agency has already given a positive opinion on the compatibility of the proposed denaturants with the objectives of the EU legal framework for chemicals (REACH).

A consultation with the Member States on this subject was opened in July 2011 and should be finalised by end of June 2012.

More information: Council Directive 92/83/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the harmonization of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages, http://eur-lex.eur … L0083:en:NOT

Provided by European Commission Joint Research Centre