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You're overcomplicating this hugely. It's much simpler to burn the alcohol within the astronauts, converting it to a small amount of heat, CO2 and happiness.


I don't think they will enjoy drinking isopropanol or isobutanol.


Can confirm, have drunken ethanol before.. the after effects are devastating


You missed the key distinction here, ethanol is not the greatest substance, but is relatively safe for animals. Other side chain alcohols metabolize into byproducts like formaldehyde and well, are highly toxic. This whole distinction is the basis for the sale of "denatured alcohol" / "wood alcohol" and its much cheaper price.

"In some countries, sales of alcoholic beverages are heavily taxed. In order to avoid paying beverage taxes on alcohol that is not meant to be consumed, the alcohol must be "denatured", or treated with added chemicals to make it unpalatable."

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol

I assure you, the after effects of drinking most alcohols are much more devastating than your average spirit.

For reference:

ethanol (Grain alcohol) rat, oral 7,060 mg/kg

isopropanol rat, oral 3,600 mg/kg

isobutanol rat, oral 2,460 mg/kg

Hardy harr harr harr...


Please tell us more...!


Can it not lead to blindness?


Ethanol is normal drinking alcohol. You are thinking of methyl alcohol, methanol.

As little as 10 mL of pure methanol, ingested, is metabolized into formic acid, which can cause permanent blindness by destruction of the optic nerve. 30 mL is potentially fatal, although the median lethal dose is typically 100 mL (3.4 fl oz) (i.e. 1–2 mL/kg body weight of pure methanol)..




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