Why isn't alcohol used as a refrigerant?

[NiHaoMike]

Is there a reason why alcohol (or a mixture of alcohol and water) isn't used as a refrigerant?

[monkey spanners]

We'd drink it all before we got to site....

[Tayters]

Hi Bud,

Some systems use alcohol. You can tell as they make a wine. Some Brandys are worse than others but in the Absinthe of any data I can't say which ones are worse. Perhaps an industry inCider could help?

Cheers!

[install monkey]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene_glycol
courtesy of wikipedia- glycol is similarly based to alcahol

[Magoo]

In ww2 alcohol was used as an anti freeze mix with water in high altitude aircraft piston engines, not the drinkable version though. Much to the demise of a lot of aircraft mechanics that distilled it and drank it. Dead.
Probably before the oil based propylene and ethylene variants current these days.

[hookster]

http://www.grimsby.ac.uk/documents/defra/tech-newrefrigetechs.pdf

This should be closer to what you seek NiHaoMike