Everything about Butan-1-ol totally explained
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Butanol or butyl alcohol (sometimes also called
biobutanol when produced biologically), is a primary
alcohol with a 4
carbon structure and the
molecular formula of
C4H10O. It belongs to the higher alcohols and branched-chain alcohols.
It is primarily used as a solvent, as an intermediate in chemical synthesis, and as a fuel.
There are four
isomeric structures for butanol.
Isomers
The unmodified term
butanol usually refers to the straight chain isomer with the alcohol
functional group at the terminal carbon, which is also known as
n-butanol or 1-butanol. The straight chain isomer with the alcohol at an internal carbon is
sec-butanol or
2-butanol. The branched isomer with the alcohol at a terminal carbon is
isobutanol; 2-methyl-1-propanol, and the branched isomer with the alcohol at the internal carbon is
tert-butanol; 2-methyl-2-propanol.
Butanol isomers, due to their different structures, have somewhat different melting and boiling points. All are moderately
miscible in water, less so than
ethanol, and more so than the higher (longer carbon chain) alcohols. This is because all alcohols have a hydroxyl group which makes them polar which in turn tends to promote solubility in water. At the same time the carbon chain of the alcohol resists solubility in water. Methanol, ethanol and propanol, are fully miscible in water because the hydroxyl group predominates while butanol is moderately miscible because of the balance between the two opposing solubility trends.
Toxicity
Like many alcohols, butanol is considered toxic. It has shown low order of toxicity in single dose experiments to laboratory animals. and is considered safe enough for use in cosmetics. Brief, repeated overexposure with the skin can result in depression of the
central nervous system, as with other
short-chain alcohols. Exposure may also cause severe eye irritation and moderate skin irritation. The main dangers are from prolonged exposure to fumes. In extreme cases this includes suppression of the central nervous system and even death. Under most circumstances, butanol is quickly metabolized to
carbon dioxide.
It hasn't been shown to
damage DNA or cause
cancer.
Uses
Biobutanol
Butanol is considered as a potential
biofuel (
butanol fuel). Butanol at 85 percent strength can be used in cars designed for gasoline (petrol) without any change to the engine (unlike 85% ethanol), and it produces more power than ethanol and almost as much power as gasoline, so the miles per gallon will also almost match that of gasoline.
Other uses
Butanol sees use as a
solvent for a wide variety of chemical and textile processes, in organic synthesis and as a chemical intermediate. It is also used as a
paint thinner and a solvent in other coating applications where it's used as a relatively slow evaporating latent solvent in lacquers and ambient-cured enamels. It finds other uses such as a component of
hydraulic and
brake fluids.
It is also used as a base for
perfumes, but on its own has a highly alcoholic aroma.
Salts of butanol are chemical intermediates for example
alkali metal salts of tert-butanol are
tert-butoxides.
Production
Since the 1950s, most butanol in the
United States is produced commercially from
fossil fuels. The most common process starts with
propene, which is run through an
hydroformylation reaction to form
butanal, which is then reduced with
hydrogen to butanol. Butanol can also be produced by
fermentation of
biomass by bacteria. Prior to the 1950s,
Clostridium acetobutylicum was used in industrial
fermentation processes producing butanol. Research in the past few decades showed results of other microorganisms that can produce butanol through
fermentation.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Butan-1-ol'.
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