Detailed Product Description:

n-Butyl Alcohol, or Butanol (sometimes also called bio-butanol when

produced biologically), is a primary alcohol with a 4 carbon structure.

It belongs to the higher alcohols and branched-chain alcohols.

Colorless liquid with vinous odor.  Limited solubility in water.  Miscible

in other alcohols and ether.  It is primarily used as a solvent, as an

intermediate in chemical synthesis, and as a fuel.

Grade/Purity:

This is Reagent Grade with minimum purity of 99.9%.

Background:

There are four isomeric structures for butanol:

First is the unmodified term, butanol, which refers to the straight chain isomer

with the alcohol functional group at the terminal carbon, also known as

n-butanol or 1-butanol. 

Second is the straight chain isomer with the alcohol at an internal carbon,

called sec-butanol or 2-butanol. 

Third is the branched isomer with the alcohol at a terminal carbon called

isobutanol, or 2-methyl-1-propanol. 

And finally, the branched isomer with the alcohol at the internal carbon is

tert-butanol,  or 2-methyl-2-propanol.

Butanol isomers, due to their different structures, have somewhat different

melting and boiling points.  n-butanol and isobutanol have limited solubility,

while the other two isomers are fully miscible with water.  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

with water, while n-butanol is only moderately miscible because of the balance

between the two opposing solubility trends.

Applications:

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 contains more

energy for a given volume than ethanol and almost as much as gasoline,

so a vehicle using butanol would return fuel consumption more comparable

to gasoline than ethanol.  Butanol can also be used as a blended additive to

diesel fuel to reduce soot emissions.

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

is 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.  .

Precautions:

Like many alcohols, butanol is considered toxic. It has shown a 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 has not been shown to damage DNA or cause cancer.

Download, read, and understand the Material Safety Data Sheet and

the precautions associated with the use of this substance.

Click here to download MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)

Packaging:

Comes packed in 500ml amber glass bottle.  Also available in 250ml size.