General Description
A clear colorless liquid. Flash point 57°F. Less dense than water and slightly soluble in water. Hence floats on water. Vapors heavier than air.
Reactivity Profile
METHYL BUTYRATE(623-42-7) reacts exothermically with acids to generate alcohols and carboxylic acids. Strong oxidizing acids may cause a reaction that is sufficiently exothermic to ignite the reaction products. Heat is also generated by interaction with basic or caustic solutions. Flammable hydrogen is generated by mixing with alkali metals and hydrides .
Air & Water Reactions
Highly flammable. Slightly soluble in water.
Hazard
Flammable, dangerous fire risk.
Health Hazard
Irritating to the eyes, nose, throat, upper respiratory tract, and skin.
Fire Hazard
HIGHLY FLAMMABLE: Will be easily ignited by heat, sparks or flames. Vapors may form explosive mixtures with air. Vapors may travel to source of ignition and flash back. Most vapors are heavier than air. They will spread along ground and collect in low or confined areas (sewers, basements, tanks). Vapor explosion hazard indoors, outdoors or in sewers. Runoff to sewer may create fire or explosion hazard. Containers may explode when heated. Many liquids are lighter than water.
Description
Methyl butyrate, also known as methyl butanoate , is the methyl ester of butyric acid. Like most esters, it has a fruity odor, in this case resembling apples or pineapples. At room temperature, it is a colorless liquid with low solubility in water, upon which it floats to form an oily layer. Although it is flammable, it has a relatively low vapor pressure ( 40 mm Hg at 30°C), so it can be safely handled at room temperature without special safety precautions.
Chemical Properties
colourless liquid
Chemical Properties
Methyl butyrate has an apple-like odor and a corresponding sweet
taste that is not very powerful. Below 100 ppm, it may have a
banana-pineapple flavor. May be prepared from methyl alcohol
and butyric acid in the presence of concentrated H2S04.
Chemical Properties
Methyl butyrate has an apple-like odor and corresponding sweet taste that is not very powerful. Below 100 ppm, methyl
butyrate may have a banana–pineapple flavor
Occurrence
Reported found in apple, apricot, orange, grapefruit and tangerine juice, cranberry, blueberry, guava,
grapes, melon, papaya, pineapple, blackberry, strawberry, tomato, blue, cheddar and parmesan cheese, butter, milk, egg, beef,
white wine, coffee, tea, honey, olive, passion fruit, plum, mushroom, starfruit, mango, fig, prickly pear, wood apple, soursop, cherimoya, myrtle berry, kiwifruit, mountain papaya, custard apple, nectarine, naranjilla, spineless monkey orange and
pawpaw
Uses
manufacture of artificial rum and fruit essences.
Uses
Methyl butyrate is an important raw material and intermediate used in organic synthesis, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and dyestuff fields.
Uses
Methyl butyrate is used as a solvent for ethylcellulose
and nitrocellulose resins. It is also used in lacquers
and perfumes and in the manufacture of rum and fruit
flavors.
Application
Methyl butyrate is an important raw material and intermediate used in organic synthesis, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and dyestuff fields.
Definition
ChEBI: Methyl butyrate is a fatty acid ester.
Preparation
From methyl alcohol and butyric acid in the presence of concentrated H2SO4.
Production Methods
Methyl butyrate is produced from methyl alcohol and
butyric acid in the presence of concentrated sulfuric
acid .
Aroma threshold values
Detection: 1 to 43 ppb. Aroma characteristics at 1.0%: pungent, ethereal, fruity, fumey and fusel with a
fermented, cultured, creamy undernote.
Taste threshold values
Taste characteristics at 10 ppm: fruity and apple-like with a sweet almost buttery, nutty and creamy nuance,
fusel-like, impacting, and estry with a cultured dairy, acidic depth.
Industrial uses
Methyl butyrate is occasionally used as a masking
agent in industrial perfumes especially where
the problem is to mask very volatile malodors,
etc. The type of odor is particularly suitable
to cover sulfuraceous odors.
It is, however, much more widely used in
flavor compositions for imitation Apple,
Banana, Pineapple, Melon, Peach, Rum and
Arak, and in various fruit complexes.
The concentration used is equivalent to
about 20 to 100 ppm in the finished consumer
product.
Potential Exposure
Methyl butyrate, one of the odorous compound present in different types of adhesive (hotmelt, vinyl acetate ethylene, starch, polyvinyl acetate and acrylic) used in food packaging, was identified by GC-O-MS (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry–olfactometry).
Carcinogenicity
Not listed by ACGIH, California
Proposition 65, IARC, NTP, or OSHA.
Purification Methods
Treat the ester with anhydrous CuSO4, then distil it under dry nitrogen. [Beilstein 2 IV 786.]
References
[1] Ruth Winter, A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, 7th Edition, 2009
[2] Laurent Ducry and Dominique M. Roberge, Dibal-H Reduction of Methyl Butyrate into Butyraldehyde using Microreactors, Organic Process Research & Development, 2008, vol. 12, 163-167
