General Description
A clear colorless liquid with an alcohol odor. Flash point below 0 °F. Less dense than water. Vapors heavier than air. Soluble in water. Moderately irritates the eyes and skin. Prolonged and repeated contact may cause defatting and drying of the skin. Vapors may irritate the nose, throat and respiratory tract. May be harmful by ingestion.
Reactivity Profile
Attacks plastics. [Handling Chemicals Safely 1980. p. 236]. Acetyl bromide reacts violently with alcohols or water (Merck 11th ed. 1989). Mixtures of alcohols with concentrated sulfuric acid and strong hydrogen peroxide can cause explosions. Example: An explosion will occur if dimethylbenzylcarbinol is added to 90% hydrogen peroxide then acidified with concentrated sulfuric acid. Mixtures of ethyl alcohol with concentrated hydrogen peroxide form powerful explosives. Mixtures of hydrogen peroxide and 1-phenyl-2-methyl propyl alcohol tend to explode if acidified with 70% sulfuric acid [Chem. Eng. News 45(43):73 1967; J, Org. Chem. 28:1893 1963]. Alkyl hypochlorites are violently explosive. They are readily obtained by reacting hypochlorous acid and alcohols either in aqueous solution or mixed aqueous-carbon tetrachloride solutions. Chlorine plus alcohols would similarly yield alkyl hypochlorites. They decompose in the cold and explode on exposure to sunlight or heat. Tertiary hypochlorites are less unstable than secondary or primary hypochlorites [NFPA 491 M 1991]. Base-catalysed reactions of isocyanates with alcohols should be carried out in inert solvents. Such reactions in the absence of solvents often occur with explosive violence [Wischmeyer 1969].
Air & Water Reactions
Highly flammable. Soluble in water.
Hazard
Toxic, mutagenic, upper respiratory tract
irritant, central nervous system impairment.
Potential Exposure
Butyl alcohols are used as solvents for
paints, lacquers, varnishes, natural and synthetic resins,
gums, vegetable oils, dyes, camphor, and alkaloids. They
are also used as an intermediate in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and chemicals; in the manufacture of artificial
leather, safety glass; rubber and plastic cements, shellac,
raincoats, photographic films, perfumes; and in plastic
fabrication.
First aid
Move victim to fresh air. Call 911 or emergency
medical service. Give artificial respiration if victim is not
breathing. Do not use mouth-to-mouth method if victim
ingested or inhaled the substance; give artificial respiration with the aid of a pocket mask equipped with a one-way
valve or other proper respiratory medical device.
Administer oxygen if breathing is difficult. Remove and
isolate contaminated clothing and shoes. In case of contact
with substance, immediately flush skin or eyes with running water for at least 20 minutes. For minor skin contact,
avoid spreading material on unaffected skin. Keep victim
warm and quiet. Effects of exposure (inhalation, ingestion
or skin contact) to substance may be delayed. Ensure that
medical personnel are aware of the material(s) involved
and take precautions to protect themselves. Medical observation is recommended for 24 to 48 hours after breathing
overexposure, as pulmonary edema may be delayed. As
first aid for pulmonary edema, a doctor or authorized paramedic may consider administering a drug or other inhalation therapy
Shipping
UN1120 Butanols, Hazard Class: 3; Labels: 3—
Flammable liquid. UN1212 Isobutanol or Isobutyl alcohol,
Hazard Class: 3; Labels: 3—Flammable liquid
Incompatibilities
Butyl alcohols may form explosive mixture with air. In all cases they are Incompatible with oxidizers (chlorates, nitrates, peroxides, permanganates,
perchlorates, chlorine, bromine, fluorine, etc.); contact may
cause fires or explosions. Keep away from alkaline materials, strong bases, strong acids, oxoacids, epoxides. Attacks
some plastics, rubber and coatings. n-Butanol is incompatible with strong acids; halogens, caustics, alkali metals; aliphatic amines; isocyanates. sec-Butanol forms an explosive
peroxide in air. Ignites with chromium trioxide.
Incompatible with strong oxidizers; strong acids; aliphatic
amines; isocyanates, organic peroxides. tert-Butanol is
incompatible with strong acids (including mineral acid),
including mineral acids; strong oxidizers or caustics, aliphatic amines; isocyanates, alkali metals (i.e., lithium,
sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, francium). isoButanol is incompatible with strong acids; strong oxidizers;
caustics, aliphatic amines; isocyanates, alkali metals and
alkali earth. May react with aluminum at high temperatur
Waste Disposal
Incineration, or bury absorbed
waste in an approved land fill.
Physical properties
Clear, colorless, flammable liquid with a pleasant odor. Experimentally determined detection and
recognition odor threshold concentrations were 400 μg/m3 (120 ppbv) and 1.2 mg/m3 (410 ppbv),
respectively (Hellman and Small, 1974).
Definition
ChEBI: A secondary alcohol that is butane substituted by a hydroxy group at position 2.
Production Methods
2-Butanol is produced commercially by the indirect hydration
of n-butenes.
Health Hazard
Exposure to 2-butanol may cause irritationof the eyes and skin. The latter effect isproduced by its defatting action on skin. Thistoxic property is mild and similar to thatof other butanol isomers. High concentrationmay produce narcosis. The narcotic effect isstronger than that of n-butanol, probably dueto the higher vapor pressure of the secondaryalcohol.
The toxicity is lower than that of itsprimary alcohol analogue.
LD50 value, oral (rats): 6480 mg/kg.
Flammability and Explosibility
Flammable
Chemical Reactivity
Reactivity with Water No reaction; Reactivity with Common Materials: No reactions; Stability During Transport: Stable; Neutralizing Agents for Acids and Caustics: Not pertinent; Polymerization: Not pertinent; Inhibitor of Polymerization: Not pertinent.
Environmental Fate
Biological. Bridié et al. (1979) reported BOD and COD values of 2.15 and 2.49 g/g using
filtered effluent from a biological sanitary waste treatment plant. These values were determined
using a standard dilution method at 20 °C for a period of 5 d. The ThOD for sec-butyl alcohol is
2.59 g/g. In activated sludge inoculum, following a 20-d adaptation period, 98.5% COD removal
was achieved. The average rate of biodegradation was 55.0 mg COD/g?h (Pitter, 1976).
Photolytic. The estimated half-life of sec-butyl alcohol for the reaction of OH radicals in air
ranges from 129 d to 23 yr (Anbar and Neta, 1967).
Chemical/Physical. sec-Butyl alcohol will not hydrolyze in water because it does not contain a
hydrolyzable group (Kollig, 1993).
Purification Methods
Purification methods are the same as for n-Butanol. These include drying with K2CO3 or CaSO4, followed by filtration and fractional distillation, refluxing with CaO, distillation, then refluxing with magnesium and redistillation, and refluxing with, then distilling from CaH2. Calcium carbide has also been used as a drying agent. The anhydrous alcohol is obtained by refluxing with sec-butyl phthalate or succinate. (For method see Ethanol.) Small amounts of alcohol can be purified via conversion to the alkyl hydrogen phthalate and recrystallisation [Hargreaves J Chem Soc 3679 1956]. For purification of optical isomers, see Timmermans and Martin [J Chem Phys 25 411 1928]. [Beilstein 2 III 1566.]
