n-Butanol or n-butyl alcohol or normal butanol is a primary alcohol with a 4-carbon structure and the molecular formula C4H9OH. Its isomers include isobutanol, 2-butanol, and tert-butanol. Butanol is one of the group of "fusel alcohols" (from the German for "bad liquor"), which have more than two carbon atoms and have significant solubility in water.
n-Butanol occurs naturally as a minor product of the fermentation of sugars and other carbohydrates,[2] and is present in many foods and beverages.[3][4] It is also a permitted artificial flavorant in the United States,[5] used in butter, cream, fruit, rum, whiskey, ice cream and ices, candy, baked goods and cordials.[6] It is also used in a wide range of consumer products.[3]
The largest use of n-butanol is as an industrial intermediate, particularly for the manufacture of butyl acetate (itself an artificial flavorant and industrial solvent). It is a petrochemical, manufactured from propylene and usually used close to the point of manufacture. Estimated production figures for 1997 are: United States 784,000 tonnes; Western Europe 575,000 tonnes; Japan 225,000 tonnes.[4]
n-Butanol is used as an ingredient in perfumes and as a solvent for the extraction of essential oils.[7]n-Butanol is also used as an extractant in the manufacture of antibiotics, hormones, and vitamins;[7][8] a solvent for paints, coatings, natural resins, gums, synthetic resins, dyes, alkaloids, and camphor.[7][8] Other miscellaneous applications of n-butanol are as a swelling agent in textiles, as a component of brake fluids, cleaning formulations, degreasers, and repellents;[3] and as a component of ore floation agents,[9] and of wood-treating systems.[10]
n-Butanol has been proposed as a substitute for diesel fuel and gasoline. It is produced in small quantities in nearly all fermentations (see fusel oil), but species of Clostridium produce much higher yields of butanol, and research is currently underway to increase the ultimate yield of biobutanol from biomass.
The production or, in some cases, use of the following substances may result in exposure to n-butanol: artificial leather, butyl esters, rubber cement, dyes, fruit essences, lacquers, motion picture, and photographic films, raincoats, perfumes, pyroxylin plastics, rayon, safety glass, shellac varnish, and waterproofed cloth.[3]
n-Butanol occurs naturally as a result of carbohydrate fermentation in a number of alcoholic beverages, including beer,[11] grape brandies,[12] wine,[13] and whisky.[14] It has been detected in the volatiles of hops,[15] jack fruit,[16] heat-treated milks,[17] musk melon,[18] cheese,[19] southern pea seed,[20] and cooked rice.[21]n-Butanol is also formed during deep frying of corn oil, cottonseed oil, trilinolein, and triolein.[22]
n-Butanol is used as an ingredient in processed and artificial flavourings,[7] and for the extraction lipid-free protein from egg yolk,[23] natural flavouring materials and vegetable oils, the manufacture of hop extract for beermaking, and as a solvent in removing pigments from moist curd leaf protein concentrate.[24]
Metabolism and toxicity
n-Butanol is readily absorbed through the intestinal tract and lungs, and also to some extent through the skin.[25] It is metabolized completely in vertebrates in a manner similar to ethanol: alcohol dehydrogenase converts n-butanol to butyraldehyde; this is then converted to butyric acid by aldehyde dehydrogenase. Butyric acid can be fully metabolized to carbon dioxide and water by the β-oxidation pathway, of which it is naturally the penultimate step. In the rat, only 0.03% of an oral dose of 2000 mg/kg was excreted in the urine.[26]
The acute toxicity of n-butanol is relatively low, with oral LD50 values of 2290–4360 mg/kg (rat; comparable values for ethanol are 7000–15000 mg/kg).[4][27] No deaths were reported at an inhaled concentration of 8000 ppm (4-hour exposure, rats). At sub-lethal doses, n-butanol acts as a depressant of the central nervous system, similar to ethanol: one study in rats indicated that the intoxicating potency of n-butanol is some six times higher than that of ethanol, possibly because of its slower transformation by alcohol dehydrogenase.[28]
n-Butanol is a natural component of many alcoholic beverages, albeit in low (but variable) concentrations.[29][30] It (along with similar fusel alcohols) is reputed to be responsible for severe "hangovers", although experiments in animal models show no evidence for this.[31] An unknown dose n-Butanol was consumed by a 47-year-old male with no previous medical history, leading to a range of adverse health effects.[32] It should be noted that n-Butanol have near 10 times lower LD50 compared with ethanol; oral in rat, 790mg/kg, 7060 mg/kg respectively.[33]
Other hazards
Liquid n-butanol, as is common with most organic solvents, is extremely irritating to the eyes; repeated contact with the skin can also cause irritation.[4] This is believed to be a generic effect of "defatting". No skin sensitization has been observed. Irritation of the respiratory pathways occurs only at very high concentrations (>2400 ppm).[34]
With a flash point of 29 °C (84 °F), n-butanol presents a moderate fire hazard: it is slightly more flammable than kerosene or diesel fuel but less flammable than many other common organic solvents. The depressant effect on the central nervous system (similar to ethanol intoxication) is a potential hazard when working with n-butanol in enclosed spaces, although the odour threshold (0.2–30 ppm) is far below the concentration which would have any neurological effect.[34][35]
n-Butanol is of low toxicity to aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates. It is rapidly biodegraded in water, although an estimated 83% partitions to air where it is degraded by hydroxyl radicals with a half-life of 1.2–2.3 days. It has low potential to bioaccumulate.[4] A potential hazard of significant discharges to watercourses is the rise in chemical oxygen demand (C.O.D.) associated with its biodegradation.
^ abcdefgn-Butanol(PDF), SIDS Initial Assessment Report, Geneva: United Nations Environment Programme, April 2005.
^21 C.F.R. § 172.515; 42 FR 14491, Mar. 15, 1977, as amended.
^Hall, R. L.; Oser, B. L. (1965), "Recent progress in the consideration of flavouring ingredients under the food additives amendement. III. Gras substances", Food Technol.: 151, cited in Butanols: four isomers, Environmental Health Criteria monograph No. 65, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1987, ISBN92-4-154265-9.
^ abcdeMellan, I. (1950), Industrial Solvents, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, pp. 482–88, cited in Butanols: four isomers, Environmental Health Criteria monograph No. 65, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1987, ISBN92-4-154265-9.
^ abcDoolittle, A. K. (1954), The Technology of Solvents and Plasticizers, New York: Wiley, pp. 644–45, cited in Butanols: four isomers, Environmental Health Criteria monograph No. 65, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1987, ISBN92-4-154265-9.
^ abMonich, J. A. (1968), Alcohols: Their Chemistry, Properties, and Manufacture, New York: Chapman and Reinhold, cited in Butanols: four isomers, Environmental Health Criteria monograph No. 65, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1987, ISBN92-4-154265-9.
^Bonte, W. (1979), "Congener substances in German and foreign beers", Blutalkohol, 16: 108–24, cited in Butanols: four isomers, Environmental Health Criteria monograph No. 65, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1987, ISBN92-4-154265-9.
^Schreier, Peter; Drawert, Friedrich; Winkler, Friedrich (1979), "Composition of neutral volatile constituents in grape brandies", J. Agric. Food Chem., 27 (2): 365–72, doi:10.1021/jf60222a031.
^Bonte, W. (1978), "Congener content of wine and similar beverages", Blutalkohol, 15: 392–404, cited in Butanols: four isomers, Environmental Health Criteria monograph No. 65, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1987, ISBN92-4-154265-9.
^Postel, W.; Adam, L. (1978), "Gas chromatographic characterization of whiskey. III. Irish whiskey", Branntweinwirtschaft, 118: 404–7, cited in Butanols: four isomers, Environmental Health Criteria monograph No. 65, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1987, ISBN92-4-154265-9.
^Tressl, Roland; Friese, Lothar; Fendesack, Friedrich; Koeppler, Hans (1978), "Studies of the volatile composition of hops during storage", J. Agric. Food Chem., 26 (6): 1426–30, doi:10.1021/jf60220a036.
^Swords, G.; Bobbio, P. A.; Hunter, G. L. K. (1978), "Volatile constituents of jack fruit (Arthocarpus heterophyllus)", J. Food Sci., 43 (2): 639–40, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1978.tb02375.x.
^Jaddou, Haytham A.; Pavey, John A.; Manning, Donald J. (1978), "Chemical analysis of flavor volatiles in heat-treated milks", J. Dairy Res., 45 (3): 391–403, doi:10.1017/S0022029900016617.
^Yabumoto, K.; Yamaguchi, M.; Jennings, W. G. (1978), "Production of volatile compounds by Muskmelon, Cucumis melo", Food Chem., 3 (1): 7–16, doi:10.1016/0308-8146(78)90042-0.
^Dumont, Jean Pierre; Adda, Jacques (1978), "Occurrence of sesquiterpones in mountain cheese volatiles", J. Agric. Food Chem., 26 (2): 364–67, doi:10.1021/jf60216a037.
^Fisher, Gordon S.; Legendre, Michael G.; Lovgren, Norman V.; Schuller, Walter H.; Wells, John A. (1979), "Volatile constituents of southernpea seed [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.]", J. Agric. Food Chem., 27 (1): 7–11, doi:10.1021/jf60221a040.
^Chang, S. S.; Peterson, K. J.; Ho, C. (1978), "Chemical reactions involved in the deep-fat frying of foods", J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc.: 718–27, cited in Butanols: four isomers, Environmental Health Criteria monograph No. 65, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1987, ISBN92-4-154265-9.
^Meslar, Harry W.; White, Harold B., III (1978), "Preparation of lipid-free protein extracts of egg yolk", Anal. Biochem., 91 (1): 75–81, doi:10.1016/0003-2697(78)90817-5, PMID9762085((citation)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
^Bray, Walter J.; Humphries, Catherine (1978), "Solvent fractionation of leaf juice to prepare green and white protein products", J. Sci. Food Agric., 29 (10): 839–46, doi:10.1002/jsfa.2740291003.
^Gaillard, D.; Derache, R. (1965), "Métabilisation de différents alcools présents dans les biossons alcooliques chez le rat", Trav. Soc. Pharmacol. Montpellier, 25: 541–62, cited in Butanols: four isomers, Environmental Health Criteria monograph No. 65, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1987, ISBN92-4-154265-9.
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^Woo, Kang-Lyung (2005), "Determination of low molecular weight alcohols including fusel oil in various samples by diethyl ether extraction and capillary gas chromatography", J. AOAC Int., 88 (5): 1419–27, doi:10.5555/jaoi.2005.88.5.1419, PMID16385992((citation)): Check |doi= value (help).
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