| Summary: | 2-Methyl-1-propanol (isobutyl alcohol), CASRN 78-83-1, is one of four possible butanols of 4-carbon alcohol isomers. The other three butanols are 1-butanol, 2-butanol, and tert-butyl alcohol (Billig, 2001). Isobutyl alcohol is used as a solvent or as an intermediate in the flavor, fragrance, pharmaceutical, and pesticide industries. Other reported uses of isobutyl alcohol are as a process solvent (replacement for 1-butanol); a diluent and additive for nitrocellulose and synthetic resins and lacquers; a solvent in paint strippers, cleaners, hydraulic fluids, and wetting agents; and a component of printing inks and related products (NLM, 2019; Hahn et al., 2013; Billig, 2001). Isobutyl alcohol is listed on the U.S. EPA's Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) public inventory (U.S. EPA, 2021), and it is registered with Europe's Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) program (ECHA, 2019). The primary isobutyl alcohol production method is through propene hydroformylation, in which carbon monoxide and hydrogen are added to propene in the presence of catalysts. Selection of the catalyst and manufacturing processes determines the ratio of isobutyl alcohol produced compared to other isomers. Rhodium has been found to be a more favorable catalyst when optimizing the reaction for isobutyraldehyde, the isobutyl alcohol precursor. Another commercial production method of isobutyl alcohol is the Reppe process in which olefins, carbon monoxide, and water react in the presence of a catalyst. Isobutyl alcohol occurs in natural products and can be isolated from fusel oils (Hahn et al., 2013)
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