Butyl Alcohol

BUTYL ALCOHOL, a compound corresponding to the general formula C₄H₉OH. Of the four known isomers, the most important is isobutyl alcohol (CH₃)₂CHCH₂OH, which is formed together with other alcohols during alcoholic fermentation. During rectification of raw alcohol, it, along with amyl and other higher alcohols, remains in fusel oil, from which it can be isolated by fractional distillation. Butyl alcohol is a liquid soluble in water; specific gravity 0.806; boiling point 107°. With the industrial implementation of the method for obtaining acetone through fermentation, another isomer—normal butyl alcohol CH₃CH₂CH₂CH₂OH—has recently begun to acquire great importance. It is obtained together with acetone from starch under the influence of a special type of microorganism (Bac. butylicus, Bac. acetobutylicus). In technology, it is used as a solvent; specific gravity 0.810; boiling point 117°. Secondary butyl alcohol, CH₃CH(OH)CH₂CH₃, is obtained by reducing methyl ethyl ketone. Tertiary butyl alcohol, trimethylcarbinol, (CH₃)₃COH, was obtained by Butlerov (1863) and was the first representative of the previously unknown group of tertiary alcohols. BUTYL-CHLORAL-HYDRATE (croton-chloral-hydrate), CCl₃CH₂CH₂CH(OH)₂ (hydrate of trichlorobutylic aldehyde), a silky crystalline powder with a sweetish odor and bitter taste, soluble in 30 parts of cold water, more easily in hot water, and readily in alcohol and ether. It melts at 78°, decomposing into butyl-chloral and water. It acts as a hypnotic, similar to chloral hydrate. It is used in aqueous solutions with the addition of syrup or glycerin in doses from 0.5 to 1.5 per dose; in doses of 0.2 every 2-3 hours, it was proposed by Libreich for trigeminal neuralgia. However, the specificity of action on the trigeminal nerve in neuralgia was not confirmed.