Description

1,4-Butanediol, abbreviated as BDO, also known as tetramethylene glycol, 1,4-butylene glycol, 1,4-dihydroxybutane, 1,4-tetramethylene glycol, butane-1,4-diol, butanediol, tetramethylene 1,4-diol and butylene glycol, is a derivative of acetylene and formaldehyde. It is a necessary commodity chemical to manufacture over 2.5 million tons of valuable polymers annually[1]. Currently, its production is entirely through petrochemistry.

Chemical property

BDO is a colorless, oily, viscous liquid with a boiling point of 228 °C. It is very hygroscopic and miscible with water. It is soluble in methanol, ethanol, and acetone, slightly soluble in ether, but almost insoluble in solvents such as aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. BDO is a low-toxic chemical, but when it comes into contact with injured skin or if it is accidentally consumed, anesthesia will occur, which then causes sudden death due to paralysis of the central nervous system. The physical properties of BDO are shown below.

Uses

BDO can be dehydrogenated in the presence of a catalyst such as copper-zinc aluminum to produce γ-butyrolactone, one of the essential industrial derivatives of BDO. At high temperatures, BDO is stripped off one water molecule to produce tetrahydrofuran in the presence of an acidic catalyst. As alcohol, it is easy to be esterified with a carboxylic acid; for example, BDO and terephthalic acid are esterified to form dibutyl terephthalate, which can be used to manufacture engineering plastics. Under mild conditions, BDO reacts with isocyanate to form a polyurethane. Moreover, BDO can also undergo an oxidation reaction. Different oxidation methods obtain different products; for example, gas-phase catalytic oxidation of BDO leads to maleic anhydride. However, liquid phase oxidation of BDO by air in an aqueous solution results in succinic acid[2].

BDO is mainly used to manufacture tetrahydrofuran, γ-butyrolactone, engineering plastic polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyurethane elastomers, biodegradable plastic polybutylene succinate and hydroxybutyl vinyl ether. The largest consumption of BDO in the world is for the production of tetrahydrofuran. In addition, BDO is also used as a solvent and pharmaceutical intermediate. In recent years, the consumption of BDO in the world has increased steadily. Among them, about 51.9% of BDO was used for the production of tetrahydrofuran, 22.5% of the BDO was used for PBT resin for household appliances and the color TV industry, 12.6% of the BDO was for the production of polyurethane elastomers, 11.4% of the BDO was for the production of γ-butyrolactone and 1.6% of the BDO was for other uses.

References

[1] Philp, J. and R. Atlas. “Microbial Resources for Global Sustainability.”Microbial Resources (2017): 77-101.

[2] Li, Sifang. “Manufacture of Fine Chemicals from Acetylene.” 2021. 0.