BUTYL CELLOSOLVE

CAS Number: 111-76-2
IUPAC name: 2-Butoxyethan-1-ol
EC Number: 203-905-0
Chemical formula: C6H14O2
Molar mass: 118.176 g·mol−1

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is an organic compound with the chemical formula BuOC2H4OH (Bu = CH3CH2CH2CH2).
This colorless liquid has a sweet, ether-like odor, as it derives from the family of glycol ethers, and is a butyl ether of ethylene glycol.
As a relatively nonvolatile, inexpensive solvent, it is used in many domestic and industrial products because of its properties as a surfactant.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is a known respiratory irritant and can be acutely toxic, but animal studies did not find it to be mutagenic, and no studies suggest it is a human carcinogen.
A study of 13 classroom air contaminants conducted in Portugal reported a statistically significant association with increased rates of nasal obstruction and a positive association below the level of statistical significance with a higher risk of obese asthma and increased child BMI.

Production of Butyl CELLOSOLVE:
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is commonly obtained through two processes; the ethoxylation reaction of butanol and ethylene oxide in the presence of a catalyst:

C2H4O + C4H9OH → C4H9OC2H4OH
or the etherification of butanol with 2-chloroethanol.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE can be obtained in the laboratory by performing a ring opening of 2-propyl-1,3-dioxolane with boron trichloride.
It is often produced industrially by combining ethylene glycol and butyraldehyde in a Parr reactor with palladium on carbon.

In 2006, the European production of butyl glycol ethers amounted to 181 kilotons, of which approximately 50% (90 kt/a) was Butyl CELLOSOLVE. World production is estimated to be 200 to 500 kt/a, of which 75% is for paints and coatings and 18% for metal cleaners and household cleaners.
In the US, it is considered a high production volume chemical because more than 100 million pounds of this chemical are produced per year.

Uses of Butyl CELLOSOLVE:
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is a glycol ether with modest surfactant properties, which can also be used as a mutual solvent.

Commercial uses of Butyl CELLOSOLVE:
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is a solvent for paints and surface coatings, as well as cleaning products and inks.
Products that contain Butyl CELLOSOLVE include acrylic resin formulations, asphalt release agents, firefighting foam, leather protectors, oil spill dispersants, degreaser applications, photographic strip solutions, whiteboard and glass cleaners, liquid soaps, cosmetics, dry cleaning solutions, lacquers, varnishes, herbicides, latex paints, enamels, printing paste, and varnish removers, and silicone caulk. Products containing this compound are commonly found at construction sites, automobile repair shops, print shops, and facilities that produce sterilizing and cleaning products. 

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is the main ingredient of many home, commercial and industrial cleaning solutions.
Since the molecule has both polar and non-polar ends, Butyl CELLOSOLVE is useful for removing both polar and non-polar substances, like grease and oils.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is also approved by the U.S. FDA to be used as direct and indirect food additives, which include antimicrobial agents, defoamers, stabilizers, and adhesives.

In the petroleum industry
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is commonly produced for the oil industry because of its surfactant properties.

In the petroleum industry, Butyl CELLOSOLVE is a component of fracturing fluids, drilling stabilizers, and oil slick dispersants for both water-based and oil-based hydraulic fracturing.
When liquid is pumped into the well, the fracturing fluids are pumped under extreme pressure, so 2-
butoxyethanol is used to stabilize them by lowering the surface tension.

As a surfactant, Butyl CELLOSOLVE absorbs at the oil-water interface of the fracture.
The compound is also used to facilitate the release of the gas by preventing congealing.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is also used as a crude oil–water coupling solvent for more general oil well workovers.
Because of its surfactant properties, it is a major constituent (30–60% w/w) in the oil spill dispersant Corexit 9527, which was widely used in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Safety
Butyl CELLOSOLVE has a low acute toxicity, with LD50 of 2.5 g/kg in rats.
Laboratory tests by the U.S. National Toxicology Program have shown that only sustained exposure to high concentrations (100–500 ppm) of Butyl CELLOSOLVE can cause adrenal tumors in animals.
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) reports that Butyl CELLOSOLVE is carcinogenic in rodents.

These rodent tests may not directly translate to carcinogenicity in humans, as the observed mechanism of cancer involves the rodents' forestomach, which humans lack.
OSHA does not regulate Butyl CELLOSOLVE as a carcinogen.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE has not been shown to penetrate shale rock in a study conducted by Manz.

Disposal and degradation of Butyl CELLOSOLVE:
Butyl CELLOSOLVE can be disposed of by incineration.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE was shown that disposal occurs faster in the presence of semiconductor particles.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE usually decomposes in the presence of air within a few days by reacting with oxygen radicals.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE has not been identified as a major environmental contaminant, nor is it known to bio-accumulate.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE biodegrades in soils and water, with a half life of 1–4 weeks in aquatic environments.

Human exposure
Butyl CELLOSOLVE most commonly enters the human body system through dermal absorption, inhalation, or oral consumption of the chemical.
The ACGIH threshold limit value (TLV) for worker exposure is 20 ppm, which is well above the odor detection threshold of 0.4 ppm. Blood or urine concentrations of Butyl CELLOSOLVE or the metabolite 2-butoxyacetic acid may be measured using chromatographic techniques.
A biological exposure index of 200 mg 2-butoxyacetic acid per g creatinine has been established in an end-of-shift urine specimen for U.S. employees.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE and its metabolites fall to undetectable levels in urine after about 30 hours in men.

Animal studies
Harmful effects have been observed in nonhuman mammals exposed to high levels of Butyl CELLOSOLVE. Developmental effects were seen in a study that exposed pregnant Fischer 344 rats, a type of laboratory rat, and New Zealand white rabbits to varying doses of Butyl CELLOSOLVE.
At 100 ppm (483 mg/m3) and 200 ppm (966 mg/m3) exposure, statistically significant increases were observed in the number of litters with skeletal defects. Additionally, Butyl CELLOSOLVE was associated with a significant decrease in maternal body weight, uterine weight, and number of total implants.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is metabolized in mammals by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase.

Neurological effects have also been observed in animals exposed to Butyl CELLOSOLVE. Fischer 344 rats exposed to Butyl CELLOSOLVE at concentrations of 523 ppm and 867 ppm experienced decreased coordination. Male rabbits showed a loss of coordination and equilibrium after exposure to 400 ppm of Butyl CELLOSOLVE for two days.

When exposed to Butyl CELLOSOLVE in drinking water, both F344/N rats and B63F1 mice showed negative effects.
The range of exposure for the two species was between 70 mg/kg body weight per day to 1300 mg/kg body weight per day. Decreased body weight and water consumption were seen for both species. Rats had reduced red blood cell counts and thymus weights, as well as lesions in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow.

Consumer Uses of Butyl CELLOSOLVE:
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in the following products: coating products and washing & cleaning products.
Other release to the environment of Butyl CELLOSOLVE is likely to occur from: indoor use (e.g. machine wash liquids/detergents, automotive care products, paints and coating or adhesives, fragrances and air fresheners) and outdoor use.

Service life of Butyl CELLOSOLVE:
Release to the environment of Butyl CELLOSOLVE can occur from industrial use: of articles where the substances are not intended to be released and where the conditions of use do not promote release.
ECHA has no public registered data indicating whether or into which articles the substance might have been processed.

Widespread uses by professional workers
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in the following products: coating products, oil and gas exploration or production products, fillers, putties, plasters, modelling clay, metal surface treatment products, polymers and washing & cleaning products.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in the following areas: mining.
Other release to the environment of Butyl CELLOSOLVE is likely to occur from: outdoor use and indoor use (e.g. machine wash liquids/detergents, automotive care products, paints and coating or adhesives, fragrances and air fresheners).

Formulation or re-packing of Butyl CELLOSOLVE:
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in the following products: coating products, polymers, oil and gas exploration or production products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and personal care products, extraction agents and fillers, putties, plasters, modelling clay.
Release to the environment of Butyl CELLOSOLVE can occur from industrial use: formulation of mixtures.

Uses at industrial sites of Butyl CELLOSOLVE:
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in the following products: oil and gas exploration or production products, coating products, polymers, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics and personal care products.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in the following areas: mining.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used for the manufacture of: chemicals.
Release to the environment of Butyl CELLOSOLVE can occur from industrial use: in processing aids at industrial sites, as an intermediate step in further manufacturing of another substance (use of intermediates) and of substances in closed systems with minimal release.

Appearance: Clear, colorless liquid
Density: 0.90 g/cm3, liquid
Melting point: −77 °C
Boiling point: 171 °C

Solubility in water: Miscible
Vapor pressure: 0.8 mmHg
Viscosity: 2.9 cP at 25 °C (77 °F)
Flash point: 67 °C (153 °F; 340 K)

Autoignition temperature: 245 °C (473 °F; 518 K)
Explosive limits: 1.1–12.7%
XLogP3: 0.8
Hydrogen Bond Donor Count: 1

Hydrogen Bond Acceptor Count: 2
Rotatable Bond Count: 5
Exact Mass: 118.099379685
Monoisotopic Mass: 118.099379685

Topological Polar Surface Area: 29.5 Ų
Heavy Atom Count: 8
Complexity: 37.5
Isotope Atom Count: 0
Defined Atom Stereocenter Count: 0

Undefined Atom Stereocenter Count: 0
Defined Bond Stereocenter Count: 0
Undefined Bond Stereocenter Count: 0
Covalently-Bonded Unit Count: 1

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is a clear, colorless oily liquid with a high boiling point, low volatility and slightly fruity odour.
As with other glycol ethers, Butyl CELLOSOLVE is bifunctional, containing an ether and an alcohol group in the same molecule.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is completely miscible with water and a wide variety of organic solvents.
This excellent miscibility makes Butyl CELLOSOLVE a versatile solvent and coupling agent offering excellent performance properties in a wide range of applications.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is bifunctional nature also means exhibiting the reactions typical of an alcohol, ie. esterification, etherification, oxidation and formation of an ether with acetates and alcoholates, which forms peroxides in the presence of atmospheric oxygen.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is produced by the reaction of ethylene oxide with normal butanol (n-butanol) in the presence of a catalyst.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is a flammable material.
Keep the product and empty containers away from heat, sparks and flames.

Applications of Butyl CELLOSOLVE:
Selected applications of Butyl CELLOSOLVE are described below.
As a low-volatility solvent, Butyl CELLOSOLVE can be used to extend the drying time of coatings and improves their flow.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is especially recommended for paints for brush-application based on cellulose nitrate, chlorinated binders or cellulose ethers, because when Butyl CELLOSOLVE is applied to dry coatings, it only softens them very slowly.
Small proportions of Butyl CELLOSOLVE improve the brushability of, for example, alkyd resin paints and reduce their viscosity.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is also an extremely efficient flow improver for urea, melamine or phenolic stoving finishes.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE has proved to be the most effective of a large number of organic solvents tested in a very wide range of aqueous coating systems.
In particular, it improves the properties of the paint by reducing the viscosity peak when oxidatively and physically drying water-based paints, including those for stoveenamelling, are diluted with water.

As a coalescing aid, Butyl CELLOSOLVE can significantly lower the minimum filmforming temperature (MFFT) and improve flow in many physically drying paint systems.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE improves the evaporation behaviour of the volatile constituents (e. g. in water-based stoving enamels) during hot-air or infrared drying.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is a clear, colourless, oily liquid with a unique sweet yet mild odour and has the formula C6H14O2.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is a butyl ether of ethylene glycol and is miscible with water and common organic solvents.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE has been produced industrially for over half a century and is used primarily as a solvent in paints and surface coatings but also in inks and cleaning products.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE an organic compound from the group of glycol ethers.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is C6H14O2 ethylene glycol butyl ether.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is widely used as an organic solvent in professional and consumer chemistry.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is widely used in cleaning agents, paints and coatings.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in the mining and construction industries.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE organic solvent from the group of glycol ethers.
Due to the polar-non-polar structure of the molecule, it dissolves both water-soluble and water-insoluble substances.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is widely used as an ingredient in cleaning agents and pigments.
The Butyl CELLOSOLVE solvent is used in the paints, varnishes and acrylic resins industry.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in degreasing agents in industrial and professional chemistry.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used as an ingredient in alkaline preparations for foam car washing.
In professional chemistry Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in concentrates for washing glass surfaces.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used as a component of agents for removing residues and dirt from polymer dispersions.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in dirt removal products in car workshops, printers and construction sites.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is approved as a food additive and is used in biocides, antifoams and stabilizers.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in the petroleum industry for its good surfactant properties in fracturing fluids and drilling stabilizers.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is also used as an anti-clotting ingredient. 
The use of butyl glycol as a reagent in synthesis processes is also known.

Uses of Butyl CELLOSOLVE:
Butyl CELLOSOLVE use is dominated by the paint industry, which consumes about 75% of all BG produced.
This is because it is a low volatility solvent and therefore extends the drying times of coatings and increases the flow.
Other applications are as a solvent in printing inks and textile dyes and as a component of hydraulic fluids.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is also a component of drilling and cutting oils and is a key component of Corexit 9527, an oil spill dispersant product.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is also a chemical intermediate and therefore a starting material in the production of Butyl CELLOSOLVE acetate, which is itself an excellent solvent.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is also the starting material in the production of plasticizers by the reaction of phthalic anhydride.
Butyl glycol is also something used regularly in most households, as it is an ingredient in many household cleaning products.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE provides very good cleaning power for household cleaning products and also provides a characteristic odor associated with most of these products.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE also plays the same role in some industrial and commercial surface cleaners.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is widely used as a solvent and coupling agent in water-based paints, coatings and inks; here Butyl CELLOSOLVE improves the flow of products and prolongs drying times.
Urea is an effective flow enhancer for melamine and phenolic oven linings.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is preferred in many products due to its mild fragrance.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE acts as a solvent and coupling agent in many waxes, resins, oils and textile dyes and is used in many industrial, commercial and household cleaning products that offer the good cleaning power and fragrance typically associated with such products.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is an important starting material for various syntheses, which is one of the raw materials for the production of butyl glycol acetate, and for the production of plasticizers by reaction with phthalic anhydride.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is also formulated in insecticides, herbicides, pesticides and cosmetics, and forms an ingredient in hydraulic fluids and cutting and drilling oils.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is an organic compound with the chemical formula BuOC2H4OH (Bu = CH3CH2CH2CH2).
Butyl CELLOSOLVE has a sweet, ether-like odor, as Butyl CELLOSOLVE derives from the family of glycol ethers, and is a butyl ether of ethylene glycol.
As a relatively nonvolatile, inexpensive solvent, Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in many domestic and industrial products because of its properties as a surfactant.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE (C₄H₉OCH₂CH₂OH) is a colorless liquid with a mild odor.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE can harm the eyes, skin, kidneys, and blood.
Workers may be harmed from exposure to Butyl CELLOSOLVE.
The level of exposure depends upon the dose, duration, and work being done.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used in many industries.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used as a solvent and is found in paint strippers, thinners, and household cleaners.
Some examples of workers at risk of being exposed to 2-butoxyethanol include the following:

Workers in silk-screening and printing occupations.
Workers who make or refinish furniture.
Workers who use spray paints.
Employees exposed to certain household cleaners.
Mechanics and others exposed to hydraulic fluids.
Factory workers who manufacture certain cosmetics.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is a high-production-volume glycol ether.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is a colourless liquid that is miscible in water and soluble in most organic solvents.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is used widely as a solvent in surface coatings, such as spray lacquers, quick-dry
lacquers, enamels, varnishes, varnish removers, and latex paint.
Butyl CELLOSOLVE is also used in metal and household cleaners.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE exists in the atmosphere almost entirely as a vapour; because the chemical has an atmospheric half-life of approximately 17 h, the risk for transport via the atmosphere should be small.
The estimated half-life of Butyl CELLOSOLVE in water is approximately 1-4 weeks, and the
chemical is likely readily biodegraded in aerobic soil and water.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE's potential for bioaccumulation is low.
Based upon limited data, ambient exposures in air are generally in the µg/m3 range.
Indirect exposure of the general population to Butyl CELLOSOLVE is most likely from inhalation and dermal absorption during the use of products containing the chemical.
Levels of airborne Butyl CELLOSOLVE in occupational settings are typically in the mg/m3 range.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE is readily absorbed following inhalation, oral, and dermal exposure.
The chemical is metabolized primarily via alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases, with the formation of 2-butoxyacetaldehyde and 2-butoxyacetic acid, the principal metabolite, although other metabolic pathways have also been identified.

Butyl CELLOSOLVE has moderate acute toxicity and is irritating to the eyes and skin; it is not a skin sensitizer.
The principal effect exerted by Butyl CELLOSOLVE and its metabolite 2-butoxyacetic acid is haematotoxicity, with the rat being the most sensitive species.
The results of  in vitro studies indicate that human red blood cells are not as sensitive as rat red blood cells to the haemolytic effects ofButyl CELLOSOLVE and 2-butoxyacetic acid and also that red blood cells are more sensitive to haemolysis by 2-butoxyacetic acid than to haemolysis by Butyl CELLOSOLVE
In rats, adverse effects on the central nervous system, kidneys, and liver occur at higher exposure concentrations than do haemolytic effects.

In animals, adverse effects on reproduction and development have not been observed at less
than toxic doses.
Although the results of  in vitro tests for mutagenicity of Butyl CELLOSOLVE were inconsistent, the absence of structural alerts and the negative findings from  in vivo studies are sufficiently reassuring to allow the conclusion that Butyl CELLOSOLVE is not mutagenic.

Based on limited data from case reports and one laboratory study, similar acute effects including haemolytic effects as well as effects on the central nervous system are observed in humans and rats exposed to Butyl CELLOSOLVE, although the effects are observed at much higher exposure concentrations in humans than in rats.
Based upon the development of haemolytic effects in pregnant rats exposed during gestation, a sample tolerable concentration for humans of 13.1 mg Butyl CELLOSOLVE/m3 has been derived.

Based upon extremely conservative assumptions, the highest predicted concentrations of Butyl CELLOSOLVE in surface waters in the immediate vicinity of effluent streams may, in some cases, exceed predicted no-observed-effect concentrations.
However, more realistic assumptions based on the available data suggest that risk to aquatic organisms is low.
Owing to the short half-life of Butyl CELLOSOLVE in the atmosphere, measured or predicted concentrations of this chemical in air are considered to have no environmental significance.

Other names:
Butyl CELLOSOLVE
111-76-2
ETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOBUTYL ETHER
Butyl CELLOSOLVE
Butoxyethanol
Ethanol, 2-butoxy-
n-Butoxyethanol
Ethylene glycol butyl ether
Butyl oxitol
Glycol butyl ether
Glycol ether eb
3-Oxa-1-heptanol
2-butoxyethan-1-ol
EGBE
Dowanol EB
2-Butoxy-1-ethanol
Gafcol EB
Poly-Solv EB
O-Butyl ethylene glycol
Jeffersol eb
Butyl cellu-sol
BUCS
Ektasolve EB
Glycol monobutyl ether
Chimec NR
2-Butoxy ethanol
2-Butossi-etanolo
2-Butoxy-aethanol
2-n-Butoxyethanol
Butylcelosolv
Butoksyetylowy alkohol
2-Butoxy-ethanol
Ethylene glycol n-butyl ether
EGMBE
Monobutyl glycol ether
Monobutyl ether of ethylene glycol
Ethylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether
n-Butyl CELLOSOLVE
.beta.-Butoxyethanol
ethyleneglycol monobutyl ether
Butyglycol
Monobutyl ethylene glycol ether
2-n-Butoxy-1-ethanol
Ether alcohol
Ethylene glycol, monobutyl ether
Butyl icinol
UNII-I0P9XEZ9WV
Minex BDH
NSC 60759
2-Hydroxyethyl n-butyl ether
Butyl monoether glycol
Eter monobutilico del etilenglicol
I0P9XEZ9WV
Butyl 2-hydroxyethyl ether
Ether monobutylique de l'ethyleneglycol
9004-77-7
CHEBI:63921
DSSTox_CID_4097
DSSTox_RID_77286
DSSTox_GSID_24097
Caswell No. 121
butylcellosolve
g lycol ether eb
beta-Butoxyethanol
2 -Butoxyethanol
CAS-111-76-2
SMR001253761
Butoxyethanol, 2-
Ektasolve EB solvent
CCRIS 5985
HSDB 538
Ek tasolve EB solvent
Glycol ether eb acetate
EINECS 203-905-0
UN2369
n-butoxyethanol sodium salt
EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 011501
BRN 1732511
Butyloxitol
AI3-0993
butoxy-ethanol
Polyethylene glycol butyl ether
AI3-09903
Ethylene glycol mono butyl ether
Butyl Glycolether
3-oxaheptan-1-ol
Polyethylene glycol, monobutyl ester
2-(n-Butoxy)ethanol
BuOCH2CH2OH
ACMC-1BYYD
ethylenglycolmonobutylether
2-(1-Butyloxy) ethanol
EC 203-905-0
EC 500-012-0
SCHEMBL15712
MLS002174253
MLS002454362
WLN: Q2O4
ethylene glycol-monobutyl ether
Polyoxyethylene monobutyl ether
CHEMBL284588
Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), alpha-butyl-omega-hydroxy-
QSPL 003
DTXSID1024097
NSC60759
ZINC1690437
Tox21_202399
Tox21_300123
MFCD00002884
NSC-60759
SBB059918
AKOS009028760
MCULE-4417721312
NCGC00090683-01
NCGC00090683-02
NCGC00090683-03
NCGC00090683-04
NCGC00090683-05
NCGC00254083-01
NCGC00259948-01
LS-13220
B0698
FT-0626297
ST51046186
EN300-19317
C19355