1-Pentanol

Preparation

1-Pentanol is prepared from 1-butene by hydroformylation followed by hydrogenation of the resulting pentanal. : :

Pentanol can be prepared by fractional distillation of fusel oil. To reduce the use of fossil fuels, research is underway to develop cost-effective methods of producing (chemically identical) bio-pentanol with fermentation.

Uses and occurrence

The hydroxyl group (OH) is the active site of many reactions. The ester formed from 1-pentanol and butyric acid is pentyl butyrate, which has an apricot-like odor. The ester formed from 1-pentanol and acetic acid is amyl acetate (also called pentyl acetate), which has a banana-like odor.

It is a precursor to dipentyl zinc dithiophosphates, which are used in froth flotation.

In 2014, a study was conducted comparing the performance of diesel fuel blends with various proportions of pentanol as an additive. While gaseous emissions increased with higher concentrations of pentanol, particulate emissions decreased.

Pentanol is often used as a solvent.

References

References

1. (26 March 2005). "n-pentanol - Compound Summary". National Center for Biotechnology Information.
2. [[CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics]] 65th ed.
3. (2011). "Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry".
4. (2010-01-01). "Pentanol isomer synthesis in engineered microorganisms". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.
5. Tseng, Hsien-Chung. (2011). "Production of pentanol in metabolically engineered ''Escherichia coli''". Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
6. Wei, Liangjie & Cheung, C.s & Huang, Zuohua. (2014). Effect of n-pentanol addition on the combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a direct-injection diesel engine. Energy. 70. 10.1016/j.energy.2014.03.106.