CAS
NO. |
1634-04-4 |
|
EINECS
NO. |
216-653-1 |
FORMULA |
(CH3)3COCH3 |
MOL
WT. |
88.15 |
H.S.
CODE |
2909.19 |
TOXICITY
|
Oral rat
LD50: 4000 mg/kg |
SYNONYMS |
2-Methoxy-2-methylpropane;
methyl t-butyl ether; |
Tert-butyl methyl ether; Methyl
Tertiary Butyl Ether; Methyl 1,1-dimethylethyl ether;
2-Methyl-2-methoxypropane; |
SMILES
|
|
CLASSIFICATION
|
|
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
|
PHYSICAL
STATE |
clear
liquid |
MELTING POINT |
-109
C |
BOILING
POINT |
55
- 56 C
|
SPECIFIC GRAVITY |
0.74 |
SOLUBILITY
IN WATER |
slightly soluble
(4.5 - 5.5 g/l at 25 C) |
pH |
|
VAPOR DENSITY |
|
AUTOIGNITION |
|
NFPA RATINGS |
Health: 2; Flammability: 3; Reactivity: 0 |
REFRACTIVE
INDEX |
|
FLASH
POINT |
-28
C
|
STABILITY |
Stable
under ordinary conditions
|
GENERAL
DESCRIPTION & APPLICATIONS
|
MTBE (Methyl-tert-Butyl Ether) is a volatile, low viscosity clear liquid at room temperature with an ether
odour; boiling point 55.2 C; melting point -109 C. MTBE is flammable and
can form explosive mixtures with air. It is slightly soluble in water and very
soluble ethers and alcohol and in most organic solvents including hydro carbons. MTBE
is an ether which contains an oxygen atom bonded to two carbon atoms. In
Methyl-tert-Butyl Ether, one carbon atom is that of a methyl group and the other is the
central atom in a tertiary butyl group.
MTBE is prepared by reacting isobutylene contained in a mixed C4 stream with
methanol in the presence of an acidic ion-exchange resin catalyst such as
sulfonated styrene linked with divinyl benzene at 100 C. Isobutylene can also be prepared
from TBA by dehydration and from n-butane by isomerization without dehydration.
The most quantity produced worldwide is used as an oxygenate to gasoline. It is
added both to increase octane enhancement to replace banned tetraethyl lead and
to raise the oxygen content in gasoline. It is known that MTBE in fuel reduces
exhaust emissions of VOC (volatile organic compounds: acetaldehyde, benzene,
1,3-butadiene, ethylbenzene, formaldehyde, toluene, xylenes, and particulate
organic matter) except formaldehyde. Ozone is formed by the reaction of sunlight
with NOx and VOCs. Some quantity of MTBE is used in the preparation of
isobutene. With strong solvating capabilities for a wide variety of compounds
including unsaturated hydrocarbons and steroids, MTBE is used as a reaction
medium and extraction solvent to replace methylene chloride, aromatics, and other
ethers. MTBE is a non-chlorinated process solvent. It is used as a solvent for
chromotographic techniques. The sterically hindered tertiary butyl group imparts
stability. It possesses a much lower tendency to form explosive organic
peroxides than most ethers. It has also an acid stability compare to other
diether acetals. It forms azeotrope with water (52 - 53 C) and methanol (51 -
52 C). It is used as a solvent in Grignard synthesis and other organometallic
reactions. It is used as an anionic and cationic polymerization solvent. |
SALES
SPECIFICATION |
APPEARANCE
|
clear
liquid
|
ASSAY
(G.C) |
98.0%
min |
METHANOL |
0.3%
max
|
DIISOBUTYLENE |
1.0%
max
|
TRIISOBUTYLENE |
1.0%
max
|
T-BUTYL ALCOHOL |
1.0%
max
|
C4
C5 HYDROCARBONS |
1.0%
max
|
WATER
|
500ppm
max
|
Cu CORROSION |
Pass
|
TRANSPORTATION |
PACKING |
|
HAZARD CLASS |
3
(Packing Group: II) |
UN
NO. |
2398 |
OTHER
INFORMATION |
Hazard
Symbols: XI F, Risk Phrases: 11-38, Safety Phrases: 9-16-33-37 |
GENERAL
DESCRIPTION OF ETHER
|
Ether
is any of a number of organic compounds characterized
by an oxygen atom joined by two carbon atoms that are
part of hydrocarbon groups. The general formula is ROR',
where R and R' are alkyl groups. Ethers are formed by
the condensation of two alcohols. They are similar to
alcohols but are generally less dense, less soluble
in water, and have lower boiling points. They are relatively
unreactive chemically. This unreactive property makes
ethers valuable as solvents. Common names of ethers
simply list the alkyl groups in alphabetical order (ethyl
methyl ether, IUPAC name is methoxyethane). Epoxides
and crown ether are a special class of cyclic ethers.
Epoxide (oxirane) is a three-membered cyclic ether in
which an oxygen atom is joined to each of two carbon
atoms that are already bonded to each other. Crown Ether
is a macrocyclic polyether whose structure contains
hydrogen, carbon and oxygen atoms. Each oxygen atoms
are confined between two carbon atoms and exhibits a
conformation with a hole (accordingly called "crown").
|