Two commercial routes to IPA are used. The older method is based on the indirect hydration of refinery-grade propylene using sulphuric acid to form isopropyl sulphate which is then hydrolysed with steam to form sulphuric acid and IPA. The crude IPA is distilled to the desired purity.
A more modern route is the direct hydration of chemical grade (90-99%) propylene avoiding the need for sulphuric acid. Propylene and water are heated and the liquid-vapour mixture under pressure passes into a trickle flow reactor containing sulphonated polystyrene cation ion exchange resins. Alternatively, the reaction can be carried out in the gas phase over a phosphoric acid-based fixed bed catalyst. There is also a liquid phase route employing a soluble tungsten catalyst. The IPA is obtained from the aqueous solution by distillation.
A very small amount of IPA is produced by the hydrogenation of acetone in the liquid phase. This process is only suitable where excess acetone is available.
Isopropanol
Price Reports
ICIS pricing gives you access on a weekly or real time basis to the latest price movements and critical market commentary on the Isopropanol market. Click below to see a quarterly market overview.
More about Isopropanol Price Reports
Isopropanol
Uses and Outlook
The main use for isopropanol (IPA) is in solvents with outlets in cosmetics and personal care products, de-icers, paints and resins, pharmaceuticals, food, inks and adhesives. It is also used as solvent for oil and gums and in the manufacture of fishmeal concentrates. Low-grade IPA is used in motor oils. Little or no growth is expected in solvent applications due to stricter regulations on volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
More about Isopropanol Uses and Outlook
Search for
Isopropanol
Suppliers
If you are sourcing
Isopropanol
products and services, use ICIS search for fast and accurate results. ICIS search
is the search engine dedicated to the chemical industry – we show you only relevant
results -
search now.