Methyl butyrate
Encyclopedia
Methyl butyrate, also known under the systematic name methyl butanoate, is the methyl ester
of butyric acid
. Like most esters, it has a fruity odour, in this case resembling apple
s or pineapple
s. At room temperature, it is a colourless liquid with low solubility
in water, upon which it floats to form an oily layer. Although it is flammable, it has a relatively low vapour pressure (40mm Hg at 30 °C (86 °F)), so it can be safely handled at room temperature without special safety precautions.
It is present in small amounts in several plant products, especially pineapple oil. It can be produced by distillation
from essential oil
s of vegetable origin, but is also manufactured on a small scale for use in perfumes and as a food flavouring.
Methyl butanoate has been used in combustion studies as a surrogate fuel for the larger fatty acid methyl esters found in biodiesel
. However, studies have shown that, due to its short-chain length, methyl butanoate does not reproduce well the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) behaviour and early CO2 formation characteristics of real biodiesel fuels. Therefore, methyl butanoate is not a suitable surrogate fuel for biodiesel
combustion studies.
Ester
Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid with a hydroxyl compound such as an alcohol or phenol. Esters are usually derived from an inorganic acid or organic acid in which at least one -OH group is replaced by an -O-alkyl group, and most commonly from carboxylic acids and...
of butyric acid
Butyric acid
Butyric acid , also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a carboxylic acid with the structural formula CH3CH2CH2-COOH. Salts and esters of butyric acid are known as butyrates or butanoates...
. Like most esters, it has a fruity odour, in this case resembling apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s or pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
s. At room temperature, it is a colourless liquid with low solubility
Solubility
Solubility is the property of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical substance called solute to dissolve in a solid, liquid, or gaseous solvent to form a homogeneous solution of the solute in the solvent. The solubility of a substance fundamentally depends on the used solvent as well as on...
in water, upon which it floats to form an oily layer. Although it is flammable, it has a relatively low vapour pressure (40mm Hg at 30 °C (86 °F)), so it can be safely handled at room temperature without special safety precautions.
It is present in small amounts in several plant products, especially pineapple oil. It can be produced by distillation
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
from essential oil
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
s of vegetable origin, but is also manufactured on a small scale for use in perfumes and as a food flavouring.
Methyl butanoate has been used in combustion studies as a surrogate fuel for the larger fatty acid methyl esters found in biodiesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
. However, studies have shown that, due to its short-chain length, methyl butanoate does not reproduce well the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) behaviour and early CO2 formation characteristics of real biodiesel fuels. Therefore, methyl butanoate is not a suitable surrogate fuel for biodiesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
combustion studies.