Product Overview
Isobutyl Alcohol 99% (isobutanol, CAS 78-83-1) is a clear, colorless solvent with a sweet, musty odor, stocked and shipped daily from our Taylor, TX warehouse. It is a workhorse C4 alcohol: coatings formulators use it to control flow and solvency, synthesis operations consume it as an intermediate for esters and plasticizers, and labs run it as an HPLC mobile phase component and extraction solvent. This material is not denatured. It is a UN1212 Class 3 flammable liquid, and every order leaves our dock in DOT-compliant packaging.
Buyers here are working operations: paint and coatings plants, chemical manufacturers, pharmaceutical extraction lines, and industrial maintenance teams that need a reliable mid-boiling alcohol without sourcing drama. We pack it from 1-quart bottles up to 330-gallon totes.
Why This Concentration
At 99%, this is straight isobutanol — you are buying the solvent itself, not a dilution. That matters in two places. In formulation work, water content changes evaporation behavior and can haze certain resin systems, so a high-assay alcohol keeps your solvent blend predictable. In synthesis, feeding a grade-specific alcohol means your esterification stoichiometry isn't chasing an unknown water fraction.
The trade-off is handling. Concentrated isobutanol has a flash point of 85–100 °F, so it demands flammable-liquid storage discipline that a dilute aqueous product would not. If your work is analytical or otherwise sensitive to trace impurities — HPLC, pharmaceutical extraction, tight-spec QC — step up to Isobutyl Alcohol 99% ACS Grade, which carries the tighter impurity profile those methods expect. For coatings, cleaning, and general process use, this product is the practical choice at a lower cost per gallon.
Chemical Profile
Isobutyl Alcohol 99% is a clear, colorless liquid with a sweet, musty odor and the formula C4H10O (molecular weight 74.12; CAS 78-83-1). It is less dense than water — density 0.802 at 68 °F — so spills float rather than sink, which matters for containment planning. Water solubility runs 50 to 100 mg/mL at 61 °F: partially miscible, enough for aqueous extraction work, limited enough to phase-separate in bulk. Vapor pressure is modest at 9 mmHg at 68 °F (10 mmHg at 71.1 °F), giving it a slower, more controllable evaporation than lighter alcohols. Two handling facts follow directly from this profile: the flash point sits at 85–100 °F, and the vapors are heavier than air, so they travel low and collect in pits, sumps, and confined spaces.
Industrial Applications
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Paints and coatings. Isobutanol dissolves a broad range of resins and works as a component of solvent blends, where its evaporation rate helps films level and resist blushing.
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Chemical synthesis. A standard feedstock alcohol for producing isobutyl esters and plasticizers; the hydroxyl group reacts cleanly in esterification service.
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HPLC mobile phase. Used as a mobile-phase component in reversed-phase liquid chromatography for separating organic compounds. Analytical labs with method-driven purity requirements should specify the ACS grade.
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Extraction solvent. Its partial water miscibility makes it useful in liquid-liquid extraction, including isolation steps in pharmaceutical processing.
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Industrial cleaning. Cuts oils, greases, and many resin residues on parts and equipment where a slower-flashing alcohol is preferred over acetone or IPA.
Handling & Storage
Treat this as the flammable liquid it is. The signal word is Danger, and the material carries H226 (flammable liquid and vapor), H315 (causes skin irritation), H318 (causes serious eye damage), H335 (may cause respiratory irritation), and H336 (may cause drowsiness or dizziness) (per the product's GHS classification). H318 is the one operators underestimate: this is a serious-eye-damage rating, so sealed goggles — not safety glasses — plus chemical-resistant gloves are the minimum PPE. Work with ventilation; the vapors are heavier than air and pool at floor level.
Store cool and ventilated, away from heat and ignition sources, out of direct sunlight, and segregated from strong oxidizers and acids. HDPE and glass are both suitable container materials, and the product is stable in its original sealed packaging under those conditions. Ground and bond during transfers, as with any Class 3 liquid. This handling guidance is reviewed by Andre Taki, DOT Hazmat Specialist.
Hazmat & Shipping
This product ships as UN1212, Isobutanol, Hazard Class 3, Packing Group III (per 49 CFR 172.101). PG III is the lowest danger grouping within the flammable class, which keeps ground-freight requirements manageable, but it is still fully regulated hazmat: our team packs it in UN-spec packaging, applies Class 3 labeling, and ships with correct dangerous-goods paperwork on every order. Alliance Chemical charges hazmat fees may apply. Quarts and gallons move as parcel-eligible hazmat; drums, and 275- and 330-gallon totes ship LTL freight from Taylor, TX.
Documentation
A Safety Data Sheet accompanies every order, available in English, Spanish, French, and Japanese. A lot-specific Certificate of Analysis is available for the material you receive — the actual lot, not a generic spec — and a Technical Data Sheet is available on request. If your receiving or EHS department needs documents before the truck arrives, ask and we'll send them ahead.
Why Buy from Alliance Chemical
We are hazmat operators. Isobutanol leaves our Taylor, TX warehouse daily in DOT-compliant packaging, packed by a team that handles Class 3 flammables all day, every day — and our shipping and handling guidance is reviewed by a DOT Hazmat Specialist. You get real pack-size flexibility from a single quart to a 330-gallon tote, lot-level documentation, and a supplier who answers the phone when your compliance team has a question. Hazmat fees may apply, no middleman delays: the product is on our floor, and it ships when you order it.
