Product Overview
Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK) Technical Grade is a clear, colorless ketone solvent, CAS 108-10-1, also sold under the name 4-Methyl-2-pentanone. It is a fast, aggressive solvent for resins, lacquers, adhesives, and a wide range of organic compounds, which is why it shows up in coating formulation, extraction work, and industrial equipment cleaning. we distribute it in our Taylor, TX warehouse and ship it daily as a Class 3 flammable liquid in DOT-compliant packaging.
This page is for the working buyer: the coatings formulator sizing a solvent blend, the plant maintenance lead who needs a reliable equipment-cleaning solvent, the process operator running an extraction step. If you need a ketone that dissolves what acetone flashes off too quickly to handle, MIBK is the workhorse.
Why This Concentration
Technical Grade is the industrial workhorse tier. It is specified for process use — solvent blending, cleaning, extraction, synthesis feedstock — where the solvent's job is to dissolve, carry, and evaporate, not to pass trace-level analytical scrutiny. For most shop-floor and plant applications, Technical Grade is the correct and most economical choice.
The handling trade-off does not change with grade: MIBK is a flammable liquid with a flash point of 73 °F, so every container of it, at any purity, demands the same grounding, bonding, and ventilation discipline. What changes with grade is the certificate behind it. If your application is trace-sensitive analytical work, a higher-purity grade is the better fit; for production processes, buying above Technical Grade usually just adds cost. Match the grade to the process, and confirm the lot against the documentation we ship with the order.
Chemical Profile
Methyl isobutyl ketone is a clear, colorless liquid with a pleasant odor, supplied as a mobile liquid. Its formula is C6H12O with a molecular weight of 100.16, CAS 108-10-1. Density is 0.802 at 68 °F — less dense than water, so it will float on it rather than mix in. Water solubility is limited, at 1 to 5 mg/mL at 70 °F, which is exactly the property extraction operators exploit: MIBK forms a distinct organic phase that separates cleanly from aqueous streams. Vapor pressure runs 5 mmHg at 67.5 °F and 10 mmHg at 86.0 °F, so it evaporates at a measured pace — slower than acetone, which gives coatings better flow-out and gives cleaning solvent more working time on the part. The flash point is 73 °F, and its vapors are heavier than air, meaning they sink and can travel along floors toward ignition sources. Plan your ventilation low, not just high.
Industrial Applications
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Paints, coatings, and adhesives. MIBK's strong solvency for resins and its moderate evaporation rate make it a standard active solvent in lacquers, industrial coatings, and adhesive formulations. It keeps film-formers in solution long enough to level before flashing off.
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Liquid-liquid extraction. Its low water solubility and clean phase separation make MIBK a common extraction solvent, including in pharmaceutical processing, where it pulls target organics out of aqueous process streams.
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Chemical synthesis intermediate. MIBK serves as a raw material and reaction medium in the manufacture of downstream chemicals.
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Industrial cleaning. As a cleaning solvent for equipment, tooling, and surfaces, MIBK cuts resins, inks, and adhesive residue that milder solvents leave behind.
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Chromatography mobile phases. MIBK is used as a mobile-phase component in liquid chromatography. For trace-level analytical work, evaluate whether Technical Grade purity meets your method's requirements; this grade is built for process use.
Handling & Storage
Treat MIBK as what it is: a flammable liquid with a 73 °F flash point. The signal word is Danger (per the product's GHS classification), and its hazard statements are H225 (highly flammable liquid and vapor), H319 (causes serious eye irritation), H332 (harmful if inhaled), H335 (may cause respiratory irritation), H351 (suspected of causing cancer), and EUH066 (repeated exposure may cause skin dryness or cracking) (per the product's GHS classification). That profile dictates the routine: chemical-resistant gloves and sealed goggles at every transfer, ventilation adequate to keep vapor down at floor level, and ignition sources — sparks, open flames, hot work — kept well away from storage and dispensing areas.
Store it cool, tightly closed, and away from heat. Keep it segregated from strong oxidizing agents and acids. Compatible container materials include HDPE and glass; keep containers closed between uses to limit evaporative loss and vapor buildup. Ground and bond during drum transfers. Because the vapors are heavier than air, do not trust nose-level airflow alone — vapors pool low and travel.
Hazmat & Shipping
This product ships as UN1245, Methyl isobutyl ketone, Hazard Class 3, Packing Group II (per 49 CFR 172.101). We pack every order to DOT specification in our Taylor, TX warehouse — UN-rated containers, correct hazmat markings and labels, and complete shipping papers on every consignment. Class 3 PG II is our daily bread; your receiving dock gets a shipment that is labeled, documented, and ready for compliant intake, not a compliance problem to solve on arrival.
Documentation
A Safety Data Sheet ships with every order, available in English, Spanish, French, and Japanese. A lot-specific Certificate of Analysis is available for the material you receive, so your QC records trace to the actual lot in the drum, and a Technical Data Sheet is available for specification review before you buy.
Why Buy from Alliance Chemical
We are a chemical distributor and hazmat shipping operation, and MIBK is a product we physically stock, pack, and move every week. Orders ship daily from Taylor, Texas in DOT-compliant packaging, from quart jugs to 55-gallon drums, and we charge no hazmat fees. The shipping and handling guidance on this page is reviewed by Andre Taki, DOT Hazmat Specialist. When you order, you get the material, the SDS in your language, lot-level documentation, and a shipment your compliance team will not have to argue with.
