Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA)

Brief Overview

Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA), also known as dimethylcarbinol and 2-propanol, is a clear, colorless liquid with a rubbing alcohol odor. It is an organic compound with the molecular formula (CH₃)₂CH(OH) and is one of the isomers of n-propanol. It is soluble in water, alcohol, ether, benzene, chloroform, and most organic solvents. The vapor of IPA can form an explosive mixture with air. The toxicity of its vapors is twice as high as ethanol.

Manufacturing Process

Isopropyl alcohol can be manufactured by two processes:

1. Indirect Hydration Reaction: Propylene is first reacted with sulfuric acid to obtain isopropyl hydrogen sulfate, which produces isopropanol after hydrolysis.

   CH₃CH=CH₂ + H₂SO₄ → (CH₃)₂CHOSO₃H
   (CH₃)₂CHOSO₃H + H₂O → (CH₃)₂CHOH + H₂SO₄

2. Direct Hydration: Propylene is directly hydrated in the presence of a catalyst, heat, and high pressure to form isopropanol with a selectivity of 96%.

   CH₃CH=CH₂ + H₂O → (CH₃)₂CHOH

Compared with the indirect method, the direct hydration method avoids the issue of sulfuric acid corrosion and dilute acid concentration. Therefore, this method is dominant in industrial production.

Electronic Industry

Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is used as a cleaning agent and in the production of PCB holes for conductivity. It is also used for other electronic devices, including cleaning disc cartridge, floppy disk drives, magnetic tape, and the laser tip of the disc driver of CD or DVD player.

Raw Material

In the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, isopropanol or isopropyl alcohol can be used for the manufacturing of scouring liquid, hand and body lotions, antiseptics, and the pharmaceutical redness agents. Isopropanol is also used to synthesize isopropyl ester, methyl isobutyl ketone, di-isopropylamine, di-isopropyl ether, isopropyl acetate, thymol and other various kinds of esters.

Solvent

Isopropanol can be used as a solvent for flexographic printing, offset printing, gravure printing, and as equipment cleaner. It is also often supplied to the ink. It is also an important solvent for dilution and extraction in the laboratory. In addition, isopropanol is also used as a gasoline additive and fuel pipeline deicer. In many industrial and consumer products, isopropanol is used as a low-cost solvent as well as a kind of extraction agents which can substitute the application of ethanol in many cases.

Other Applications

Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) can also be used as the reagent for the determination of barium, calcium, magnesium, nickel, potassium, sodium, and strontium. It can also be used as the reference material for chromatographic analysis. It is also used in paints, thinners, paint, cleaning, and polishing, and surface sterilization, disinfection hospitals, food processing plants. Low-quality isopropanol can also be used in automotive fuels.