Characteristics of acetonitrile

Acetonitrile, also known as methyl cyanide, is a colorless liquid that is highly volatile. It has a special odor similar to ether and has excellent solvent properties. Acetonitrile can dissolve a variety of organic, inorganic and gaseous substances. It has certain toxicity and is infinitely miscible with water and alcohol. Acetonitrile is a major organic intermediate that can undergo typical nitrile reactions and is used to prepare many typical nitrogen-containing compounds. Acetonitrile can be used to synthesize vitamin A, cortisone, solvents for carbonamines and their intermediates. As well as it can be used to make for  active medium solvents for the manufacture of vitamin B1 and amino acids. It can replace chlorinated solvents. It is used in vinyl coatings, as an extractant for fatty acids, an alcohol denaturant, a butadiene extractant and a solvent for acrylonitrile synthetic fibers. Acetonitrile also has many uses in fabric dyeing, lighting, fragrance manufacturing and photographic material manufacturing.

Application of acetonitrile

The main application of acetonitrile is as a solvent. For example, as a solvent for extracting butadiene, a solvent for synthetic fibers and a solvent for some special coatings. Acetonitrile is a solvent used in the petroleum industry to remove tar, phenol, etc. from petroleum hydrocarbons. It is used as a solvent for extracting fatty acids from animal and vegetable oils in the oil and fat industry and as a reaction medium for recrystallization of steroids in medicine. A binary azeotrope of acetonitrile with water is often used in polar solvents where high dielectric constant is required: 84% acetonitrile and 76 ° C boiling point.

Acetonitrile is a medicine (vitamin B1) and an intermediate for perfumes. And it is a raw material for the manufacture of a triazine nitrogen fertilizer synergist. It is also used as a denaturant for alcohol. In addition, it can also be used to synthesize ethylamine, acetic acid, etc., and has many uses in the fabric dyeing and lighting industries.