| Chemical Abstract Number (CAS #) |
107028
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| Synonyms | Acrolein |
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2-Propenal | Acrylic aldehyde | Acrylaldehyde | Acraldehyde |
| Analytical Methods |
EPA Method 603 |
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EPA Method 8030A |
EPA Method 8240B |
EPA Method 8260A |
EPA Method 8315 |
| Molecular Formula | C3H4O |
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| Use | MFR COLLOIDAL FORMS OF METALS; MAKING PLASTICS, PERFUMES;
WARNING AGENT IN METHYL CHLORIDE REFRIGERANT; HAS BEEN USED IN
MILITARY POISON GAS MIXTURES
CHEMICAL INT IN SYNTH OF GLYCERIN, ACRYLIC ACID, & ESTERS; PESTICIDE
Intermediate for glycerol, polyurethane, polyester resins, & pharmaceuticals
AQUATIC HERBICIDE, BIOCIDE, SLIMICIDE
MOLLUSCICIDE
FOR CONTROL OF SUBMERGED WEEDS (POTAMOGETON, NAJAS, ZANNICHELLIA,
CERATOPHYLLUM, SPIROGYRA, & OTHERS) & FLOATING WEEDS (WATER CRESS,
WATER HYACINTH & WATER PRIMROSE) IN IRRIGATION CANALS, DITCHES.
ALSO AN ALGICIDE.
Used as a liquid fuel
Chemical intermediate for DL-methionine, its hydroxy analog, and their salts; as a microbiocide in
oil wells; Used to make modified food starch
Acrolein has received quite a bit of attention as a tissue-fixative in histological work. This
property has been utilized for the preservation of red blood cells
In world War I, it was used as a tear gas under the name Papite.
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| Consumption Patterns | The largest market for acrolein is for methionine manufacture (1978)
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| Apparent Color | COLORLESS OR YELLOWISH LIQUID
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| Odor | Extremely sharp; Piercingly disagreeable; Extremely acrid, pungent ; Burnt, sweet
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| Boiling Point | 52.5 DEG C @ 760 MM HG
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| Melting Point | -88 DEG C
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| Molecular Weight | 56.06
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| Density | 0.8389 @ 20 DEG C; 0.8621 @ 0 DEG C; 0.8075 @ 50 DEG C
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| Odor Threshold Concentration | 0.21 PPM PURITY NOT SPECIFIED
Air: 0.16 ul/l; Water: 0.11 mg/l; Odor safety class D; D= 10-50% of attentive persons can detect
TLV concn in the air
Low= 0.0525 mg/cu m; High= 37.5000 mg/cu m; Irritating concn= 1.25 mg/cu m.
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| Sensitivity Data | Acrolein produces intense irritation to the eye and mucous membranes of the respiratory
tract.
Intense lacrimation & nasal irritation
The general sequence of acrolein irritation is concentration-time dependent eg, 1 ppm for 1 min
gives slight nasal irritation; 1 ppm for 5 min gives intolerable eye irritation; 5.5 ppm for 5 seconds
gives moderate eye irritation; & 5.5 ppm for 1 min produces marked lacrimation.
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| Environmental Impact | Acrolein is released to the environment: (a) in emissions and effluents from its
manufacturing plants and facilities which use this compound as an intermediate, (b) in exhaust gas
from combustion processes, (c) from direct application to water and wastewater during use as an
aquatic herbicide and slimicide, and (d) as a photooxidation product of various hydrocarbon
pollutants found in air including 1,3-butadiene. If released to moist soil, acrolein is expected to be
susceptible to extensive leaching. Biodegradation under aerobic conditions may be an important
fate process. Acrolein is predicted to volatilize rapidly from dry soil surfaces. If released to water,
acrolein may biodegrade under aerobic conditions, volatilize (half-life of 7 hours from a model
river), or undergo reversible hydration to beta-hydroxypropionaldehyde (half life of 21 days). The
overall half-life of acrolein in water is reported to range between 2 to 6 days. Bioaccumulation in
aquatic organisms, adsorption to suspended solids and sediments, reaction with singlet oxygen or
alkylperoxy radicals, and photolysis are not expected to be important fate processes in water. If
released to the atmosphere, the dominant removal mechanism is expected to be reaction of
acrolein vapor with photochemically generated hydroxyl radicals (half-life of 10-13 hrs). Products
of this reaction include: carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, and glycolaldehyde, and in the presence of
nitrogen oxides include: peroxynitrate and nitric acid. Small amounts of this compound may be
removed from the atmosphere by wet deposition. Reaction with ozone and direct photolysis are
not expected to be important fate processes in the atmosphere. The most probable routes of
exposure to acrolein by the general population are inhalation of contaminated air and ingestion of
foods which contain this compound. Worker exposure may occur by dermal contact and/or
inhalation.
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| Environmental Fate | AQUATIC FATE: EXPTL DATA FOR DECAY OF ACROLEIN IN WATER
INDICATE APPROX 1ST ORDER KINETICS. THE REACTION CONTINUED TO
COMPLETION IN NATURAL WATER. DATA ON EFFECTS OF PH ON DECAY OF
ACROLEIN MAY BE USED AS A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE OF DISSIPATION RATE.
IN WATER FLOWING IN 2 CHANNELS, AN 8 TO 10 FOLD DISCREPANCY BETWEEN
OBSERVED & PREDICTED RATES OF DISSIPATION WAS ATTRIBUTED TO MAJOR
LOSSES IN VOLATILIZATION & ADSORPTION. A RELATIVELY NONVOLATILE
REACTION PRODUCT (WHICH GAVE A POSITIVE REACTION WITH
DINITROPHENYLHYDRAZINE) ACCUMULATED INITIALLY BUT DISSIPATED.
TERRESTRIAL FATE: In the terrestrial environment, it is estimated that acrolein would have a
low tendency to adsorb on soil and would probably volatilize into the air or be leached from the
soil by water.
AQUATIC FATE: Half-life in water at pH 5, 150 hr; at pH 7, 120-180 hr; at pH 9, 5 to 40 hr.
AQUATIC FATE: Acrolein is removed from aqueous environments, with half-lives usually on the
order of less than a day. The primary loss process appears to be an initial hydration (and possibly
some biotransformation) to beta-hydroxypropionaldehyde, which is then further biotransformed.
Due to its high vapor pressure and water solubility, acrolein is expected to be highly mobile when
released into the environment, although degradative processes are likely to limit its transport.
AQUATIC FATE: If released to water, acrolein may biodegrade under aerobic conditions,
volatilize (half-life = 7 hours from a model river), or undergo reversible hydration to
beta-hydroxypropionaldehyde (half-life = 21 days). Bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms,
adsorption to suspended solids and sediments, reaction with singlet oxygen or alkylperoxy
radicals, and photolysis are not expected to be important fate processes. It is reported that
acrolein applied to natural waters at rates suggested for herbicidal use will persist up to 6 days
depending on water temperature . Acrolein added to irrigation channels at initial concentrations
of 6.1, 17.5 and 50.5 ppm underwent 100% loss in 12.5 days . Removal rate constants ranging
from 0.27-0.34 1/days were calculated by linear regression. These values correspond to half-lives
of 2.0-2.5 days .
ATMOSPHERIC FATE: If released to the atmosphere, acrolein is expected to exist almost
entirely in the vapor phase based on a vapor pressure of 220 mm Hg at 20 deg C(1,2,SRC). The
dominant removal mechanism is expected to be reaction with photochemically generated hydroxyl
radicals (t1/2 10-13 hours). Products of this reaction include: carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, and
glycolaldehyde. In the presence of nitrogen oxides products include peroxynitrate and nitric acid.
Detection of acrolein in rainwater samples suggests that small amounts of this compound may be
removed from the atmosphere by wet deposition. Reaction with ozone and direct photolysis are
not expected to be important fate processes.
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| Drinking Water Impact | SURFACE WATER: USEPA STORET Data Base - 798 water samples, 0.25% pos.,
median concn <14 ug/l .
EFFL: Present in 6 out of 11 samples of municipal effluent from Dayton, OH, concn range 20-200
ug/l . Detected in raw sewage in 2 sewage treatment plants in Chicago at concn ranging from
216-825 ug/l; although concn in final effluents were below 100 ug/l . USEPA STORET Data
Base - 1265 effluent samples, 1.5% pos., median concn <10.0 ug/l . Acrolein has been identified
in emissions from: plants manufacturing acrylic acid, not quantified; coffee roasting operations,
ND-0.6 mg/cu m (detection limit not reported); from a lithographic plate coater, <0.23-3.9 mg/cu
m; and from an automobile spray booth, 1.1-1.6 mg/cu m . Detected om 1 out of 5 leachate
samples from a Wisconsin municipal solid waste landfill .
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