Production
In 1994, 1.5 million tonnes of isopropyl alcohol were produced in the United States, Europe, and Japan. This compound is primarily produced by combining water and propene in a hydration reaction. Of minor significance is the hydrogenation of acetone.
There are two routes for the hydration process: indirect hydration via the sulfuric acid process, and direct hydration. The former process, which can use low-quality propene, predominates in the USA while the latter process, which requires high-purity propene, is more commonly used in Europe. These processes give predominantly isopropyl alcohol rather than 1-propanol because the addition of water or sulfuric acid to propene follows Markovnikov's rule.
Read more about this topic: Isopropyl Alcohol
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