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Isopropyl alcohol dissolves a wide range of non-polar compounds. Isopropyl alcohol may be converted to acetone, but the cumene process is more significant. Some isopropyl alcohol is used as a chemical intermediate. Isopropyl alcohol is popular in particular for pharmaceutical applications, due to its low toxicity. In that year, 5400 metric tonnes were used for household purposes and in personal care products. In 1990, 45,000 metric tonnes of isopropyl alcohol were used in the United States, mostly as a solvent for coatings or for industrial processes. Isopropanol has ideal physical and chemical properties to form a supersaturated layer of vapor which can be condensed by particles of radiation. One of the small scale uses of isopropanol is in cloud chambers. Diisopropyl ether is a significant by-product of this process it is recycled back to the process and hydrolyzed to give the desired product. Subsequent hydrolysis of these esters by steam produces isopropyl alcohol, by distillation. These processes give primarily isopropyl alcohol rather than 1-propanol, because adding water or sulfuric acid to propene follows Markovnikov's rule. This process can use low-quality propene, and is predominant in the USA. Indirect hydration reacts propene with sulfuric acid to form a mixture of sulfate esters. Small amounts of isopropyl alcohol are produced in the body in diabetic ketoacidosis. Pure ( anhydrous) isopropyl alcohol is made by azeotropic distillation of the wet isopropyl alcohol using either diisopropyl ether or cyclohexane as azeotroping agents. Isopropyl alcohol and water form an azeotrope, and simple distillation gives a material that is 87.9% by mass isopropyl alcohol and 12.1% by mass water.
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There are two routes for the hydration process and both processes require that the isopropyl alcohol be separated from water and other by-products by distillation. It is primarily produced by combining water and propene in a hydration reaction or by hydrogenating acetone. In 1994, 1.5 million tonnes of isopropyl alcohol were produced in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Isopropyl alcohol was oxidized to acetone for the preparation of cordite, a smokeless, low explosive propellant. In 1920, Standard Oil first produced isopropyl alcohol by hydrating propene. The reaction with aluminium (initiated by a trace of mercury) is used to prepare the catalyst aluminium isopropoxide. Like most alcohols, isopropyl alcohol reacts with active metals such as potassium to form alkoxides that can be called isopropoxides. Isopropyl alcohol may be converted to 2-bromopropane using phosphorus tribromide, or dehydrated to propene by heating with sulfuric acid. Isopropyl alcohol is often used as both solvent and hydride source in the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction and other transfer hydrogenation reactions. This can be achieved using oxidizing agents such as chromic acid, or by dehydrogenation of isopropyl alcohol over a heated copper catalyst: Isopropyl alcohol can be oxidized to acetone, which is the corresponding ketone. Isopropyl alcohol has a maximal absorbance at 205 nm in an Ultraviolet-visible spectrum. Isopropyl alcohol becomes increasingly viscous with decreasing temperature and freezes at −89 ☌ (−128 ☏). It has a slightly bitter taste, and is not safe to drink. Alcohol mixtures have depressed melting points. Isopropyl alcohol forms an azeotrope with water, which gives a boiling point of 80.37 ☌ (176.67 ☏) and a composition of 87.7% by mass (91% by volume) isopropyl alcohol. The process is colloquially called salting out, and causes concentrated isopropyl alcohol to separate into a distinct layer. Unlike ethanol or methanol, isopropyl alcohol is not miscible with salt solutions and can be separated from aqueous solutions by adding a salt such as sodium chloride. It dissolves ethyl cellulose, polyvinyl butyral, many oils, alkaloids, gums and natural resins. Isopropyl alcohol is miscible in water, ethanol, and chloroform.