Butan-2-ol
15892-23-6 · 78-92-2 · (+-)-2-butanol · (+/-)-2-Butanol · (1)-Butan-2-ol · (r)-(-)-sec-butanol · 0TUL3ENK62 · 1-Methyl propanol · 1-Methyl-1-propanol · 1-Methylpropyl alcohol · 2-Butanol · 2-Butanol (natural) · 2-Butanol, (R)- · 2-Butanol, anhydrous · 2-Butyl alcohol · 2-hydroxybutane · Alcool butylique secondaire · Alcool butylique secondaire (French) · BRN 0773649 · Butan-2-ol · butane-2-ol · Butanol secondaire · Butanol secondaire (French) · Butanol-2 · Butyl alcohol, sec- · Butylene hydrate · Caswell No. 119C · CCS 301 · D-sec-Butanol · DL-2-Butanol · DL-Butan-2-ol · dl-Methylethylcarbinol · DL-sec-Butanol · EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 001502 · Ethyl methyl carbinol · Ethylmethyl carbinol · HSDB 674 · L-sec-Butanol · Methyl ethyl carbinol · Methylethyl carbinol · Methylethylcarbinol · methylpropan-2-ol · n-Butan-2-ol · rac-2-butanol · rac-butan-2-ol · racemic-2-butanol · s-Butanol · s-Butyl alcohol · s-Butylalkohol · sec- Butanol · sec- Butyl Alcohol · sec-BuOH · sec-Butanol · SEC-BUTYL ALCOHOL · sec-Butyl Alcohol, (R)-(-)- · sec-C4H9OH · sec. butyl alcohol · sec.-butanol · sec.-butyl alcohol · secondary butanol · Secondary butyl alcoholCAS 78-92-2
Listed as a flavour enhancer and a flavouring agent by the US.
Listed as flavour enhancers (US) · flavouring agents and adjuvants (US)
- United States: Flavor enhancer — FDA, Substances Added to Food: 2-BUTANOL
- United States: Flavoring agent or adjuvant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: 2-BUTANOL
Butan-2-ol, also called secondary butyl alcohol, is used as an extraction solvent and as a flavouring agent.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Canada | No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here. | ||
| European Union | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Great Britain | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Japan | No listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance. | ||
| South Korea | No listing matchedThis site imports Part III of South Korea’s Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, matched by CAS number, then INS number, then exact name. Mixed preparations and sanitisers are not imported, and an entry whose identifiers disagreed with a page’s is held for review, so an empty row does not show that South Korea does not permit the substance. | ||
| United States | Permitted, with conditions | Named in the list of synthetic flavoring substances and adjuvants in 21 CFR 172.515(b), which may be safely used in food in the minimum quantity required to produce their intended effect. The section is held on this site as the page synthetic-flavoring-substances-and-adjuvants; read it for the conditions. | 21 CFR 172.515retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| Codex Alimentarius | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. |
How much is permitted
A listing usually limits the quantity as well as the food. Only one of the forms that takes is a figure: quantum satis and good manufacturing practice permit the amount the technological effect requires and no more, which is a limit rather than the absence of one. Figures below are the range across every food category this page is listed in, and categories differ between regulators — see how much is permitted.
| United States | — | 1 no quantity stated |
|---|
No regulator sets a figure for Butan-2-ol. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.
What it is made from
Made industrially by hydrating butenes from petroleum refining.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 78-92-2
- InChIKey
- BTANRVKWQNVYAZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- PubChem
- CID 6568
How JECFA defines it
The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.
Butan-2-ol
Synonyms: 2-hydroxybutane; Secondary butyl alcohol
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- Prepared at the 25th JECFA (1981), published in FNP 19 (1981) and in FNP 52 (1992). Metals and arsenic specifications revised at the 63rd JECFA (2004). No ADI was allocated at the 23rd JECFA (1979)
- SYNONYMS DEFINITION Chemical names C.A.S. number Chemical formula Structural formula
- Secondary butyl alcohol, 2-hydroxybutane 2-Butanol, butan-2-ol 78-92-2 C 4 H 10 O
- Formula weight DESCRIPTION FUNCTIONAL USES Solubility (Vol. 4) Specific gravity (Vol. 4) Distillation range (Vol. 4)
- 74.12 Colourless, clear, slightly viscous, flammable liquid, with a characteristic odour Extraction solvent, flavouring agent (see Volume 5) Freely soluble in water; miscible with ethanol and ether 0.806 - 0.809 98.5 - 100.5 o
Purity criteria
- Non-volatile residue (Vol. 4) Water (Vol. 4) Acidity
- Not more than 2 mg/100 ml Not more than 0.2% w/w (Karl Fischer Method) Not more than 0.003% w/w (as acetic acid) To 60 g of the sample add a few drops of phenolphthalein TS, and titrate with 0.1 N ethanolic potassium hydroxide to a pink end-point which persists for at least 15 sec. Not more than 0.3 ml is required.
- Aldehyde and ketone
- Not more than 0.3% w/w (as butanal) Proceed as directed under Aldehyde and Ketone Determination in Volume 4 using 10 g of the sample and 36.06 as the equivalence factor (e) in the calculation.
- Lead (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 2 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”
Every name it appears under
61 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
CAS registry number
- 15892-23-6
- 78-92-2
Other names
- (+-)-2-butanol
- (+/-)-2-Butanol
- (1)-Butan-2-ol
- (r)-(-)-sec-butanol
- 0TUL3ENK62
- 1-Methyl propanol
- 1-Methyl-1-propanol
- 1-Methylpropyl alcohol
- 2-Butanol
- 2-Butanol (natural)
- 2-Butanol, (R)-
- 2-Butanol, anhydrous
- 2-Butyl alcohol
- 2-hydroxybutane
- Alcool butylique secondaire
- Alcool butylique secondaire (French)
- BRN 0773649
- Butan-2-ol
- butane-2-ol
- Butanol secondaire
- Butanol secondaire (French)
- Butanol-2
- Butyl alcohol, sec-
- Butylene hydrate
- Caswell No. 119C
- CCS 301
- D-sec-Butanol
- DL-2-Butanol
- DL-Butan-2-ol
- dl-Methylethylcarbinol
- DL-sec-Butanol
- EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 001502
- Ethyl methyl carbinol
- Ethylmethyl carbinol
- HSDB 674
- L-sec-Butanol
- Methyl ethyl carbinol
- Methylethyl carbinol
- Methylethylcarbinol
- methylpropan-2-ol
- n-Butan-2-ol
- rac-2-butanol
- rac-butan-2-ol
- racemic-2-butanol
- s-Butanol
- s-Butyl alcohol
- s-Butylalkohol
- sec- Butanol
- sec- Butyl Alcohol
- sec-BuOH
- sec-Butanol
- SEC-BUTYL ALCOHOL
- sec-Butyl Alcohol, (R)-(-)-
- sec-C4H9OH
- sec. butyl alcohol
- sec.-butanol
- sec.-butyl alcohol
- secondary butanol
- Secondary butyl alcohol
Hazard reference values
No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.
Evidence and how bodies read it
Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.
Common questions
Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.
- What is Butan-2-ol?
- Butan-2-ol, also called secondary butyl alcohol, is used as an extraction solvent and as a flavouring agent.
- What is Butan-2-ol used for in food?
- It is listed as a flavour enhancer and a flavouring agent — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Is Butan-2-ol banned in Europe?
- No. Butan-2-ol does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.
- Where is Butan-2-ol permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, the US permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
- Is Butan-2-ol vegan?
- Yes. Butan-2-ol is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- us-listings retrieved 2026-10-18
- jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23
Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.
Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.
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