Ethyl formate

Ethyl formate
IUPAC name	Ethyl formate
Systematic name	Ethyl methanoate
Identifiers
CAS number	109-94-4 Y
SMILES	CCOC=O
Properties
Molecular formula	C3H6O2
Molar mass	74.08 g mol−1
Density	0.917 g/cm3
Melting point	-80 °C, 193 K, -112 °F
Boiling point	54.0 °C, 327 K, 129 °F
Y (what is this?)  (verify) Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Ethyl formate is an ester formed when ethanol (an alcohol) reacts with formic acid (a carboxylic acid). It is also known as ethyl methanoate because formic acid is also known as methanoic acid. Ethyl formate has the characteristic smell of rum and is also partially responsible for the flavor of raspberries.^[1]

Exposure

Ethyl formate is generally recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.^[2]

According to the U.S Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ethyl formate can irritate eyes, skin, mucous membranes, and the respiratory system of humans and other animals; it is also a central nervous system depressant.^[3] In industry, it is used as a solvent for cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate, oils, and greases, it can be used as a substitute for acetone; workers may also be exposed to it under the following circumstances:^[3]

• during spray, brush, or dip applications of lacquers;
• during the manufacture of safety glass;
• when fumigating tobacco, cereals, and dried fruits (as an alternative to methyl bromide under the U.S. Department of Agriculture quarantine system^[2])

OSHA considers a time-weighted average of 100 parts per million (300 milligrams per cubic meter) over an eight-hour period as the permissible exposure limit.

In space

Astronomers have identified ethyl formate in dust clouds in an area of the Milky Way galaxy called Sagittarius B2. The astronomers, from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, used the 30 metre IRAM radiotelescope in Spain to analyse the spectra of radiation emitted from hot regions near a new star. It is among 50 molecules identified by the astronomers.^[4]

References

1. ^ Sample, Ian (21 April 2009). "Galaxy's centre tastes of raspberries and smells of rum, say astronomers". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/apr/21/space-raspberries-amino-acids-astrobiology. Retrieved 2009-04-21. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Alternative fumigants: Ethyl Formate". University of California. http://groups.ucanr.org/mba/Alternative_fumigants__Ethyl_Formate/. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Occupational Safety and Health Guideline for Ethyl Formate". OSHA. http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthguidelines/ethylformate/recognition.html. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
4. ^ Sample, Ian (21 April 2009). "Galaxy's centre tastes of raspberries and smells of rum, say astronomers". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/apr/21/space-raspberries-amino-acids-astrobiology. Retrieved 2009-04-21.