| Chemical Properties | Butyl stearate is a colorless or pale yellow oily liquid or low melting waxy solid. It has no odor or a faintly fatty odor. soluble in acetone, chloroform, soluble in ethanol, insoluble in water. |
| Occurrence | Reported found in fresh apple and boiled mutton. |
| Uses | butyl stearate is a stearic acid used in very small quantities in cosmetic preparations as an emulsifier for creams and lotions. It has been shown to cause allergic reactions. |
| Uses | Butyl stearate is used as finishing agents, lubricants and lubricant additives. It is also used as a plasticizer, food packaging material and as a dye solvent. It acts as a reactant and involved in the preparation of octadecanoic acid methyl ester by reacting with methanol. It finds application as a binder in cosmetics like soaps, shampoos and shaving creams, skin conditioners and surfactants for cosmetic formulations. |
| Definition | ChEBI: Butyl octadecanoate is a fatty acid ester that is the butyl ester of stearic acid. It has a role as an algal metabolite. It derives from an octadecanoic acid. |
| Preparation | Butyl stearate is obtained by esterification of stearic acid and butanol, dealcoholization, washing with water and pressure filtration.
By reacting silver state with n-butyl iodide at 100°C by transesterification of glyceryl tristearate (tristearin) with n-butyl alcohol. |
| General Description | Butyl stearate is a fatty acid ester, which has application in cosmetics, personal care products, and as an emollient in food industries. |
| Purification Methods | Acidic impurities are removed by shaking with 0.05M NaOH or a 2% NaHCO3 solution, followed by several water washes, then purified by fractional freezing of the melt and fractional crystallisation from solvents with boiling points below 100o. [Beilstein 2 IV 1219.] |
