ABSTRACT
2-Methyl-1-butanol occurs naturally in the volatile components of many fruits. Volatile emissions from poultry manure contain 2-methyl-1-butanol. The use of 2-methyl-1-butanol as a solvent can release it to the atmosphere by evaporation. If released to air, it will degrade by reaction with photochemically produced hydroxyl radicals. Leaching in soil is possible based upon its high water solubility; however, concurrent biodegradation should lessen the importance of leaching. Volatilization half-lives from a model environmental river and model pond have been estimated to be 61 hr and 28 days, respectively. The only identifiable degradation process in soil is biodegradation. Although biodegradation data specific to 2-methyl-1-butanol are unavailable, analogy to similar aliphatic alcohols suggests that 2-methyl-1-butanol will readily biodegrade. Based upon the water solubility, the Koc for 2-methyl-1-butanol can be estimated to be 15 from a regression-derived equation.
