Tetrahydrofuran
English alias: THF; oxolane; Butane, alpha,delta-oxide; Cyclotetramethylene oxide; Diethylene oxide; Furan, tetrahydro-; Furanidine; 1, 2, 3, 4 – tetrahydro – 9 h – fluoren – 9 – one
CAS no. : 109-99-9
EINECS no. : 203-726-8
Molecular formula: C4H8O
Molecular weight: 184.2338
InChI: InChI = 1 / C13H12O/c14-13-11-7-13-11-7-9 (11) 10-6-2-10-6-2 (10) 13 / h1, 3, 5, 7 H, 2,4,6,8 H2
Molecular structure: Tetrahydrofuran 109-99-9
Density: 1.17 g/cm3
Melting point: 108.4 ℃
Boiling point: 343.2°C at 760 mmHg
Flash: 150.7 ° C
Water solubility: Miscible
Steam pressure: 7.15E-05mmHg at 25°C
Physical and chemical properties:
Character colorless transparent liquid, have ether smell.
The boiling point of 67 ℃
Freezing point – 108 ℃
Relative density 0.985
The refractive index of 1.4050
Flash point – 17 ℃
Solubility is miscible with water, alcohol, ketone, benzene, ester, ether, hydrocarbon.
Product Use:
Used as solvent and raw material for organic synthesis

Tetrahydrofuran, abbreviated THF, is a heterocyclic organic compound. It belongs to the ether group and is the complete hydrogenation product of the aromatic compound furan. Tetrahydrofuran is one of the strongest polar ether. It is used as a medium polar solvent in chemical reaction and extraction. It is a colorless volatile liquid at room temperature and has a similar odor to diethyl ether. Soluble in water, ethanol, ether, acetone, Chemicalbook benzene and other organic solvents, known as the “universal solvent”. It can be partially miscible with water at room temperature, which is why some illegal reagent vendors make huge profits by mixing tetrahydrofuran reagent with water. Since THF tends to form peroxides in storage, the antioxidant BHT is generally added to industrial products. Water content is less than 0.2%. It has the characteristics of low toxicity, low boiling point and good fluidity.
At present, the major domestic producers of tetrahydrofuran include BASF China, Dalian Yizheng (DCJ), Shanxi Sanwei, Sinochem International, and Petrochina Qianguo Refinery, etc., and some OTHER PBT plants also produce part of the by-products. LyondellBasell Industries’ sales indexes in the United States and Europe are: purity 99.90%Chemicalbook, chroma (APHA) 10, moisture 0.03%, THF hydroperoxide 0.005%, total impurity 0.05%, and oxidation inhibitor 0.025% ~ 0.035%. In the polyurethane industry, the most important use is as a monomer material for polytetrahydrofuranediol (PTMEG), which is also one of the main uses of THF.

Main uses:
The main purpose
1. The raw material of the synthesis of polyurethane fiber tetrahydrofuran can be polycondensation (cationic initiated ring-opening repolymerization) into polytetramethylene ether diol (PTMEG), also known as tetrahydrofuran homopolyether. PTMEG and TOLuene diisocyanate (TDI) are made into special rubber with good wear resistance, oil resistance, low temperature performance and high strength. Block polyether polyester elastomer was prepared with dimethyl terephthalate and 1, 4-butanediol. Polyurethane elastic fibers (SPANDEX, SPANDEX), special rubber and some special purpose coatings are made from 2000 PTMEG and p-methylene bis (4-phenyl) diisocyanate (MDI). The most important use of THF is to produce PTMEG. According to rough statistics, more than 80% of THF in the world is used to produce PTMEG, while PTMEG is mainly used to produce elastic spandex fiber.
2. Tetrahydrofuran is a good solvent commonly used, especially suitable for dissolving PVC, polyvinylidene chloride and butaniline. It is widely used as a solvent for surface coating, anti-corrosion coating, printing ink, magnetic tape and film coating. Magnetic tape coating, PVC surface coating, CLEANING PVC reactor, removal of PVC film, cellophane coating, plastic printing ink, thermoplastic polyurethane coating, solvent for adhesives, widely used in surface coatings, protective coatings, inks, extractants and synthetic leather surface finishing agents.
3. Used as raw materials for organic synthesis such as pharmaceuticals for the production of tetrahydrothiophene, 1.4-dichloroethane, 2.3-dichlorotetrahydrofuran, pentolactone, butyllactone and pyrrolidone, etc. In the pharmaceutical industry, it is used for the synthesis of kepidine, rifamycin, progesterone and some hormonal drugs. Tetrahydrothiophenol, which is produced by hydrogen sulfide treatment, can be used as odor agent (identification additive) in fuel gas and is also the main solvent in pharmaceutical industry.
4. Other uses of chromatographic solvents (gel permeation chromatography), used for natural gas flavor, acetylene extraction solvent, polymer materials, such as light stabilizer. With the wide application of tetrahydrofuran, especially the rapid growth of spandex industry in China in recent years, the demand for PTMEG in China is increasing day by day, and the demand for tetrahydrofuran also shows a rapid growth trend.