Benzyl alcohol is a natural aromatic alcohol. It occurs as a clear, colourless, oily liquid. It is soluble in water at a ratio of 1:30 and miscible with alcohol, ether and chloroform.

Raw Materials Used in the Production

Raw Materials: Benzyl alcohol can be produced from benzaldehyde, which is obtained from the oxidation of toluene, and hydrogen.

Functions of Raw Materials:

• Benzaldehyde: Serves as a chemical precursor for the production of benzyl alcohol.
• Hydrogen: Used in the reduction reaction of benzaldehyde to form benzyl alcohol.

Industrial Chemical Synthesis Process

• Preparation: Benzaldehyde is prepared through the oxidation of toluene.
• Reaction: Benzaldehyde is then reduced with hydrogen to form benzyl alcohol.
• Purification: The produced benzyl alcohol is purified to remove impurities.

It appears as a clear oily liquid.

What it is used for and where it is used

Medical

Benzyl alcohol is the most frequently used antimicrobial preservative in multidose protein formulations, typically at a concentration of 0.9% (1). Anaesthetic (2), bacteriostatic agent. Solvent for vitamin B injections

Cosmetics

Flavouring agent, solvent, preservative, viscosity decreasing agent, perfume fixative. Deodorant.

External analgesic.  It is used for the temporary relief of itching and pain associated with mild skin irritation. The purpose of the external analgesic is not absorption through the skin, but the creation of a skin sensation that has the ability to relieve pain with a warm or cool feeling.

Fragrance. It plays a very important role in the formulation of cosmetic products as it allows perfume to be enhanced, masked or added to the final product, improving its commercial viability.  The consumer always expects to find a pleasant scent in a cosmetic product.

Oral care agent.  This ingredient can be placed in the oral cavity to improve and/or maintain oral hygiene and health, to prevent or improve a disorder of the teeth, gums, mucous membrane.

Preservative. Any product containing organic, inorganic compounds, water, needs to be preserved from microbial contamination. Preservatives act against the development of harmful microorganisms and against oxidation of the product.

Solvent. It is the substance for dissolving or dispersing surfactants, oils, dyes, flavourings, bactericidal preservatives in solution.

Viscosity decreasing Agent. Since viscosity is important for increasing the chemical and physical stability of the product, Viscosity Reducing Agent is an important dosage factor in gels, suspensions, emulsions, solutions.

Pharmaceuticals

Bacteriostatic agent in parenteral preparations, in water used to flush intravascular catheters, in the reconstitution of drugs. Excipient, solvent with medium boiling point. 

Food

Flavouring agent as it is extracted from ylan-ylang, violet, jasmine and other flowers. On the European food additives list it has the number E1519. 

In 2019, the European Union's Scientific Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF) concluded the re-evaluation of benzyl alcohol in its use as a food additive by stating that exposure to benzyl alcohol (E 1519) does not raise safety concerns for reported uses and use levels (3) and set an ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) of 4 mg/kg body weight per day.

Other applications

• Solvent for epoxy resin, casein, synthetic paints and glass, dye for optical lenses.
• Widely used in the production of oil for ballpoint pens.
• Chromatographic analysis

Warnings

Benzyl alcohol generates a small amount of benzaldehyde and benzyl ether and is therefore not suitable for long-term storage as it can slowly oxidise.

The most relevant studies on the subject have been selected with a summary of their contents:

Benzyl alcohol studies

Benzyl alcohol safety

Optimal typical characteristics of the commercial product Benzyl alcohol

Appearance	Clear, colourless, oily liquid
Boiling Point	204.7±0.0 °C at 760 mmHg
Purity	99%
Melting Point	-15 °C
Flash Point	93.9±0.0 °C
Benzaldehyde (ppm)	250max
Acidity(As benzoic acid)%	0.1max
Cloride %	0.005max
Specific Gravity (20 ℃)	1.043-1.048
Refractive index (20 ℃)	1.538-1.541
Water%	0.1max
Water Solubility	4.29 g/100 mL (20 ºC)
Residue on evaporation,%	0.1max
PSA	20.23000
LogP	1.03
Vapour density	3.7
Self-ignition point	435℃
Storage	+2°C to +25°C
Safety

• Molecular Formula: C₇H₈O  C₆H₅CH₂OH
• Molecular Weight: 108.14 g/mol
• Exact mass  108.057518
• CAS: 100-51-6
• EC Number:202-859-9
• UNIII:LKG8494WBH
• InChI=1S/C7H8O/c8-6-7-4-2-1-3-5-7/h1-5,8H,6H2
• InChl Key      WVDDGKGOMKODPV-UHFFFAOYSA-N
• SMILES    C1=CC=C(C=C1)CO
• IUPAC   phenylmethanol
• ChEBI  17987
• ICSC    0833
• NSC   760098    8044
• RTECS   DN3150000
• JECFA     25
• NCI 
• DSSTox Substance ID  DTXSID5020152
• Beilstein Registry Number:878307
• MDL number:MFCD00004599
• PubChem Substance ID:57648443
• FEMA Number: 2137

Synonyms: 

• benzenemethanol
• phenylmethanol
• Benzoyl alcohol
• Hydroxytoluene
• Phenolcarbinol
• Benzenecarbinol
• Phenyl-Methanol
• Phenylmethyl alcohol
• alpha-Toluenol
• SCHEMBL147

References____________________________________________________________________

(1)  Meyer BK, Ni A, Hu B, Shi L. Antimicrobial preservative use in parenteral products: past and present. J Pharm Sci. 2007 Dec;96(12):3155-67. doi: 10.1002/jps.20976.

(2) Spence S, Houslay MD. The local anaesthetic benzyl alcohol attenuates the alpha 2-adrenoceptor-mediated inhibition of human platelet adenylate cyclase activity when stimulated by prostaglandin E1, but not that stimulated by forskolin. Biochem J. 1989 Dec 1;264(2):483-8. doi: 10.1042/bj2640483.

(3) EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF), Younes M, Aquilina G, Castle L, Engel KH, Fowler P, Fürst P, Gürtler R, Gundert-Remy U, Husøy T, Mennes W, Moldeus P, Oskarsson A, Shah R, Waalkens-Berendsen I, Wölfle D, Boon P, Crebelli R, Di Domenico A, Filipič M, Mortensen A, Van Loveren H, Woutersen R, Gergelova P, Giarola A, Lodi F, Frutos Fernandez MJ. Re-evaluation of benzyl alcohol (E 1519) as food additive. EFSA J. 2019 Oct 30;17(10):e05876. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2019.5876.