Prenol

Prenol, or 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol, is a natural alcohol. It is one of the most simple terpenoids. It is a clear colorless oil that is reasonably soluble in water and miscible with most common organic solvents. It has a fruity odor and is used occasionally in perfumery. Prenol, or 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol, is a natural alcohol. It is one of the most simple terpenoids. It is a clear colorless oil that is reasonably soluble in water and miscible with most common organic solvents. It has a fruity odor and is used occasionally in perfumery. Prenol occurs naturally in citrus fruits, cranberry, bilberry, currants, grapes, raspberry, blackberry, tomato, white bread, hop oil, coffee, arctic bramble, cloudberry and passionfruit. It is also manufactured industrially by BASF (in Ludwigshafen, Germany) and by Kuraray (in Asia) as an intermediate to pharmaceuticals and aroma compounds. Global production in 2001 was between 6000 and 13,000 tons. Prenol is produced industrially by the reaction of formaldehyde with isobutene, followed by the isomerization of the resulting isoprenol (3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol).