Uses of Acrolein

The main use of acrolein is to produce acrylic acid and its esters. Acrolein is also an intermediate in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and herbicides. It may also be used to produce glycerol by reaction with isopropanol. 2-Hexanedial, which could be a precursor for adipic acid and hexamethylene-diamine, may be prepared from acrolein Tail to tail dimenization of acrolein using ruthenium catalyst produces trans-2-hexanedial. The trimer, trans-6-hydroxy-5-formyl- 2,7-octadienal is coproduced. Acrolein, may also be a precursor for 1,3-propanediol. Hydrolysis of acrolein produces 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde which could be hydrogenated to 1,3-propanediol.