Can anyone on here help with this please?
It is well known that acetobacter will cause dilute solutions of ethanol to be oxidised to ethanoic acid when left standing exposed to air; this being the reason that wine left standing in air will spoil and taste vinegary.
It is also reported that different strains of the bacteria can produce other compounds such as dihydroxyacetone and gluconic acid from other starting materials. The bacteria are therefore clearly versatile.
This suggests that in addition to ethanol a wide variety of alcohols in dilute aqueous solution may be oxidised to carboxylic acids when exposed to the atmosphere which will normally contain these bacteria.
However I cannot find any specific references to support this broader suggestion, neither in my textbook collection, which is substantial, nor on the internet. There are articles and statements which come close but I can’t find an authoritative source (except one which I am doubtful about) which states categorically that all or most alcohols in dilute aqueous solution are oxidised to carboxylic acids when simply left standing in air (i.e. without a catalyst added).
My questions are these:
1. In particular I am interested to know whether or not aqueous solutions of propanol and butanol are oxidised to their carboxylic acids by simply standing exposed to air.
2. Do all, or at least most other, alcohols also oxidise to their carboxylic acids when in dilute aqueous solution and simply exposed to air?
Sadly I no longer have access to a lab or I would carry out some experiments myself.
Finally: I appreciate that the bacteria are inhibited or possibly killed by high concentrations of the alcohol. It is dilute aqueous solutions I am interested in. Nevertheless if you have good information as to the indicative concentration levels at which the bacterial oxidation is prevented I’d be interested.
Thanks.