HPLC in a World Without Acetonitrile

摘要

Raw acetonitrile is a by-product of the manufacture of acrylonitrile. It is co-polymerised with butadiene and styrene to make ABS, a plastic used in cars and the market for it has collapsed over the last six months. Hence so has the production of acetonitrile. There are no manufacturing plants to make acetonitrile (unlike THF or methanol) and there is little prospect of one being built. Stocks are now depleted, and hence those distilling it for use in HPLC can no longer get enough supplies. Acetonitrile is now being offered at extortionate prices. In the short term, this means that we will all have less, if any, acetonitrile available to us, and when it does come back on stream, it could be a lot more expensive.