The Difference Between Maleic Anhydride and Succinic Anhydride

1. Introduction of Maleic Anhydride

Maleic anhydride is the anhydride of maleic acid. It is a sour colorless or white solid at room temperature. It is flaky with shapes of needles, rods, lumps or clusters and has strong irritation. The relative density is 1.48, the melting point is 52.8°C, and the boiling point is 202.2°C. It can also sublimate at lower temperatures (60-80°C).

Maleic anhydride is soluble in ethanol, ether and acetone, and forms maleic acid in contact with water. It is combustible whose vapour and dust mix with air to form an explosive mixture.

The properties of succinic anhydride: colorless needle-like or granular crystals, soluble in ethanol, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride, slightly soluble in water and ether. It can be hydrolyzed into succinic acid with hot water.

2. The difference between maleic anhydride and succinic anhydride

The succinic acid and tartaric acid industries which mainly use succinic anhydride as raw materials have developed rapidly, and its application in engineering construction, food flavouring and biological solvents is also expanding. Uses: food processing aids specified in GB2760-90, the synthesis of drugs, pesticides, esters and resins, and also used in the synthesis and analysis of succinic acid.

Maleic anhydride is an important organic chemical compound that can be used to make plasticizers in the plastics industry. Paper processing agent in the paper industry; unsaturated polyester resin in the synthetic resin industry; alkyd paint in the coating industry; synthesis of malathion in production; production of sulfa drugs in the pharmaceutical industry.

Downstream derivatives produced from maleic anhydrides, such as 1,4-butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, γ-butyrolactone, etc., have also been greatly developed.