Acrylamide

Acrylamide is the simplest unsaturated organic amide. Despite its low molar mass, and because it is highly polar, it is a solid rather than a liquid. As the hazard information table indicates, it is extremely toxic in multiple ways.

In 1949, Otto Bayer at Bayer AG (Leverkusen, West Germany) described the preparation of acrylamide. (Bayer was not related to the founding Bayer family.) Chemist Bayer synthesized acrylamide via the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of acrylonitrile. This is the only manufacturing method in use today. But in 2019, Kemira Ltd. (Helsinki, Finland) announced that it will begin to produce biobased acrylamide in its Mobile, AL, plant.

By far the major use of acrylamide is polymerization into polyacrylamides, which, depending on their molar masses and degree of cross-linking, are valuable for flocculating solids suspended in water, thickening water for use in enhanced petroleum recovery, and agricultural soil conditioning.

Acrylamide has become notorious in the past 20 years because traces of it have been found in commercial and home-cooked foods. Most of these are starchy foods such as French fries, potato chips, and some breads. In general, higher temperatures and longer cooking times increase the formation of acrylamide. Smoking tobacco, however, results in much higher blood acrylamide concentrations than any food source.