Organic compounds are commonly found every day in all parts of life. Propionaldehyde is a common organic compound also known as propanal, propaldehyde, and methylacetaldehyde, with propanal being the more common alternative name. It is a clear, colorless liquid at room temperature. Coming from the aldehyde functional group, propionaldehyde has a C=O bond replacing two hydrogen atoms, which would be the basic molecule of propane. The molecular formula is C3H6O, the structural formula CH3CH2CHO, the structure is found in Figure 1 (end). Propionaldehyde can only be produced in several ways by a few companies and is used in many different products. Few people know specifically about the health effects of propionaldehyde, but it is a very dangerous compound due to its chemical properties. In order to produce propionaldehyde, there are very few ways to do so. One process that produces it involves mixing propyl alcohol with a dichromate mixture that can oxidize. Oxidation is the process by which a metal reacts with oxygen and leaves a residue on the metal. A popular way to produce propionaldehyde is to blow propyl alcohol in a vaporous state around metallic copper. A second way to produce propanal is to distill barium propionate and calcium formate. To do this, the distillation must be carried out without any liquid substances. In the United States of America, only three companies manufacture propionaldehyde. They are Dow Chemical Co., Eastman Chemical Co. and OXEA Corp.. All three companies use manufacturing plants in the state of Texas to produce propionaldehyde. Propionaldehyde can only be transported using the name propionaldehyde, not any of the other names. Only authorized persons...... middle of paper ......ct sheet]. (2000, January). Accessed January 5, 2014, from http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/propiona.htmlPropionaldehyde [Fact sheet]. (January 30, 2007). Retrieved January 5, 2014, from the United States Department of Labor website: https://www.osha.gov/dts/chemicalsampling/data/CH_264250.htmlPROPIONALDEHYDE [Fact Sheet]. (August 17, 2009). Retrieved January 5, 2014 from http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+1193Resasco, DE and Mallinson, RG (2010). Condensation reactions of propanal on mixed oxide catalysts CexZr1−xO2. Applied Catalysis A: General, (385), 80-91. Retrieved from http://www.ou.edu/cbr/Papers/2010%20(Gangadharan)Condensation%20reactions%20of%20propanal.pdfNational Winter Oxygenated Fuel Program. (March 29, 2013). Retrieved January 5, 2014 from http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/gasolinefuels/winterprograms/index.htm