Maleic anhydride in pure state is colorless or white solid with unpleasant smell. And it is a great molecule. Because it has two types of chemical energy groups, it is particularly useful in chemical synthesis and applications. Secondly, as a variety of chemical intermediates, it has applications in many fields of chemical industry.

通常工廠會向裝有迪安-斯達克榻分水器、冷凝器和機械攪拌器的燒瓶中加入116克順酐和120毫升四氯乙烷。然后將內容物加熱，將水作為共沸物蒸出，并將殘余物在減壓下蒸餾，從而得到純度約為89.5％的酸酐。接下來，會將其加熱到較高的溫度，從而得到較高純度的順酐。

Usually, the factory will add 116 g of maleic anhydride and 120 ml of tetrachloroethane to the flask equipped with Dean stark water separator, condenser and mechanical mixer. The contents were then heated, water was evaporated as an azeotrope, and the residue was distilled under reduced pressure to obtain an anhydride with a purity of about 89.5%. Next, it will be heated to a higher temperature to obtain higher purity maleic anhydride.

同時由于其特殊的特性，使得順酐被廣泛的運用于制造不飽和聚酯樹脂的雜環化合物。并且順酐還擁有廣泛的其它應用，例如：它用于合成表面活性劑、殺蟲劑、除草劑和殺真菌劑等產品。

At the same time, due to its special characteristics, maleic anhydride is widely used in the manufacture of heterocyclic compounds of unsaturated polyester resin. Maleic anhydride also has a wide range of other applications, for example, it is used to synthesize surfactants, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.