The manufacture of THF from 1,4-butancdiol is done by splitting off water in the presence of H₃PO₄, H₂SO₄, or acidic ion exchangers.

In this reaction, is heated with acid to 110-125 °C in a boiler and replenished with 1,4-Butanediol as THF/H₂O is distilled over. The conversion to THF is virtually quantitative. 1,4-Butanediol and the dissolved mineral acid can also be fed together to a high-pressure tube reactor at 300°C and 100 bar. The selectivity to THF is greater than 95%.

Another method for manufacturing THF, starting from 1,4-di-chloro-2-butene. A third method is the hydrogenation of maleic anhydride. The world production capacity for THF in 1994 was 186000 tonnes per year, and in the USA, Western Europe, and Japan it was 119000, 30000, and 33 000 tonnes per year, respectively. THF is an important solvent for many high polymers such as PVC, rubber, Buna S and others. It is increasingly used in the manufacture of polytetramethylene glycol, a precursor for polyurethanes and Spandex fibers. The world production capacity for polytetramethylene glycol is currently about 95 000 tonnes per year. With a production capacity of 70000 tonnes per year (1995), DuPont is the most important producer of polytetra-methyleneglycol.

THF is manufacured from 1,4-butanediol by DuPont, BASF-Wyandotte, GAF and Arco (since 1990) in the USA, by BASF and GAF/Hüls in Western Europe, and by Mitsubishi Chemical and Toyo Soda in Japan.