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Jai Ganesh

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Acetone

Acetone

Gist

Acetone is a manufactured chemical that is also found naturally in the environment. It is a colorless liquid with a distinct smell and taste. It evaporates easily, is flammable, and dissolves in water. It is also called dimethyl ketone, 2-propanone, and beta-ketopropane.

Acetone is a powerful solvent used to remove paint, nail polish, and tough stains, and it serves as a cleaning agent in labs, homes, and industries like electronics, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. It is also a component in some manufacturing processes for plastics and lacquers and is used to prepare surfaces before painting or bonding for better adhesion. 

Summary

Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone) is an organic compound with the formula (CH3)2CO. It is the simplest and smallest ketone (R−C(=O)−R'). It is a colorless, highly volatile, and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odor.

Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important organic solvent in industry, home, and laboratory. About 6.7 million tonnes were produced worldwide in 2010, mainly for use as a solvent and for production of methyl methacrylate and bisphenol A, which are precursors to widely used plastics. It is a common building block in organic chemistry. It serves as a solvent in household products such as nail polish remover and paint thinner. It has volatile organic compound (VOC)-exempt status in the United States.

Acetone is produced and disposed of in the human body through normal metabolic processes. Small quantities of it are present naturally in blood and urine. People with diabetic ketoacidosis produce it in larger amounts. Medical ketogenic diets that increase ketone bodies (acetone, β-hydroxybutyric acid and acetoacetic acid) in the blood are used to suppress epileptic attacks in children with treatment-resistant epilepsy.

Details

Although this chemical is common in some household and cosmetic products, it can also be found in commercial settings, where it is typically used as a thinner for lacquers or for making plastics.

Key Points/Overview

Acetone is a colorless liquid that is also known as propanone. It is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in certain concentrations, with low toxicity, but high flammability.

This chemical is a solvent that mixes well with water and evaporates quickly, making it well-suited for many household and manufacturing uses.

Some common uses include nail polish remover, automotive or furniture lacquer, degummer or degreaser for textile products, and it can even be used in plastic production.

The FDA has determined acetone is safe for use as an indirect food additive in adhesives and food-contact coatings.

Uses & Benefits

Acetone is widely used because it is miscible with water, meaning it can easily mix with water, and evaporates quickly in the air.

* Acetone is a primary ingredient in many nail polish removers. It breaks down nail polish, making it easy to remove with a cotton swab or cloth.
* Acetone is used in the textile industry for degreasing wool and degumming silk.
* Acetone is frequently incorporated in solvent systems or “blends,” used to make lacquers for automotive and furniture finishes. It may also be used to reduce the viscosity, or thickness, of lacquer solutions.

Safety Information:

Acetone safety

Acetone has been extensively studied and is generally recognized to have low acute and chronic toxicity.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined acetone is safe for use as an indirect food additive in adhesives1 and food-contact coatings and is regarded as a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) substance at certain concentrations.

Acetone has undergone a comprehensive review under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Voluntary Children’s Chemical Evaluation Program (VCCEP). The objective of VCCEP was to ensure that adequate toxicity and exposure information was available to assess potential risks to children. This VCCEP review of acetone included a hazard assessment, an exposure assessment and a risk characterization.

Acetone has undergone regulatory and scientific evaluations under the European Chemical Agency REACH program,4 the World Health Organization (WHO) International Programme on Chemical Safety, and EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment program.

In a draft screening assessment for health and environmental effects, Environment Canada identified no critical health effects from exposures expected to occur from occasional, intermittent use of certain products containing acetone.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets safe workplace exposure limits. Workplaces where acetone is used, such as nail salons, can keep exposure levels below safety levels by using proper ventilation and following manufacturer’s instructions.

Hazards of Acetone

Acetone is highly flammable but is generally recognized to have low acute and chronic toxicity. If inhaled, acetone could cause a sore throat or cough.

Additional Information

Acetone (CH3COCH3) is an organic solvent of industrial and chemical significance, the simplest and most important of the aliphatic (fat-derived) ketones. Pure acetone is a colourless, somewhat aromatic, flammable, mobile liquid that boils at 56.2 °C (133 °F).

Acetone is capable of dissolving many fats and resins as well as cellulose ethers, cellulose acetate, nitrocellulose, and other cellulose esters. Because of the latter quality, acetone is used extensively in the manufacture of artificial fibres (such as some rayons) and explosives. It is used as a chemical intermediate in pharmaceuticals and as a solvent for vinyl and acrylic resins, lacquers, alkyd paints, inks, cosmetics (such as nail-polish remover), and varnishes. It is used in the preparation of paper coatings, adhesives, and heat-seal coatings and is also employed as a starting material in the synthesis of many compounds.

The cumene hydroperoxide process is the dominant process used in the commercial production of acetone. Acetone is also prepared by the dehydrogenation of 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol).

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