Acetone (also known as propanone, dimethyl ketone, 2-propanone, propan-2-one and β-ketopropane) is a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid. It is the simplest example of the ketones. Acetone is miscible with water, ethanol, ether, etc., and itself serves as an important solvent. The most familiar household uses of acetone are as the active ingredient in nail polish remover and paint thinner. Acetone is also used to make plastic, fibers, drugs, and other chemicals. In addition to being manufactured as a chemical, acetone is also found naturally in the environment, including in small amounts in the human body.
Welcome to CWAnswers
CWAnswers is your guide to the sprawling world wide web. The directory aims to provide a useful guide made by users. You can share your knowledge as well - simply sign up and edit your first entry. For questions just contact the team at support - at - cwanswers.com.
Weblinks for Acetone
Top 10 for Acetone
Things about Acetone you find nowhere else.
Select content modules
Acetone (also known as propanone, dimethyl ketone, 2-propanone, propan-2-one and β-ketopropane) is a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid. It is the simplest example of the ketones. Acetone is miscible with water, ethanol, ether, etc., and itself serves as an important solvent. The most familiar household uses of acetone are as the active ingredient in nail polish remover and paint thinner. Acetone is also used to make plastic, fibers, drugs, and other chemicals. In addition to being manufactured as a chemical, acetone is also found naturally in the environment, including in small amounts in the human body.
Production
Acetone is produced primarily in the cumene process. Previously, acetone was produced by the dry distillation of acetates, for example calcium acetate. During World War I a new process of producing acetone through bacterial fermentation was developed by Chaim Weizmann, later the first president of Israel, in order to help the British war effort. This Acetone Butanol Ethanol process was abandoned due to the small yield of Acetone Butanol compared to the organic waste.
Biosynthesis
Small amounts of acetone are produced in the body by the decarboxylation of ketone bodies.
Cleaning fluid
Acetone is often the primary (or only) component in nail polish remover. Ethyl acetate, another organic solvent, is sometimes used as well. Acetone is also used as a superglue remover. It can be used for thinning and cleaning fiberglass resins and epoxies. It is a strong solvent for most plastics and synthetic fibres.
It is ideal for thinning fiberglass resin, cleaning fiberglass tools and dissolving two-part epoxies and superglue before hardening. A heavy-duty degreaser, it is useful in the preparation of metal prior to painting; it also thins polyester resins, vinyl and adhesives. It easily removes residues from glass and porcelain. In biological research contexts, buffers that contain acetone (such as citrate-buffered formalin) use the acetone to lyse cells for further experimentation.
Additionally, acetone is extremely effective when used as a cleaning agent when dealing with permanent markers.
Solvent
Acetone can also dissolve many plastics, including those used in Nalgene bottles made of polystyrene, polycarbonate and some types of polypropylene.
In the laboratory, acetone is used as a polar aprotic solvent in a variety of organic reactions, such as SN2 reactions. The use of acetone solvent is also critical for the successful Jones oxidation. Technical grade acetone is inexpensive. Because of acetone's medium polarity, it dissolves a wide range of compounds. Thus, it is commonly loaded into squeeze bottles and used as a general solvent in rinsing laboratory glassware.
