Have you ever wondered why paint flows? Or why the ink on a page of a magazine does not smudge? Or why you see through your car window? The answer is solvents: a liquid that dissolves, suspends or extracts other materials.
Solvents have been well known since the 1930s and have been in general use for nearly 50 years. They played a vital role in the World War II effort: as an ingredient for aviation fuel, in the production of parachutes and other nylon products, in the manufacturing of adhesives and in the rubber industry.
There are many types of chemical solvents that are produced from oil refinery gases (known as naphtha). There are several types of solvents:
- oxygenated solvents
- hydrocarbon solvents
- chlorinated solvents
Oxygenated solvents are useful for many products, such as paints, pharmaceuticals, inks, cosmetics and detergents. Chlorinated solvents are used for dry cleaning and metal cleaning, in pharmaceuticals and electronics. Hydrocarbon solvents are used in ink for the printing industry, aluminium rolling, to make plastic foams for insulation in refrigerators and freezers.
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