| Chemical Abstract Number (CAS #) |
67641
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| Synonyms | Acetone |
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2-Propanone |
| Analytical Methods |
EPA Method 524.2 |
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EPA Method 8240B |
EPA Method 8260A |
EPA Method 8315 |
| Molecular Formula | C3H6O |
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| Use | SOLVENT FOR FATS, OILS, WAXES, RESINS, RUBBER, PLASTICS, LACQUERS,
VARNISHES, RUBBER CEMENTS
MFR MESITYL OXIDE, ACETIC ACID, DIACETONE ALCOHOL, CHLOROFORM,
IODOFORM, BROMOFORM
MFR EXPLOSIVES, AIRPLANE DOPES, RAYON, ISOPRENE, PHOTOGRAPHIC FILMS,
STORING ACETYLENE GAS
EXTRACTION OF VARIOUS PRINCIPLES FROM ANIMAL AND PLANT SUBSTANCES;
IN PAINT & VARNISH REMOVERS; PURIFYING PARAFFIN
HARDENING AND DEHYDRATING TISSUES
NAIL POLISH REMOVER
CHEM INT FOR METHYL METHACRYLATE, METHACRYLIC ACID & HIGHER
METHACRYLATES, METHYL ISOBUTYL KETONE, METHYL ISOBUTYL CARBINOL,
BISPHENOL A, ISOPHORONE; SPINNING SOLVENT IN MFR OF CELLULOSE
ACETATE; SOLVENT FOR ADHESIVES & PRINTING INKS, ACETYLENE; NUMEROUS
OTHER CHEM INT & SOLVENT APPLICATIONS
Manufacture of smokeless powder.
Acetone is used for the production of modacrylic fibers, for either wet spinning or dry spinning.
Acetone is used as a raw material in the manufacturing of acetic anhyride.
Preparation of vitamin intermediates.
Acetone is used as a brine for low temperature heat transfer in indirect refrigeration.
ANTISEPTIC SOLUTIONS--TO FACILITATE PENETRATION
PHARMACEUTICAL AID (SOLVENT)
The evaporation rate of acetone makes it quite useful for cleaning and drying precision parts.
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| Consumption Patterns | 25% FOR METHYL METHACRYLATE; 14% FOR METHYL ISOBUTYL KETONE;
10% AS COATING SOLVENT; 10% FOR OTHER ORGANIC CHEMS; 6% IN
PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURE; 5% FOR METHACRYLIC ACID AND HIGHER
METHACRYLATES; 5% FOR BISPHENOL-A; 4% FOR CELLULOSE ACETATE
SPINNING; 21% FOR MISC (1973)
33% METHYL METHACRYLATE, METHACRYLIC ACID AND HIGHER
METHACRYLATES; 17% SOLVENTS; 10% MIBK; 9% BISPHENOL-A; 7% ALDOL
CHEMICAL; 6% PHARMACEUTICALS AND COSMETICS; 2% METHYL ISOBUTYL
CARBENOL; 4.5% EXPORTS; 11.5% MISC (1985)
CHEMICAL PROFILE: Acetone. Methylmethacrylate, methacrylic acid and higher
methacrylates, 34%; coatings solvent, 15%; bisphenol-A, 12%; MIBK (methyl isobutyl ketone),
10%; solvent for cellulose acetate, 5%; drug and pharmaceutical applications, 5%; miscellaneous
chemical and solvent uses, 6%; exports, 5%.
CHEMICAL PROFILE: Acetone. Demand: 1986: 1.936 million lb; 1987: 2.050 million lb; 1991
/projected/: 2.140 million lb.
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| Apparent Color | Colorless liquid
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| Odor | Mint like odor ; Fruity odor
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| Boiling Point | 56.2 DEG C @ 760 MM HG
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| Melting Point | -95.35 DEG C
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| Density | 0.7899 AT 20 DEG C/4 DEG C
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| Odor Threshold Concentration | WATER: 20 MG/L (OR 20 PPM, W/V); AIR: 13 UL/L (OR 13 PPM, V/V).
Odor low: 47.5 mg/cu m; Odor high: 1613.9 mg/cu m
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| Sensitivity Data | Irritates eyes, nose, and throat.
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| Environmental Impact | Acetone is produced in large quantities and may be released to the environment as stack
emissions, fugitive emissions, and in waste water in its production and use as a chemical
intermediate and solvent. Most acetone used in solvents will be ultimately released into the air.
Acetone is a product of the photooxidation of some alkanes and alkenes that are found in urban
air and it is also released from volcanoes and forest fires. It is a metabolic product, released by
plants and animals. If released on soil, acetone will both volatilize and leach into the ground and
probably biodegrade. If released into water, acetone will probably biodegrade. It will also be lost
due to volatilization (estimated half-life 20 hr from a model river). Bioconcentration in aquatic
organisms and adsorption to sediment should not be significant. In the atmosphere, acetone will
be lost by photolysis and reaction with photochemically produced hydroxyl radicals. Half-life
estimates from these combined processes average 22 days and are shorter in summer and longer in
winter. It will also be washed out by rain. Occupational exposure to acetone will be via dermal
contact with solvents containing the chemical and via inhalation of the vapor. The general
population is exposed to acetone in the atmosphere from sources such as auto exhaust, solvents,
tobacco smoke, and fireplaces as well as from dermal contact with consumer products containing
acetone such as solvents. In addition there will be exposure by ingestion of food that may
naturally contain acetone or from contaminated drinking water.
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| Environmental Fate | TERRESTRIAL FATE: If released on soil, acetone will both volatilize and leach into the
ground. Acetone readily biodegrades and there is evidence suggesting that it biodegrades fairly
rapidly in soils.
AQUATIC FATE: If released into water, acetone will probably biodegrade. It is readily
biodegradable in screening tests, although data from natural water are lacking. It will also be lost
due to volatilization (estimated half-life 20 hr from a model river). Adsorption to sediment should
not be significant.
ATMOSPHERIC FATE: In the atmosphere, acetone will be lost by photolysis and reaction with
photochemically produced hydroxyl radicals. Half-life estimates from these combined processes
are 79 and 13 days in January and June, respectively, for an overall annual average of 22 days.
Therefore considerable dispersion should occur. Being miscible in water, wash out by rain should
be an important removal process. This process has been confirmed around Lake Shinsei-ko in
Japan . There acetone was found in the air and rain as well as the lake and the amount of
acetone in the rain is what would be expected from the air concentration and solubility .
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| Drinking Water Impact | A concentration of 0.6 g/l of acetone was found in a sample of a one-year old leachate
from a sanitary landfill.
DRINKING WATER: As part of the US National Organics Reconnaissance Survey, tap water
from 10 cities were characterized for organic chemical content . Acetone was found in all 10
drinking waters . It was similarly found, although not quanitified, in drinking water in New
Orleans , Seattle(6), Tuscaloosa , and other cities in a 5 city survey(7). In a listing of organic
chemicals identified in water, 30 items referred to detection of acetone in finished drinking
water . A sample of finished drinking water from Waterford, NY, a community that obtains its
raw water from the Hudson river, did not contain acetone . Six drinking water wells in the
vicinity of a landfill contained 0.2 to 0.7 ppb of acetone(9). A contaminated well in NJ contained
3000 ppm of acetone(10). When an intense taste and odor problem occurred in drinking water in
a section of Paris, the problem was identified with the passage of the water through a newly
installed section of defective high density polyethylene tubing(8). Acetone and several other
organic chemicals leached from this tubing when it was soaked for 24 hr in mineral water(8).
GROUNDWATER: Acetone has been detected but not quantified in groundwater in Gastonia,
NC .
SURFACE WATER: Five of nine sites in Lake Michigan contained 1-4 ppb acetone . In a
survey of 14 heavily industrialized river basins in the USA (204 samples), 33 contained detectable
amounts of acetone including 18 of 31 sites in the Chicago area and the Illinois River basin, 8 of
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