Acetone

Abstract

Acetone is the simplest example of the ketones. It is a clear, colorless, mobile liquid. Acetone is completely miscible with water and most organic solvents and oils. It therefore serves as an important industrial solvent for cleaning, as a common building block in organic chemistry, and as a precursor to polymers. Well‐known domestic uses of acetone are as the active ingredient in nail polish remover and as paint thinner. Acetone is the most widely used ketone in industry. It is used primarily to synthesize methacrylates, about half of the world's production of acetone is used as a precursor to methyl methacrylate. Other large‐scale chemicals derived from acetone are bisphenol A and methyl isobutyl ketone. Acetone is also used as a process solvent in the manufacture of cellulose acetate yarn, smokeless gun powder, surface coatings, and various pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Other solvent uses include paint, ink, resin, and varnish formulations; thinning of fiberglass resin; cleaning of fiberglass tools; and dissolution of two‐part epoxies and superglues before hardening. Acetone is a normal by‐product of mammalian metabolism and is thus found in all tissues, including blood, as well as in urine and breath. The levels vary, depending on nutritional and metabolic conditions, and are increased in obese compared with slim people and in working compared with resting people. Diabetic patients show markedly elevated levels of acetone. Acetone is readily taken up via inhalation if present in ambient air and via the gastrointestinal tract if ingested. Uptake via skin is of minor importance. However, due to its excellent solvent properties, acetone readily removes water from the skin. This impairs the barrier properties and makes the skin more vulnerable to other irritating, sensitizing, or infectious agents. Compared with many other industrial solvents, acetone is of relatively low toxicity. The critical effect, that is, the first effect that appears as the exposure level increases, is mild respiratory tract and eye irritation. At higher exposures, CNS effects such as lightheadedness and headache are observed. In general, signs and symptoms of acetone intoxication, such as vomiting, convulsions, and unconsciousness, are nonspecific. Acetone is rapidly cleared from the body, mainly by metabolism and, to some extent, by excretion via breath and urine, and toxic effects after chronic exposure in general agree with those following acute exposure. Reproductive and developmental effects appear only after much higher doses of acetone than those causing irritation and CNS effects. Genotoxicity is not observed in vitro and in vivo . No carcinogenicity studies are available. Limited data from tumor promotion studies, using acetone as a vehicle or a promoter, suggest that dermally applied acetone is not tumorigenic.

Upcycling of waste EPS beads to immobilized codoped TiO2 photocatalysts for ciprofloxacin degradation and E. coli disinfection under sunlight

“…In recent years, polystyrene/EPS beads in the form of thin films 48 – 53 as a support for immobilization have attracted much attention due to their non-toxicity, low cost, and chemical inertness 54 . However, these studies are limited to dyes and disinfection 53 , 55 – 57 . Also, these studies have been performed under UV light, as summarized in Table 1 (Supporting Information).…”

“…Waste EPS modified into a photocatalytic film was used in the development of a novel reactor for dye wastewater treatment 58 . Also, Varnagaris 59 explored a modification of waste EPS to an adsorbent material for the removal of norfloxacin antibiotic, while in another study, Liu 57 demonstrated the use of non-expanded polystyrene beads for bacterial inactivation. Styrofoam-TiO 2 composite (W-TiEPS) 55 was studied for methylene blue dye removal and Cr (VI) reduction.…”

Solubility Study of Flexirubin Pigment Isolated from Chryseobacterium artocarpi CECT 8497 in Bio-Based Solvents

“…With 4 hours of exposure to acetone (>12,000 ppm), it can cause dizziness, unsteadiness, unconsciousness, headache, and confusion. Meanwhile, acetone exposure in the range of 250-1000 ppm, 2500-8000 ppm, and 32,000-130,000 ppm would give irritation to the nose, eyes, and/or throat [12]. With all the cases reported related to the exposure of acetone vapor, it is highly recommended to replace the acetone with other safer solvents that can be used to dissolve flexirubin pigment from C. artocapi.…”