What is toluene used for?
Toluene has numerous commercial and industrial applications: it is a solvent in paints, lacquers, thinners, glues, correction fluid, and nail polish remover, and is used in the printing and leather tanning processes.
Is toluene used in medicine?
Toluene is a colorless, liquid that is immiscible in water. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative used in veterinary medicine as a treatment for various parasites in dogs and cats.
What does toluene do to the human body?
Toluene (C₆H₅CH₃) is a colorless liquid with a sweet, pungent odor. Exposure to toluene can cause eye and nose irritation, tiredness, confusion, euphoria, dizziness, headache, dilated pupils, tears, anxiety, muscle fatigue, insomnia, nerve damage, inflammation of the skin, and liver and kidney damage.
Is toluene a solvent?
Toluene is a common solvent, e.g. for paints, paint thinners, silicone sealants, many chemical reactants, rubber, printing ink, adhesives (glues), lacquers, leather tanners, and disinfectants.
What is the difference between toluene and xylene?
Toluene and xylene are aromatic organic compounds. The key difference between toluene and xylene is that toluene contains one methyl group attached to a benzene ring whereas xylene contains two methyl groups attached to a benzene ring.
Why toluene is a good solvent?
Toluene is a very good solvent because, unlike water, it can dissolve many organic compounds. In many commercial products, toluene is used as a solvent that is present in paint thinners, nail polish remover, glues, and correction fluid.
Is toluene cancerous?
Studies in workers and animals exposed to toluene generally indicate that toluene is not carcinogenic (cancer-causing). The International Agency for Research on Cancer determined that toluene is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity in humans (Group 3).
Can you drink toluene?
If swallowed, toluene can cause liver and kidney damage.
What is another name for toluene?
Toluene, also known as methylbenzene or phenylmethane is a clear, water-insoluble liquid with the typical smell of paint thinners, redolent of the sweet smell of the related compound benzene. It is an aromatic hydrocarbon that is widely used as an industrial feedstock and as a solvent.
What’s the medical definition of the chemical toluene?
Medical Definition of toluene. : a liquid aromatic hydrocarbon C7H8 that resembles benzene but is less volatile, flammable, and toxic and is used as a solvent, in organic synthesis, and as an antiknock agent for gasoline.
How is toluene used as a solvent in gasoline?
Toluene is added to gasoline, used to produce benzene, and used as a solvent. Exposure to toluene may occur from breathing ambient or indoor air affected by such sources. The central nervous system (CNS) is the primary target organ for toluene toxicity in both humans and animals for acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) exposures.
How can you use toluene in a sentence?
Examples of toluene in a Sentence. Recent Examples on the Web. Overexposure to benzenes, toluene, herbicides, pesticides, organic solvents, painting materials and lead might contribute to low sperm counts and exposure to x-rays or other radiation might alter sperm production, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Where can toluene be found in the world?
Toluene occurs naturally in crude oil and in the tolu tree. It is also produced in the process of making gasoline and other fuels from crude oil and making coke from coal.Toluene is used in making paints, paint thinners, fingernail polish, lacquers, adhesives, and rubber and in some printing and leather tanning processes. toluene