Solvent

Solvents are liquids that dissolve other substances. They are used in many products, including aerosol sprays, adhesives, and perfumes. Common solvents include water, ethanol, kerosene, and acetone. Because many solvents are flammable and toxic, they should always be handled carefully. Although solvents have many useful purposes, some solvents are abused as narcotics.

How Solvents Work

A solvent is any liquid that dissolves another substance. Chemists use specific terms when discussing solvents. A substance dissolved by a solvent is called a solute. The resulting mixture is called a solution. When something dissolves in a solvent, the substance is considered soluble. When it does not dissolve, it is considered insoluble.

Solvents dissolve solutes through physical interactions. Solvent molecules are attractive to solute molecules. Because of this, solute molecules tend to break their intermolecular attractions with one another and form new intermolecular attractions with the solvent molecules. This process pulls the solute molecules apart, spreading them among the solvent molecules. However, it does not make the solute disappear. If the intermolecular forces of a solute are too strong for a solvent to break, the solute is considered insoluble.

Polar solvents’ molecules are partially positively charged on one side and partially negatively charged on the other. Nonpolar solvents’ molecules are neutral. Polar solvents’ molecules are more attractive to polar molecules than nonpolar molecules. This makes polar solvents better at dissolving polar substances. Similarly, nonpolar solvents are better at dissolving nonpolar substances.

Some solvents are stronger than other solvents, but stronger solvents are not always best. A useful solvent will dissolve one substance without dissolving another. For example, acetone dissolves nail polish but not nails, and turpentine dissolves paints without dissolving the painted structure.

History of Solvents

Scientists know that several prehistoric societies used solvents. The ancient Assyrians used ethanol for medicinal purposes, and the ancient Egyptians used solvents to make cosmetics and wood-derived methanol for embalming. Additionally, ancient Romans used lye and ammonia to clean stains out of clothing. This was the beginning of organized laundering, which eventually evolved into dry cleaning and became a major force in the development of modern solvents.

When used as a solvent, water has a tendency to damage and dissolve delicate fabrics. Dry cleaning is the process of cleaning fabrics without using water. Liquids other than water are still used. However, the liquids are solvents that physically dissolve common stains but do not harm delicate fabrics.

Modern dry cleaning began around 1825, when Jean-Baptiste Jolly’s maid accidentally spilled lamp fluid (likely camphene) on his tablecloth. When the fluid dried, Jolly noticed that it had removed the stains from the tablecloth without damaging it. Inspired by this event, he opened a cleaning company that used camphene and benzine to remove stains from clothes. Jolly was the first person to use the term dry cleaning.

Many solvents are toxic and extremely flammable. The solvents used in early dry cleaning were no exception. Gasoline and other petroleum-based solvents caused countless fires. For this reason, governments outlawed dry cleaners from operating in some heavily populated areas. Other solvents commonly used in dry cleaning, such as trichloroethylene and carbon tetrachloride, later proved extremely carcinogenic.

Prior to World War II, in the 1930s, dry cleaners developed the solvent perchloroethylene, commonly called perc. Because perc is nonflammable, it quickly became very popular. Perc has remained in use in dry cleaning, but some governments discourage its use as a cleaning agent because of its carcinogenic tendencies.

Dry cleaning was not the only industry to drive solvent research and development. In the late 1890s, the perfume industry popularized volatile solvents by using them to extract and concentrate aromatic compounds from natural raw materials to preserve its scent. The cleaning industry drove the development of chlorinated solvents, including acetone and tetrachloroethylene, while other industries drove the scaling of solvents like acetone. Aerosols use solvents to dissolve chemicals into a sprayable form, and adhesives use solvents to help the adhesive stay in liquid form during application. Industrial paint manufacturers use solvents like xylene and toluene to create synthetic coatings, while fine artists, and they use turpentine or mineral spirits to thin paints and clean brushes. Turpentine originated as a general solvent and paint remover before being widely adopted by artists.

Most solvents are toxic to humans and animals. Almost all solvents are dangerous to drink, and some are dangerous to touch. Many even produce toxic fumes. People working with solvents are usually required to wear special safety equipment.

Solvents as Narcotics

Early forms of solvent abuse can be traced back more than two hundred years. In the 1800s, upper-class Americans and Europeans held parties for inhaling nitrous oxide and ether. When inhaled, these chemicals cause a short but intense feeling of euphoria. Modern solvent abuse can be traced back to the 1950s, when American and European youths discovered that certain easily obtained solvents caused an altered mental state when inhaled. From the late 1970s onward, the practice became popular among young people. Studies show that approximately 10 percent or fewer of American students have experimented with inhaling solvents by the time they reach the eighth grade.

Modern solvent abuse occurs in several ways. Abusers may sniff the substance itself (called “snorting”), inhale fumes from a material soaked in the substance (called “huffing”), or pour the substance into an airtight bag to breathe the concentrated fumes (called “bagging”). These methods produce an effect similar to drunkenness, along with visual distortions and occasional hallucinations. The effects normally last for no longer than forty-five minutes. Commonly abused solvents include adhesives, paint thinners, butane, and gasoline.

Intentionally inhaling solvents is very harmful. While psychological dependence prominent, physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms can also occur, psychological dependence sometimes does. Long-term abuse is damaging to the brain, kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, and bones. It may contribute to congestive heart failure, dementia, decreased reflexes, and brain stem atrophy. Additionally, short-term solvent abuse carries a risk of sudden sniffing death syndrome (SSDS). This occurs when the heart is shocked out of its normal rhythm and ceases to pump blood effectively, causing sudden cardiac arrest. SSDS causes up to 50 percent of solvent abuse–related deaths.

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