Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Least toxic nonpolar solvent?

freddurgan - 29-9-2006 at 20:37

I have the choice of:

VP&M Naptha
Xylene
Toluene

What's the least toxic?

not_important - 29-9-2006 at 20:59

Supercritical CO2.

Check the MSDS for each, and maybe http://solvdb.ncms.org/ and check the NFPA/OSHA/NIOSH ppm and the LD50


And don't start so many new threads, keep using the earlier ones, eh?

Mr. Wizard - 30-9-2006 at 11:50

What is the solvent to be used for? If you are just trying to clean up some greasy auto parts you could use orange oil (d-Limonene). If you are doing something else it may not be appropriate.
http://www.floridachemical.com/dlimoneneorangeoilcoldpressed...

They put it in food and it's GRAS ,Generally Recognized As Safe. I've used a brand named Howard Orange Oil for cleaning wood cabinets, cleaning paint brushes, taking the glue off labels, and cleaning car parts. It's sometimes hard to find the pure grades of this as many brands mix waxes, polishes, and solvents with the material.

It's not as good as supercritical CO2 but it's a little easier to find and work with :-)

I know it was not on your short list, but none of them looked non toxic.