What Is an Oil Solvent?

Light petroleum products that dissolve, dilute, wash, and extract certain substances. Flammable and easy to evaporate. Light oil fractions with a narrow boiling point range obtained by constant pressure distillation of crude oil are obtained by refining acids and alkalis, or they can also be obtained by refining the residue of the catalytic reforming product after aromatics extraction. The main ingredients are alkanes, naphthenes and small amounts of aromatics, without any additives.

Petroleum solvent

Light petroleum products that dissolve, dilute, wash, and extract certain substances. Flammable and easy to evaporate. Light oil fractions with a narrow boiling point range obtained by constant pressure distillation of crude oil are obtained by refining acids and alkalis, or they can also be obtained by refining the residue of the catalytic reforming product after aromatics extraction. The main ingredients are alkanes, naphthenes and small amounts of aromatics, without any additives.

On October 27, 2017, the list of carcinogens published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization initially compiled the reference, and petroleum solvents were in the list of 3 types of carcinogens. ^[1]

Petroleum solvent

No. 70

Petroleum solvents are mostly flammable and volatile liquids. Pay special attention to prevent fire and explosion when using. Frequent inhalation of petroleum solvent vapors may be harmful to human health. Therefore, when using petroleum solvents, the closed or exhaust, ventilating equipment should be installed in accordance with the provisions of the Organic Solvent Poisoning Prevention Regulations revised by the Ministry of the Interior, and the oil and gas concentration in the ambient air should be tested regularly Take necessary protective measures according to the test results. In addition, it must be handled in accordance with other laws revised by the Ministry of the Interior, including the provisions on the prevention of explosions, fires and corrosion in the rules of labor safety facilities to prevent accidents.

Characteristics of petroleum solvents, flammable, easy to evaporate

There are various methods for measuring the concentration of organic solvents in the working ambient air. Generally, the simpler detection tube method and the "colorimetric analysis method" can be used. The Test Tube Method is a dry colorimetric method that uses test air to pass through a detection agent and reacts with discoloration to determine the concentration of organic substances.

"Colorimetric Method" (wet colorimetric method) is a wet colorimetric method. The test air is sent into a trap tube and the color change reaction occurs through the trapped liquid. This method is suitable for harmful vapors with a concentration above and below the legally permitted concentration For quantitative testing.

The sampling principle should be the location where the operator normally works, that is, the air in the breathing part of the operator. If the main purpose is to improve the working environment, more than one location must be taken, which is closest to the source of oil and gas generation. The measurement time interval is the summer, autumn, and winter seasons when the working environment may change. However, according to the regulations on the prevention of organic solvent poisoning, it is measured every three months and recorded and stored in the prescribed format.

According to the rules of labor safety and sanitation facilities stipulated by the Ministry of the Interior, the prevention of explosions and fires, the general regulations, the disposal of hazardous materials, chemical equipment, drying equipment, fire protection and other details have detailed regulations, which are briefly described below:

There should be no sparks, flames, static sparks, and other high temperature factors that may cause fire near the stored oil.

Operate or store the place to maintain air circulation so that the concentration of flammable oil, gas, steam or gas is kept below 30% of the lower explosive limit value to avoid explosion.

The operating place and other places should be isolated from each other, the temperature of the solvent used for operation should be kept below the flash point, and applied outside the flammable limit.

Specify a special person to measure the oil and gas concentration in the air before operation, check the equipment and auxiliary equipment, and check whether the operator operates according to the operating regulations (including operating methods and personal dressing), as well as the fire extinguishing equipment, escape equipment, alarm equipment that should be provided Wait, is it completely proper.

Use explosion-proof electrical equipment and tools that never generate sparks.

For details, please refer to the rules on labor safety and sanitation facilities established by the Ministry of the Interior.

According to the rules for the prevention of organic solvent poisoning established by the Ministry of the Interior, the facilities, management, health inspection and protective measures, handling of storage and empty containers, applications and reports, and classification of organic solvents are all detailed, which are summarized as follows:

To reduce the content of organic solvent oil and gas in the air of the working environment, the most basic is to prevent the volatilization and diffusion of oil and gas, such as capping, sealing, or leaving only the necessary feeding ports, etc., and exhaust collection equipment should be provided to prevent discharge into the environment; If it cannot be sealed, local exhaust or ventilation should be adopted.

To the extent possible, use solvents with low toxicity and low vapor pressure (ie, solvents that are not volatile).

Avoid direct contact with solvents, if necessary, use qualified protective equipment such as masks, goggles, gloves, safety shoes, and work in an upwind position as far as possible to avoid inhaling organic solvent vapors.

Set up organic solvent operation management, check the workplace more than once a week, test the concentration more than once every three months, and record it.

During storage, transportation, cleaning or construction operations, if it is unavoidable to contact with high concentration of highly toxic solvent vapors, operators must wear gas supply gas masks and equipment.

Operators were informed of the effects of the organic solvents used on the human body, precautions for disposal, emergency measures for poisoning, and health inspection and management in accordance with the Labor Health Management Rules of the Ministry of the Interior.

For prevention of organic solvent poisoning, please read the relevant regulations of the Ministry of the Interior.

In case of acute poisoning of workers:

Immediately move the poisoned worker to a place with good ventilation, lower his head to lie on his side or supine, and keep his temperature.

Immediately notify the person in charge of the site, the safety and health administrator or the responsible health worker.

If a poisoned worker loses consciousness, he should remove the foreign body from his mouth.

If a poisoned worker stops breathing, he should be given artificial respiration and taken to hospital immediately.

If the solvent is splashed into the eyes, rinse immediately with tap water and then rinse the medicine at the eye hospital.

When a worker burns:

If clothing catches fire, use coat and blanket to put out fire.

Lay the injured person in a safe place, reduce shock, and remove the watch, ring, bracelet to prevent swelling, tightness, finger necrosis, etc.

Cut off the burned part of the clothes. If it sticks to the wound, do not tear it off. Wipe the burned area with a clean object to prevent contamination. Cover it with gauze to prevent air contact and reduce pain.

When the solvent is stored or transported or used a little care is taken, impurities are often easily mixed in, and the quality of the solvent is seriously damaged. Pay attention to the following points when storing and handling the solvent:

Solvent storage and transportation equipment, such as storage tanks, pumps and pipelines, should avoid sharing with other materials as much as possible. If there are two or more solvents, their special equipment should be used separately.

Equipment should be protected from rainwater and impurities during storage and operation of solvents. Benzene, toluene, xylene, and n-hexane, etc., because of its extremely high purity and narrow boiling point range, should be avoided to prevent humid air from entering during storage, so as not to affect the quality.

Equipment and utensils that come into contact with solvents must be thoroughly washed and dried before use.

Equipment, utensils, etc. that come into contact with solvents should be made of appropriate materials, especially when choosing rubber or plastic materials, so as to avoid affecting the quality.

A large amount of solvent evaporation will not only cause solvent loss, but also change the composition of the solvent, which will affect the quality of the solvent. Therefore, efforts should be made to reduce the evaporation loss during storage or operation

The main ingredients are alkanes, naphthenes and small amounts of aromatics, without any additives