What Is Hexane?
Hexane is an organic compound made of the elements carbon and hydrogen. It is primarily produced through the refining of petroleum. It has many uses, including that of a vegetable solvent, cleaning agent, and thermometer liquid. Its toxicity is considered to be relatively low, though the effects of extremely high exposure can include irritation, dizziness, headache, and slight nausea.
Hexane has many uses, but is best known for its role as a solvent. Many types of plants and vegetables are treated with this compound in order to extract their oils and proteins for use in other products. Produce treated include soybeans, peanuts, and corn. Hexane is also used as a cleaning solvent and as an industrial degreaser.
It is due to its role in oil and protein extraction that hexane has been linked to controversy. A variety of products use oils and proteins extracted through the use of hexane. These products include baby formula, alternative vegetarian foods, and protein shakes. Some of these products even claim to be natural or healthy alternatives. Health groups had samples tested of the industrial products extracted using hexane, and determined that some residue remained at the parts-per-million (ppm) level. Some groups consider this to be a safe level – others have concerns.
Hexane’s physical properties are well known. It is most commonly encountered as a colorless liquid. It has a melting point of roughly -139.54°F (-95.3°C) and a boiling point of 154.04°F (67.8°C). It has a molar mass of 86.18 grams per mole (g/mol). It is also a non-polar molecule, meaning that it is not soluble in water.
Hexane is a relatively simple molecule. As the hex- prefix indicates, it has six carbon atoms. These carbon atoms are accompanied by 14 hydrogen atoms, giving it the molecular formula C6H14. The carbons are chained in a row, one following the next. Each carbon has at least two hydrogen atoms attached to it, except for the first and last carbon that have three. Due to its exclusive carbon-hydrogen makeup and the fact that hexane only has single molecular bonds, it can be classified as a straight-chain alkane.
Hexane is also easily represented visually. When drawn as a Kekulé structure, it is a line of six C’s, each of which has four line-bonds. H’s (hydrogens) surround the central carbon chain. The condensed structure is written as CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3. The line structure is a simple line with five segments.
Written by Brad Cole
