Abstract

Acetone [67-64-1] (2-propanone, dimethyl ketone, CH₃COCH₃), molecular weight 58.08 (C₃H₆O), is the simplest and most important of the ketones. It is a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid with a mildly pungent, somewhat aromatic odor, and is miscible in all proportions with water and most organic solvents. Acetone is an excellent solvent for a wide range of gums, waxes, resins, fats, greases, oils, dyestuffs, and cellulosics. It is used as a carrier for acetylene, in the manufacture of a variety of coatings and plastics, and as a raw material for the chemical synthesis of a wide range of products such as ketene, methyl methacrylate, bisphenol A, diacetone alcohol, methyl isobutyl ketone, hexylene glycol (2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol), and isophorone. World production of acetone in 1999 was about 4.27 million metric tons per year, of which ~1.4 million was made in the United States. Most of the world's manufactured acetone is obtained as a coproduct in the process for phenol from cumene and most of the remainder from the dehydrogenation of isopropyl alcohol. Numerous natural sources of acetone make it a normal constituent of the environment. It is readily biodegradable.