Solvents are substances which are generally liquid at room temperature and atmospheric pressure and which have the ability to dissolve, suspend or extract other materials without chemically changing them. The concept of an industrial solvent goes much further than its capacity to dissolve. It extends equally to dilution, conveyance, extraction and separation without chemically altering its composition or that of the solute. They permit transportation, application, cleaning or separation of substances and hence are essential in numerous industries. The choice of a solvent very much depends on the particular technical demands of different applications.
Most popular questions
What are the main types of solvents ?
| Family | Main Ranges |
| Oxygenated Solvents |
Alcohols Ketones Esters Ethers - Alchols |
| Hydrocarbon Solvents |
Aliphatics Aromatics |
| Halogenated and chlorinated solvents |
|
The special fluids division of Total is a producers and marketers of hydrocarbon solvents, and is a leader in Europe, in this segment of market |
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Why are they so popular?
Solvents are very versatile: they can be used pure, but can also be produced or blended to meet very specific requirements. This means that they can be 'tailor-made' for distinct purposes. When choosing or blending a solvent, performance, health and safety, cost and environmental factors are all weighed up.
A range of chemical properties need to be taken into account such as dissolving power, viscosity and evaporation rates, colour, odour, toxicity, flammability and conservation of resources. In many ways solvents are 'guests' of the process they help to make work. Once their job is complete solvents are either incinerated and energy recovered, recycled and returned to repeat the process again - often many times, or they evaporate as part of their use, for example when paint dries.
In many applications, solvent emissions from evaporation are minimised with techniques such as thermal oxidation, where heat is used to destroy the volatile solvent component
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What are the main uses of solvents ?
The largest demand for solvents comes from the paint and coatings industry which relies on almost two million tonnes every year. But the pharmaceutical sector is a growing market showing a steady increase in demand year on year, because of solvents' invaluable contribution to the purity of modern medicines.
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Where can I find out more about solvents ?
Visit the website of ESIG* : the European Solvents Industry Group (part of CEFIC)
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What is a special fluid?
Special fluids are ultra pure tailor-made hydrocarbon solvents which can be used in various applications such as cosmetics, drilling mud, crop protection, lubricants, paints, printing inks etc. These solvents contain n-paraffin, iso-paraffin and cyclic-paraffins with extremely controlled carbon distribution in order to provide the right properties needed for each application. Total Fluides manufactures these solvents in its state-of-the-art plants located in Oudalle, France and Bayport, USA.
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How do we manufacture high purity special fluids?
Special fluids are manufactured by our cutting-edge HDA© Technology. We invest huge effort in the R&D to select the best feedstock for HDA process. These feedstocks undergo controlled catalytic reaction under the high pressure of pure Hydrogen. Our HDA© units coupled with specifically designed distillation columns give us the control to manufacture the right products for our customers.
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What are key characteristics of special fluids?
Special fluids are characterized by different physical and chemical properties depending on the applications. Some of the key characteristics are Distillation Range, Kinematics Viscosity, Density, Flash Point, Pour Point, Aniline Point etc. All our HDA products are aromatic free and we rigorously control aromatic content in each production batch.
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Do TOTAL Fluides products contain SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) ?
None of substances listed in the candidate list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) published by ECHA are present in concentrations greater than 0.1 % w/w in TOTAL Fluides products.
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Are TOTAL Fluides products classified as CMR (Carcinogenic, Mutagenic or Reprotoxic)?
Total Fluides products are not classified CMR according to the GHS/CLP regulations with the exception of the following marketed products: Solane Hexane, Toluene and Solvarex 10A which are classified CMR category 2 (substance suspected of being CMR).
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Do TOTAL Fluides products contain PBT (Persistent Bioaccumulable and Toxic) or vPvB (very Persistent and very Bioaccumulable)?
None of the substances contained in Total Fluides products are classified as Pbts or vPvB.
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Are TOTAL Fluides substances registered under the REACH Regulations?
All substances manufactured or imported into the European Union by Total Fluides were registered in accordance with the Reach regulation in 2010. Registration numbers can be found in the Safety Data Sheet for each commercial product (Section 1 - Substance/Mixture Identification, and Section 3 - Composition/Mixture Component Information).
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Do TOTAL Fluides substances have a CAS number?
In the European Union, the substances contained in Total Fluides products are identified by an EC number "European Community" (see Section 3 of the SDS). Outside the European Union, these substances are identified by a reference CAS number that makes it possible to market the product internationally via international inventories (see Section 15 of the SDS).
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Most TOTAL Fluides products are classified H304. What does this classification mean?
H 304 is a hazard statement from the GHS/CLP meaning “May be fatal if swallowed and entered the respiratory tract.” It refers to an aspiration hazard that is associated with an unquantifiable hazard defined by the kinematic viscosity of the product. This risk may occur in the event of ingestion but also in the case of vomiting after ingestion. For all Total Fluides products classified as H304, the regulations require that the SGH08 pictogram “of the exploding/irradiated torso” be reproduced on the CLP label (see Section 2 of the SDS).
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Are TOTAL Fluides products listed in the international inventories?
Yes, most of Total Fluides' products are listed in international inventories (Europe, USA, Canada, China, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia). For more information, refer to Section 15 of the Product SDS or the Inventory by Range table.
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Do Total Fluides products contain GMOs, BSEs?
Total Fluides products, including Biolife line products, consist exclusively of hydrocarbon compounds. For this reason, they do not contain any Genetically Modified Organisms (Gmos) or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
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Where one can find TOTAL Fluides product MSDSs?
The Sdss for all Total Fluides products are available online at www.quickfds.com. You can download the SDS written in the format of the country in which the product is marketed and translated into one of the country’s official languages:Access the SDS.
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Are TOTAL Fluides products classified as a VOC - Volatile Organic Compound?
A product is defined as VOC only because of its physicochemical properties. As a general rule, it is necessary to consider the vapour pressure, or the boiling temperature (these 2 characteristics are coupled). This information is found in Section 9 of the SDS. In the product lines marketed by Total Fluides, the light products in the Solane, Spirdane and Ketrul ranges are Vocs, while the Hydroseal, Scriptane PW, Berylane, Fluid D and Biolife ranges are not Vocs.
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Are TOTAL Fluides products biodegradable?
All of our products are classified as “Readily Biodegradable” except for Isane IP 175 and Isane IP 185, which are classified as “Inherently Biodegradable”. All Biolifes products are classified as “Easily Biodegradable” including the Isane Biolife range. For more information on product biodegradability (method, outcome, conclusion), see Section 12 of the SDS.
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