Industrial solvents Handbook

The purpose of solvents is to convert substances into a form suitable for a particular use. The importance of the role of solvents is brought out most clearly by the fact that many substances exhibit their greatest usefulness when in solution. Lacquer solvents, for example, are selected to produce homogeneous combinations and so selected as to impart the most desirable mechanical properties. The physical properties of a fabricated solution can be regulated at will by the proper choice of solvents, thus adapting them to the most varied uses and methods of applications

Some of the more important uses for solvents are in the adhesives, coatings, electronics, ink, pesticide, pharmaceutical, photographic reproduction, and textile industries. Large quantities of solvents are also involved in dry cleaning, metal degreasing, oil refining and recovery, and as fuel additives.