To understand what is the difference between acetone and solvent, it is necessary to understand the definition of these substances.

Comparison of liquids

To answer the question, how does an acetone solution differ from a solvent, you need to study what they consist of.

A solvent is a single or multicomponent substance (ketone, alcohol, ether, etc.) that can dissolve a variety of substances and materials (depending on the composition).

Acetone- this is one of the types of solvents, which has a narrower (but in fact, very wide) area of ​​usage, but can be used for other purposes.

There are solvents made from acetone, in which the substance is used as one of the additional components, and solvent compositions without acetone. They all have their own areas of application and their own indicator of efficiency when dissolving different substances.

Features of acetone

It looks like a volatile liquid of organic origin, colorless and with a pungent odor. The substance has a low boiling point (+ 56 ° C) and is used for:

• Dissolution of organic and inorganic compounds (it is popular to use acetone in the form of a solvent for the production of paints and varnishes, extraction of plant materials, etc.);
• Manufacturing of chemical, pharmaceutical and construction products;
• Storage of acetylene in cylinders (without it, it is impossible to store this gas in compressed form).

In addition, it can be used as a thinner for viscous mixtures.

Features of solvent

This is any substance that can dissolve other substances in itself. Unlike acetone, it:

• Designed for one purpose only — dissolution;
• It may not consist of one substance, but of a set of active ingredients. For example, the popular R-646 solvent is made from toluene, ethanol, butyl acetate, butanol, acetone and other ingredients.

Which solvent should you choose?

Understanding the difference between acetone and another solvent is not so difficult. It is much more difficult to select a suitable solvent composition at the time of purchase.

For example, hydrocarbon-based organics can evaporate quickly, not too quickly, or slowly. Each substance requires its own type of liquid. For oil paints and varnishes, turpentine, gasoline, white spirit R-4, kerosene are suitable. For glyphthalic, bituminous varnishes — turpentine, solvent, xylene, for perchlorovinyl — acetone. This is just an example to show how many materials there can be in a particular area and what fluids can be used for them. Therefore, it is very difficult to answer unequivocally the question of which is better, acetone or a solvent, the choice depends on what you need to use this or that liquid for.

Important: for each area of ​​usage, for each material and substance, its own type should be used, which fulfills its task in the best possible way. Therefore, the question «which is more effective: acetone or solvent» has no answer without clarification: «for what?» In one case, acetone can be used as a solvent, in the other, another option.