Cyclohexane

About This Product

Cyclohexane, formula C6H12 and CAS number 110-82-7, is a saturated six-membered ring hydrocarbon. It is a clear, colourless, mobile liquid with a mild odour, boiling at 81 °C, insoluble in water and miscible with most organic solvents. Nearly all cyclohexane is made by hydrogenating benzene, and nearly all of it is then oxidised to KA oil, the mixture of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol from which adipic acid and caprolactam, and so nylon 6,6 and nylon 6, are produced. Because it starts as benzene, residual benzene is the impurity that defines quality, and here it is held to 50 mg/kg, with n-hexane and sulphur also limited and a distillation range within 1 °C. One physical property catches out first-time buyers: cyclohexane melts at 6.5 °C, far higher than most solvents, so drums and lines exposed to winter temperatures can freeze solid and may need heated storage. It is used in cyclohexanone, cyclohexanol, adipic acid and caprolactam production, as a solvent for resins, rubber, fats and paraffin oils, in paints and coatings, and in recrystallisation and extraction work. Bio Green Chem supplies cyclohexane at 99.9 percent minimum purity to specification on colour, density, benzene, n-hexane, distillation range, sulphur and non-volatile matter, in 150 kg drums or ISO tanks. It is highly flammable and an aspiration hazard; handle to the safety data sheet.