Hexane is an alkane that is widely used as cheap, relatively safe, largely unreactive, and easily evaporated non-polar solvents in many industrial applications. Due to its low boiling point it can easily contribute to a degradation in air quality as many of the processes it is used in create or require suffient heat for it to vapourise.
In 1994, n-hexane was included in the list of chemicals on the US Toxic Release Inventory (TRI).[1] In 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued regulations on the control of emissions of hexane gas due to its potential carcinogenic properties and environmental concerns.[2]
The long-term toxicity of n-hexane in humans is well known.
Quoting from the article:
“In order to meet the demands of health-conscious consumers, manufacturers of soy-based fake meat like to make their products have as little fat as possible. The cheapest way to do this is by submerging soybeans in a bath of hexane to separate the oil from the protein. Says Cornucopia Institute senior researcher Charlotte Vallaeys, “If a non-organic product contains a soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, or texturized vegetable protein, you can be pretty sure it was made using soy beans that were made with hexane.”
If you’ve heard about hexane before, it was likely in the context of gasoline—the air pollutant is also a byproduct of gas refining. But in 2007, grain processors were responsible for two-thirds of our national hexane emissions. Hexane is hazardous in the factory, too: Workers who have been exposed to it have developed both skin and nervous system disorders. Troubling, then, that the FDA does not monitor or regulate hexane residue in foods. More worrisome still: According to the report, “Nearly every major ingredient in conventional soy-based infant formula is hexane extracted.”
Full article: http://ow.ly/1AnQi
References:
- “N-Hexane Chemical Backgrounder”. National Safety Council. http://www.nsc.org/ehc/chemical/N-Hexane.htm. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
- Anuradee Witthayapanyanon and Linh Do. “Nanostructured Microemulsions as Alternative Solvents to VOCs in Cleaning Technologies and Vegetable Oil Extraction”. National Center For Environmental Research. http://es.epa.gov/ncer/publications/meetings/10_26_05/abstracts/do.html.
