If you could anthropomorphize heptane, it would be your favorite employee – the one who waves an excited hand in the air and shouts, “I can do that!” when any project is mentioned. Industrial chemical supplier Bell Chem stocks versatile heptane. Learn why your business will benefit from this wonder chemical.

Heptane (C7H16) is a straight-chain alkane hydrocarbon derived from petroleum. It is colorless and smells like gasoline. With a boiling point of 98.42C, heptane heats and boils rapidly. Its evaporation rate, on the other hand, is extremely slow. The low density of heptane causes water to sink when it is combined with liquid heptane. This feature is also responsible for heptane’s almost complete insolubility. Many other chemicals structurally similar to heptane are much more toxic.

What makes heptane so popular? It can be manipulated to meet your exact specifications. You have an application? Heptane can be manufactured to meet that need. 

As a solvent

In a laboratory setting, heptane is a useful non-polar solvent and a reagent for organic synthesis.

Printing processes find heptane mixed with dye creates the market-perfect ink. Used worldwide in printers, stamp pads, and ball-point pens, heptane keeps the world in print. Even more impressive, heptane is used by law enforcement agencies as a solvent for processing latent fingerprints.
The main choice of a solvent or thinner for rubber cement is heptane. As unvulcanized rubber is compounded, heptane is added. Differing percentages of heptane will create varied grades of rubber cement.

As an aromatic hydrocarbon, heptane works well as a solvent in paint coating. Heptane dissolves pigments and binding agents prior to use. 

As an extractor

To extract oils from vegetables, using a machine press is environmentally harsh. Using heptane is much easier on the earth.

Heptane’s amazing volatility

Heptane is a good outdoor liquid fuel because of its volatility. Its ability to expel heat energy quickly and reliably during hydrocarbon combustion feeds the fire of outdoor grills.

The volatility of heptane has another striking use: anesthesia. A volatile substance such as heptane has the ability to temporarily desensitize the body and produce lack of consciousness. 

Heptane’s role in octane ratings

Heptane’s main claim is its link to gasoline and octane ratings. Crude oil is extracted from the ground, and heptane, gasoline, and hexane are extruded. Gasoline ratings are based on a scale known as the octane rating. On the octane scale, heptane rates 0%. As the scale escalates from, say, 87% octane to 93%, the amount of heptane decreases. Gassing up your car with a low octane rating may cause undue engine pinging and wear down engine parts more quickly than lower octane fuel.

Bell Chem is a industrial chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including heptane. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.