Product Overview
Hexane Technical Grade is a fast-evaporating, non-polar hydrocarbon solvent — CAS 110-54-3, also sold as n-Hexane or hexyl hydride. It is the workhorse solvent buyers reach for when they need to dissolve oils, greases, and non-polar residues and then flash the solvent off quickly and completely. we distribute it in our Taylor, TX warehouse and ship it daily in DOT-compliant flammable-liquid packaging, from single quarts for bench work up to 55-gallon drums for production lines. Typical buyers are extraction operations, maintenance and degreasing crews, chemical processors, and laboratories that need a dependable non-polar solvent without paying for analytical-grade purity.
Why This Concentration
Technical Grade means you are buying hexane for what it does in a process — dissolving, extracting, degreasing, carrying — not for trace-level analytical certification. For parts cleaning, oil extraction, formulation work, and general plant use, Technical Grade delivers the same solvency and the same fast evaporation at a working-material price. If your method is trace-sensitive — quantitative instrument work where solvent background matters — specify a higher-purity grade instead. For everything else, this is the practical choice: you get full solvent performance and you stop paying for purity your process cannot use.
Chemical Profile
Hexane is a clear, colorless liquid with a petroleum-like, gasoline-type odor. The molecule is a straight-chain six-carbon alkane, formula C6H14, molecular weight 86.18, CAS 110-54-3. It is lighter than water — density 0.659 at 68 °F — and it will float on water rather than mix with it; solubility in water is under 1 mg/mL at 61.7 °F, which is why it partitions so cleanly in extraction work. It is volatile, with a vapor pressure of 120 mmHg at 68 °F rising to 180 mmHg at 77 °F, and it flashes at -9 °F, well below any normal working temperature. Its vapors are heavier than air and will travel along floors and collect in low spots — a fact that drives every handling rule on this page.
Industrial Applications
Hexane earns its place in a plant because it dissolves non-polar material aggressively and then leaves. The established uses:
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Extraction solvent. Hexane selectively pulls oils, fats, and non-polar actives out of raw material, then evaporates off the extract with minimal residue. It is a long-standing choice for essential-oil and ingredient extraction work.
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Degreasing and parts cleaning. On metal parts and machinery, hexane cuts petroleum grease and oil films fast and flashes off without leaving a film — useful before inspection, coating, or assembly.
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Chromatography mobile phase. Its non-polar character makes hexane a standard mobile-phase component in liquid chromatography separations; for trace-level quantitative work, match the grade to your method's sensitivity.
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Chemical intermediate and reaction medium. Processors use hexane as a non-reactive, non-polar medium and as a feed in downstream synthesis.
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General laboratory solvent. Wherever a bench procedure calls for a volatile non-polar solvent — washes, partitions, recrystallizations — hexane is the default.
Handling & Storage
Treat this product as what it is: a highly flammable liquid with heavier-than-air vapors. The signal word is Danger (per the product's GHS classification), and the classification carries H225 (highly flammable liquid and vapor), H304 (may be fatal if swallowed and enters airways), H315 (causes skin irritation), H336 (may cause drowsiness or dizziness), H361f (suspected of damaging fertility), H373 (may cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure), and H411 (toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects) — all per the product's GHS classification.
In practice: keep it cool, closed, and ventilated, away from heat, sparks, static discharge, and open flame. Ground and bond containers during transfer — with a -9 °F flash point, transfer static is a real ignition source. Keep it away from strong oxidizers. Work with chemical-resistant gloves and goggles, and never rely on odor as a warning of exposure; use ventilation that clears vapor at floor level, where it accumulates. If swallowed, the aspiration hazard (H304) means vomiting must not be induced — this is an SDS-first product, and the SDS ships with every order.
Hazmat & Shipping
This product ships as a regulated flammable liquid: UN1208, proper shipping name HEXANES, Hazard Class 3, Packing Group II (per 49 CFR 172.101). We pack it in UN-specification containers with the correct Class 3 labeling and shipping papers, and our hazmat team handles the carrier requirements so the drum or case that arrives at your dock is fully compliant. Ground transport rules apply; our shipping guidance is reviewed by Andre Taki, DOT Hazmat Specialist.
Documentation
A Safety Data Sheet ships with every order and is available in English, Spanish, French, and Japanese. A lot-specific Certificate of Analysis is available for the material you receive, and a Technical Data Sheet is available for spec review before you buy. If your EHS or purchasing team needs documents in advance, ask — we send them same-day.
Why Buy from Alliance Chemical
We are a chemical distributor that ships hazmat every business day from Taylor, Texas — flammable solvents like this one are core inventory, not an occasional special order. Your hexane leaves our dock in DOT-compliant, UN-spec packaging, labeled and documented correctly the first time, whether that is a single quart or a 55-gallon drum. Handling and shipping guidance on this page is reviewed by a DOT Hazmat Specialist. Order the size your process actually consumes, and reorder when you need it — we hold the stock so you don't have to.
