nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol

[KraZAlchemist]

Has anyone heard of this chemical?  SWIM found it in a spray can with DCM and Methanol (it says it contains less than 4% MeOH), and nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol is listed as the last ingredient, so I would assume it is in small concentration, since the MeOH is less than 4%

Is this a chemical that one should be worried about?  or is it used as a propellant, or some other purpose that won't interfere with the DCM?  Of course the DCM should probably be distilled to guarantee purity, but I have no way of knowing at which fraction the nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol may come over, since I cannot find the boiling point.  Maybe washing with water would get rid of the methanol and the nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol.

The only reliable information I could find regarding this compound is here

http://ntp-db.niehs.nih.gov/NTP_Reports/NTP_Chem_H&S/NTP_Chem9/Radian9016-45-9.txt

.

In does not give MP or BP, and it does not state if it is soluble in methanol ("Not available" is says)

One thing that does bother me is the fact that it says :

 ACUTE/CHRONIC HAZARDS:
  This compound is a local irritant.  When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke and fumes.    

Could swim have problems when he goes to distil?


Here are some other SYNONYMS:

 ANTAROX BL-344
 POLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL),ALPHA-(NONYLPHENYL)-OMEGA-HYDROXY
 ALPHA(NONYLPHENYL)-OMEGA-HYDROXYPOLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL)
 POLYETHYLENE GLYCOLS MONO(NONYLPHENYL)ETHER
 MACROGOL NONYLPHENYL ETHER
 NONOXINOL
 POLYOXYETHYLENE(N)-NONYLPHENYL ETHER
 NONYLPHENOXYPOLYETHOXYETHANOL
 NONYLPHENYL POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL ETHER
 NONOXYNOL
 CONCO NI
 DOWFAX 9N
 IGEPAL CO
 MAKON
 NEUTRONYX 600'S
 NONIPOL NO
 POLYTERGENT B
 RENEX 600'S
 SOLAR NP
 TRITON N
 TERGITOL NP
 T-DET-N
 SURFIONIC N
 STEROX
 ARKOPAL N-090
 CARSONON N-9
 CONCO NI-90
 IGEPAL CO-630
 NEUTRONYX 600
 PEG-9 NONYL PHENYL ETHER
 POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 450 NONYL PHENYL ETHER
 POLYOXYETHYLENE(9) NONYL PHENYL ETHER
 PROTACHEM 630
 REWPOL HV-9
 TERGITOL TP-9 (NON-IONIC)

"We face daily, a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems."[sic]

[Osmium]

It's a surfactand, or an emulsifier.
Just think about the structure for a minute. You have this big ass molecule, dissolved in DCM and MeOH. Compared to the solvents it is HUGE.
Do huge molecules distill? No they don't.
Would a company add a substance which decomposes at temps slightly higher than room temp into a consumer product? No.
Can it be separated by distillation? Yes. Easily


I'm not fat just horizontally disproportionate.

[Rhodium]

Nonylphenols are reproductive toxins for males of most mammal species.

[Osmium]

I've heard similar rumors.

When I told someone I know in real life, who just ordered 12 liters of nonylphenol he didn't want to believe me.
Happy fatherhood!  
I'm not fat just horizontally disproportionate.

[KraZAlchemist]

Rhodium,

Ummm, how much should SWIM worry about his boys?  He would prefer to keep all that reproductive stuff in tip-top shape .

The amount that would be in this compound should be small, and since it is in a consumer based product, it couldn't be to powerful, right?  I mean, SWIM isn't planning to huff the stuff of anything.

Perhaps the DEA added this chemical to make sure that cooks don't have kids.


Os,

Thanks for the reply, I will continue accordingly.

"We face daily, a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems."[sic]

[carboxyl]

and since it is in a consumer based product, it couldn't be to powerful, right?

There are plenty of consumer based products that can kill you. I think it was probably added as surficant without CC in mind. Sounds like distilling it out wouldn't bee too dificult, but you can always get different DCM.


The above post is purely fictional. Any resemblance to "real-life" is purely coincidental.

[Rhodium]

Personally, as long as I may want to reproduce, I won't touch nonylphenols other than with a ten foot pole.

[Osmium]

> as long as I may want to reproduce, I won't touch
> nonylphenols other than with a ten foot pole.

This might be kinda difficult since nonylphenols happen to be used for all kinds of different products.
And even if you manage to avoid it, there are countless other substances which are just as bad, for example certain phtalate esters. It is pretty impossible to avoid those, because all kinds of plastics contain them, they were even used in foils for food packaging. Can you imagine what happens when meat, cheese or other fat-containing foodstuff is kept in contact with such packaging materials?      
All kinds of chemicals are able to act like female hormones in the male body, that might be the number one reason why sperm count and general fertility among males of ALL species, not just humans, is declining. There have been shocking findings of e.g. male trouts converting into females etc.
It's not so much the single exposure that's dangerous, it's rather the constant exposure (which can not be avoided), even when only extremely small amounts are involved.
I'm not fat just horizontally disproportionate.