15 Uses of Benzene in Everyday Life – Compounds

As part of chemicals, benzene has some derived compound and it function for our life. Benzene is founded by Michael Faraday on 1825 while faraday succeed to separate benzene from oil and naming bicarburet from hydrogen. Eight years later on 1933, german chemist Eilhard Mitcherlich succeed to produce benzene through the distillation of benzene acid and calcium (chalk), then he named it benzine.

Uses of benzene in everyday life give positive and negative impact for us, start for food industry, healthy industry and medicine, plastic industry, rubber and also military necessary. Besides that effect of benzene, it also has bad effect if we did not careful about it.

Uses of benzene in everyday life also has some characteristic we need to understand compare to other chemicals. It was colorless, flammable, and tangible liquid. (You may also read: List of Chemicals on the Periodic Table)

Below are benzene compounds and their uses in everyday life :

1. Toluene (Methyl Benzene)

In daily life, we ever paint wall, door or paint big building. Have you ever smelled it paint ? Well, it is smell of toluene as chemicals compounds that we always use for paint material. Other name of toluene is methyl benzene as part organic chemical compounds.

It also considered an aromatic compounds because benzene ring is present in chemical structure. Benzene itself has many uses in everyday life for example for commercial products and industrial application as paint thinners, nail polish, nail polish remover, correction fluid and also glue. (You may also read: Branches of Organic Chemistry)

2. Phenol (Hydroxy Benzene / Phenyl Alcohol)

Phenol or other name called hydroxy benze / phenyl alcohol has chemical characteristic carbolic acid, colorless solds, easily melt in temperature, well dissolved in the water and leave a typical smell of it.

Even it has many function in daily life such as disinfectant wood preservative, color substance synthetic, medicine, plastic material and also coagulating protein, phenol also can be dangerous if it attached to our skin. The effect if phenol attached to our skin are skin will get damage of it, scald, and shows redness behind.  (You may also read: Hazardous Substances Label Colour Based on HMIS)

3. Benzoic Acid (Carboxylatebenzane)

Benzoic acid is chemicals compunds has many used for food preservative. Beside for that function it also works for raw material for phenol manufacture.

4. Trinitro Benzene (TNB)

Along with the development of technology, now on human succeed to create new invention. Their inventions are useful and make our life easier for people life. Although people life easier with new invention with various part of technology, but some of us are not satisfied with what we have and start to destroy other side with explosives materials in high explosive power.

Explosives material can be found on trinitro benzene (TNB). Mostly uses of high explosive TNB are for mining and military activity. Other uses is for measure small pH, agents for vulcanizing natural rubber and also other explosives of synthesis intermediates.

Experts recommended to avoid direct contact with TNB which is believed to cause healthy problem if it contained to water. The most frequently of high concentrate TNB caused anemia (blood decrease to bring oxygen to the whole body). This will give effect to our skin turn to blue or purple color. We need to avoid dust, smoke from burning materials or reaction effect of TNB because it has other side such as headache, nausea.

Wearing gloves, glasses, jackets are recommended when we received stuffs with TNB materials inside. 

5. Trinitrotoluene (TNT)

From all explosives materials, we believed that Trinitrotoluene or TNT is the and most explosive one in the world. The same with TNB, it is the most widely used in military, mining and construction industry and it is easy to bring everywhere for many used.

Until now, TNT still used as a materials to create bomb and dynamite. Some soldier will get their color change to yellow light if do a directly touch with TNT. If it takes long time close with TNT, that person will get anemia or heart disease. Beside it, TNT also used for Semtex explosive and useful for building destroyer.

6. Nitro Benzene

Do you realize where is good smell of deodorizer on soap we use everyday come from? Yes, it was nitro benzene inside it. Beside it function for deodorizer, it also used as basic materials for making aniline (organic compound in making aromatics).  

7. Terephthalic Acid

This benzene compound is used for polyester synthetic fiber material. This is of many Uses of benzene in everyday life.

8. Paracetamol (Acetaminophen)

Paracetamol well known works for febrifuge (or medicine for fever) and similar uses with aspirin but while we consume it, it was safer for our stomach. Almost all medicine sells outside are made by paracetamol but we need to understand that consuming this medicine over than normal will give bad effect for liver and heart.  (You may also read: Uses of Organic Chemistry in Medicine )

9. Benzene Sulphonate Acid

More Uses of benzene in everyday life, if we got that paracetamol as benzene compound for medicine, benzene sulphonate acid can be used in daily life for manufacture of drugs and artificial sweeteners (saccharin is a compound of benzene sulphonate acid).

10. Benzyl Alcohol

Benzyl alcohol widely used as solvent ingredient in the cosmetic so it can directly dissolves the oil on the skin. It as other side like irritation if people are not suitable to use cosmetic with benzyl alcohol.  (You may also read: Safe Chemicals That Can Be Dangerous in Everyday Products)

11. Halogen Benzene

This compounds used in the manufacture of paints. If we saw many insects hard to eradicate, halogen benzene also helpful as manufacture of insecticides.

12. Anillin (Amino benzene / Phenol Amine)

It was liquid substance prototypical aromatic amines for many chemical industries. Mainly used for anillin is manufacture of precursors for polyurethane, explosive materials and basic ingredients of diazo dye. It has bad smell like rotten fish and easy to explode.

13. Styrene

If styrene has polymerization (polymerization is a process of reacting manomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three dimensional networks), it will be formed to plastic type and it has many used for electric insulator, dolls, glass, plate and shoe soles.

Be careful to not consume it or drink water contained with it because it will make cancer for human body. Beside it, stiyene can give bad impact for liver, digestion and breathing problems. 

14. Salicylic Acid

When we get skin problem, medicine containing with salicyd acid are preferable to cure it. Skin cracking and wart skin exfoliation, fish eyes, psoriasis, scaly skin, nail infection and calluses sometimes happen when we get skin problem.

15. Benzaldehyde

In daily life, benzaldehyde are commonly used for preservative and raw material for making perfume and give good smell after it. Some of us will get irritation while it contact to our skin, eye, mouth and throat so don’t forget to clean it with clean water after exposed to us.

Benzene is poisoned with that and caused cancer (carcinogenic). In high concentrate of benzene, it will lead to death if inhaled air by human. Not only in high concentrate, we will get headache and increase heart beat in if air inhaled with low concentrate of benzene.