Petroleum benzine is a hydrocarbon-based solvent mixture that is classified by its physical properties (e.g. boiling point, vapor pressure) rather than a specific chemical composition.
[1] The most important distinction amongst the various hydrocarbon solvents may be their boiling/distillation ranges (and, by association, volatility, flash point, etc.)
[2] Given the toxicity/carcinogenicity of some aromatic hydrocarbons, most notably benzene, the aromatic content of petroleum distillate solvents, which would typically be in the 10-25% (w/w) range for most petroleum fractions, can be advantageously reduced when their unique solvation properties are not required, and a less odorous, lower toxicity solvent is desired, especially when present in consumer products.
According to their corresponding MSDS, most commercially offered petroleum benzine solvents consist of paraffins (alkanes) with chain lengths of C5 to C9 (i.e. n-pentane to n-nonane and their isomers), cycloparaffins (cyclopentane, cyclohexane, ethylcyclopentane, etc.)
[3][4][5] Many of the cases of polyneuropathy amongst workers chronically exposed to vapors of petroleum benzine and similar solvents have been attributed to the n-hexane component of these mixtures[citation needed].