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MEK is a liquid solvent used in surface coatings, adhesives, printing inks, chemical intermediates, magnetic tapes and lube oil dewaxing agents. MEK also is used as an extraction medium for fats, oils, waxes and resins.  It is a highly efficient and versatile solvent for surface coatings.  Because of its effectiveness as a solvent, MEK is especially valuable in formulating high solids coatings, which help to reduce emissions from coating operations.  MEK is a natural component of many foods, including apple juice, beans, chicken, honey and a variety of cheeses.

Applications

1- As a solvent
Butanone is an effective and common solvent and is used in processes involving gums, resins, cellulose acetate and nitrocellulose coatings and in vinyl films. For this reason it finds use in the manufacture of plastics, textiles, in the production of paraffin wax, and in household products such as lacquer, varnishes, paint remover, a denaturing agent for denatured alcohol, glues, and as a cleaning agent. It has similar solvent properties to acetone but boils at a higher temperature and has a significantly slower evaporation rate. Unlike acetone, it forms an azeotrope with water,making it useful for azeotropic distillation of moisture in certain applications. Butanone is also used in dry erase markers as the solvent of the erasable dye.

2- As a plastic welding agent
As butanone dissolves polystyrene and many other plastics, it is sold as "model cement" for use in connecting parts of scale model kits. Though often considered an adhesive, it is actually functioning as a welding agent in this context.

3- Other uses
Butanone is the precursor to methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, which is a catalyst for some polymerization reactions such as crosslinking of unsaturated polyester resins. Dimethylglyoxime can be prepared from butanone first by reaction with ethyl nitrite to give diacetyl monoxime followed by conversion to the dioxime