Water as a Green Solvent

As far as solvents go, water was the first; it has always been used to help man whether it was to help peel animal fat off of the hide or to wash blood off of hands.  Eventually, it was used to wash hair, bodies, clothes, and other items kept in homes.  Water is the best and most widely used solvent around now days; it is used as a base in products used to clean the house, used to clean beakers in chemistry labs, and still used to wash everything we as humans need. 

Now, water is being used in some places to decaffeinate coffee.  Originally, a harmful chemical like chloroform was used.  In the late 20^th century ethyl acetate was used because it was a chemical present in fruit and scientists said that it was a more natural choice, even though it was toxic.  The manufacturers eventually settled on the obvious choice, water.  The process is simple- the beans are placed in water, which soaks the caffeine and the flavor out of the beans.  Then, the beans are placed back in the water to restore the flavor but not the caffeine. 

Although water is the more natural choice, it is also the more expensive choice.  Scientists are now looking at ways to genetically engineer the beans to keep the caffeine from being produced in certain bunches of coffee beans.