Turpentine

Turpentine
Turpentine distilled at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village as it was done circa 1900
Identifiers
ECHA InfoCard 100.029.407
EC Number
  • 232-688-5
UNII
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
Properties[1]
C10H16
Molar mass 136.238 g·mol−1
Appearance Viscous liquid
Odor Resinous
Melting point −55 °C (−67 °F; 218 K)
Boiling point 154 °C (309 °F; 427 K)
20 mg/L
Hazards
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
1
3
0
Flash point 35 °C (95 °F; 308 K)
Autoignition
temperature
220[1] °C (428 °F; 493 K)
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references

Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps)[2] is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principally used as a specialized solvent, it is also a source of material for organic syntheses.

Turpentine is composed of terpenes, primarily the monoterpenes α-pinene and β-pinene, with lesser amounts of carene, camphene, limonene, and terpinolene.[3] Nowadays, turpentine is rarely the product of distillation of pine resin, but is a byproduct of pulping. Pulping is achieved by two processes, the Kraft process and the sulfite process. The turpentines obtained from these two processes differ in their chemical compositions. The sulfite process gives a product that is rich in cymene, whereas the Kraft process gives a pinene-rich product.[4]

Substitutes include white spirit or other petroleum distillates, although the constituent chemicals are very different.[5]

  1. ^ a b Record of Turpentine in the GESTIS Substance Database of the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  2. ^ Mayer, Ralph (1991). The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques (Fifth ed.). New York: Viking. p. 404. ISBN 0-670-83701-6.
  3. ^ Kent, James A. Riegel's Handbook of Industrial Chemistry (Eighth Edition) Van Nostrand Reinhold Company (1983) ISBN 0-442-20164-8 p.569
  4. ^ Golets, Mikhail; Ajaikumar, Samikannu; Mikkola, Jyri-Pekka (2015). "Catalytic Upgrading of Extractives to Chemicals: Monoterpenes to "EXICALS"". Chemical Reviews. 115 (9): 3141–3169. doi:10.1021/cr500407m. PMID 25906177.
  5. ^ "Solvents". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. 2002. doi:10.1002/14356007.a24_437. ISBN 978-3-527-30673-2.