Turpentine
Turpentine distilled at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village as it was done circa 1900
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Identifiers | |
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ECHA InfoCard
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100.029.407 |
EC Number |
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PubChem CID
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UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
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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) | |
Flash point | 35 °C (95 °F; 308 K) |
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).
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Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps)[2] is a fluid obtained 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
Substitutes include white spirit or other petroleum distillates – although the constituent chemicals are very different.[4]
Etymology
The word turpentine derives (via
Although the word originally referred to the resinous exudate of terebinth trees (e.g.
Source trees
Important pines for turpentine production include: maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), Masson's pine (Pinus massoniana), Sumatran pine (Pinus merkusii), longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), slash pine (Pinus elliottii), and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa).
To tap into the sap producing layers of the tree, harvesters used a series of hacks to remove the pine bark. Once debarked, pine trees secrete crude turpentine (oleoresin) onto the surface of the wound as a protective measure to seal the opening, resist exposure to micro-organisms and insects, and prevent vital sap loss. Harvesters wounded trees in V-shaped streaks down the length of the trunks to channel the crude turpentine into containers. It was then collected and processed into spirits of turpentine. Crude turpentine yield may be increased by as much as 40% by applying paraquat herbicides to the exposed wood.[10]
The V-shaped cuts are called "catfaces" for their resemblance to a cat's whiskers. These marks on a pine tree indicate it was used to collect resin for turpentine production.[11]
Turpentine (and rosin) are produced as
The pine trees of North Carolina were well suited to camphine production. The business also provided additional need for slaves as production expanded. Backwoods became more productive. Slaves were often leased in winter when agriculture was slower. The value of many was protected by
Zallen reports that after
Converting crude turpentine to oil of turpentine
Turpentine may alternatively be extracted from
Sulfate turpentine
When producing chemical
Industrial and other end uses
Solvent
As a solvent, turpentine is used for thinning oil-based
Lighting
Spirits of turpentine, called
Source of organic compounds
Turpentine is also used as a source of raw materials in the synthesis of fragrant chemical compounds. Commercially used
Folk medicine
Turpentine and petroleum distillates such as
Turpentine, now understood to be dangerous for consumption, was a common medicine among seamen during the
Turpentine enemas, a very harsh purgative, had formerly been used for stubborn constipation or impaction.[23] They were also given punitively to political dissenters in post-independence Argentina.[24]
Niche uses
- Turpentine is also added to many cleaning and sanitary products due to its antiseptic properties and its "clean scent".
- In early 19th-century America, spirits of turpentine (electric lights and gas lighting.[26]
- Honda motorcycles, first manufactured in 1946, ran on a blend of gasoline and turpentine, due to the scarcity of gasoline in Japan following World War II.[27]
- In his book If Only They Could Talk, veterinarian and author James Herriot describes the use of the reaction of turpentine with resublimed iodine to "drive the iodine into the tissue", or perhaps just impress the watching customer with a spectacular treatment (a dense cloud of purple smoke).[28]
- Turpentine was added extensively into gin during the Gin Craze.[29]
Hazards
NFPA 704 fire diamond | |
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As an
The
See also
- Galipot – Resin of turpentine obtained from pine trees
- McCranie's Turpentine Still – a historic site in Willacoochee, Georgia
- Naval stores industry – part of shipbuilding
- Patent medicine – over-the-counter "proprietary" medications
- Retsina – Greek wine flavored with Aleppo pine resin
- Russia leather – a water-resistant leather curried after tanning with a birch oil distillate similar to turpentine
References
- ^ a b Record of Turpentine in the GESTIS Substance Database of the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
- ISBN 0-670-83701-6.
- ^ ISBN 0-442-20164-8p.569
- ISBN 978-3527306732.
- ISBN 0-06-270084-7.
- ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1882). A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 579.
- JSTOR 1505670.
- ISSN 0022-1201.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link - ^ "Turpentine". Britannica. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ a b Kent p.571
- ^ Prizer, Tom (June 11, 2010). "Catfaces: Totems of Georgia's Turpentiners | Daily Yonder | Keep It Rural". dailyyonder.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- ^ a b Zallen, Jeremy (2019). American Lucifers: The Dark History of Artificial Light, 1750-1865. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
- ^ "Turpentine". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
- ^ Kent pp.571&572
- ISBN 952-5216-03-9.
- ^ Kent p.572
- ^ "Surviving 'The Spanish Lady' (Spanish flu)". CBC News. 2003-04-10. Event occurs at 03:20. Archived from the original on 2020-08-07. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
A turpentine and hot water, and [wring hot towels out of there], and put it on their chest and back. --Elsie Miller (nee Smith)
- ^ Sarah Rieger (December 29, 2018). "100 years ago, a train carrying Spanish flu pulled into Calgary. Within weeks, Alberta was in crisis". CBC News. Archived from the original on December 29, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
- ^ "DailyMed - VICKS VAPORUB (camphor- synthetic, eucalyptus oil, and menthol ointment". dailymed.nlm.nih.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
- ISBN 0066211735. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ "Home Remedies - American Memory Timeline- Classroom Presentation". American Memory Timeline. The Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
- ^ "ICSC 1063 - TURPENTINE". www.inchem.org. Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2006-04-02.
- ^ "Turpentine enema". Biology-Online Dictionary. Biology-Online. 7 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
- ^ "Ribbons and Rituals". In "Problems in Modern Latin American History". Ed. Chasteen and Wood. Oxford, UK: Scholarly Resources, 2005. p. 97, ISBN 9781442218598 and 9781442218604
- ^ Charles H. Haswell. "Reminiscences of New York By an Octogenarian (1816 - 1860)". Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ "The "Whale Oil Myth"". PBS NewsHour. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "Honda History". Smokeriders.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ If Only They Could Talk. 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2018 – via www.amazon.co.uk., summarised at "James Herriot Books". Retrieved 28 June 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Rohrer, Finlo (28 July 2014). "When gin was full of sulphuric acid and turpentine". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ "CDC - NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards - Turpentine - Symptoms". www.cdc.gov. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ^ "Turpentine". International Programme on Chemical Safety, World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2006-04-02.
- ^ "CDC - NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards - Turpentine". www.cdc.gov. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
External links
- Inchem.org, IPCS INCHEM Turpentine classification, hazard, and property table.
- CDC - NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards - Turpentine