Picamar

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Picamar is a colorless, hydrocarbon oil extracted from the creosote of beechwood tar with a peculiar odor and bitter taste. It consists of derivatives of pyrogallol. It was discovered by German chemist Carl Reichenbach in the 1830s. Picamar can be used to lubricate machinery.

Contents

Chemical and physical properties

The exact composition of picamar is unknown. [1] According to Pastrovich, picamar is a monomethyl ether of propyl-pyrogallol ( C
10
H
14
O
3
). However, Gustav Niederist, who obtained an original sample of the oil as prepared by von Reichenbach himself, assigned it a formula of C
13
H
18
O
4
. [2] [3] Picamar is colorless with a peculiar, peppermint-like odor and bitter taste. It is soluble in alcohol and sparingly soluble in water. It has a melting point of 545 °F (285 °C). Picamar reduces the red oxide of mercury to its metallic state. [4] It reacts with nitric acid to become a reddish-brown, greasy substance and can also dissolve camphor, resin, and benzoic acids. [5]

History

The name "picamar" is derived from the Latin phrase in pice amarum (meaning "bitter principle of tar"). [6] It was discovered by German chemist Carl Reichenbach in the 1830s as one of the six principles of beechwood tar, along with other substances as capnomor and eupione that were "met with less notice". [7]

Applications

Picamar is used for greasing machinery and preventing them from rusting. [8]

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10
H
8
. It is the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and is a white crystalline solid with a characteristic odor that is detectable at concentrations as low as 0.08 ppm by mass. As an aromatic hydrocarbon, naphthalene's structure consists of a fused pair of benzene rings. It is best known as the main ingredient of traditional mothballs.

Methanethiol chemical compound

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3
SH
. It is a colorless gas with a distinctive putrid smell. It is a natural substance found in the blood and brain of humans and animals, as well as in plant tissues. It is disposed of through animal feces. It also occurs naturally in certain foods, such as some nuts and cheese. It is one of the main compounds responsible for bad breath and the smell of flatus. Methanethiol is classified as a thiol and is sometimes abbreviated as MeSH. It is very flammable.

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9
H
14
O
or (
2
C=CH–)
2
C=O
.

Carl Reichenbach German philosopher (1788-1869)

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References

  1. William Gregory (1851). Outlines of Chemistry: For the Use of Students. H.W. Derby. p. 538.
  2. Chemical Society (Great Britain) (1883). Journal of the Chemical Society. The Society. pp. 1005–1006.
  3. Society of Chemical Industry (Great Britain) (1884). Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry. Society of Chemical Industry. p. 162.
  4. William Thomas Brande (1841). A Manual of Chemistry. J.W. Parker. p. 1169.
  5. Leopold Gmelin (1862). Hand-book of Chemistry. Cavendish Society. p. 163.
  6. Richard Dennis Hoblyn (1865). A Dictionary of Terms Used in Medicine and the Collateral Sciences. H.C. Lea. p. 342.
  7. "Letters on Od and Magnetism" (PDF). 1851. p. 63.
  8. Edward Turner (1834). Elements of Chemistry: Including the Recent Discoveries and Doctrines of the Science. John Taylor. p. 874.