Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps)
Turpentine is composed of , primarily the monoterpenes alpha-Pinene and beta-Pinene, with lesser amounts of carene, camphene, limonene, and terpinolene.[Kent, James A. Riegel's Handbook of Industrial Chemistry (Eighth Edition) Van Nostrand Reinhold Company (1983) p.569] Nowadays, turpentine is rarely the product of distillation of pine rosin, but is a byproduct of pulping. Pulping is achieved by two processes, Kraft process and the Sulfite process. The turpentine obtained from these two processes differ in their chemical composition. Sulfite process gives a product that is rich in cymene, whereas the Kraft process gives a pinene-rich product.
Substitutes include white spirit or other petroleum distillates – although the constituent chemicals are very different.
Etymology
The word
turpentine derives (via
French language and
Latin) from the
Greek language word,
τερεβινθίνη,
terebinthine in English, in turn the feminine form (to conform to the feminine gender of the Greek word, which means 'resin') of an adjective (τερεβίνθινος) derived from the Greek noun (τερέβινθος) for the
terebinth tree.
Although the word originally referred to the resinous exudate of terebinth trees (e.g. Chios turpentine, Cyprus turpentine, and Persian turpentine),
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).
Converting crude turpentine to oil of turpentine
Crude turpentine collected from the trees may be evaporated by steam distillation in a
copper still. Molten
rosin remains in the still bottoms after turpentine has been distilled out.
[Kent p.571] Such turpentine is called
gum turpentine.
The term
gum turpentine may also refer to crude turpentine, which may cause some confusion.
Turpentine may alternatively be extracted from destructive distillation of pine wood,[Kent pp.571&572]
Sulfate turpentine
When producing chemical
wood pulp from
or other
coniferous trees, sulfate turpentine may be condensed from the gas generated in
Kraft process pulp digesters. The average yield of crude sulfate turpentine is 5–10 kg/t pulp.
Unless burned at the mill for energy production, sulfate turpentine may require additional treatment measures to remove traces of
sulfur compounds.
[Kent p.572]
Industrial and other end uses
Solvent
As a solvent, turpentine is used for thinning oil-based
, for producing
, and as a raw material for the chemical industry. Its use as a solvent in industrialized nations has largely been replaced by the much cheaper turpentine substitutes obtained from
petroleum such as
white spirit. A solution of turpentine and
beeswax or
carnauba wax has long been used as a furniture wax.
Lighting
Spirits of turpentine, called
camphine, was burned in lamps with glass chimneys in the 1830s through the 1860s. Turpentine blended with
grain alcohol was known as burning fluid. Both were used as domestic lamp fuels, gradually replacing
whale oil, until
kerosene,
gas lighting and
electric lights began to predominate.
Source of organic compounds
Turpentine is also used as a source of raw materials in the synthesis of fragrant chemical compounds. Commercially used
camphor,
linalool,
terpineol, and
geraniol are all usually produced from
alpha-pinene and
beta-pinene, which are two of the chief chemical components of turpentine. These pinenes are separated and purified by distillation. The mixture of
and
that is left as residue after turpentine distillation is sold as
rosin.
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 (camphine) was burned in lamps as a cheap alternative to whale oil. It produced a bright light but had a strong odour.
-
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.
-
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).
[, summarised at ]
Safety and health considerations
Turpentine is highly flammable, so much so that it has been considered as an automotive fuel.
Turpentine was added extensively into gin during the Gin Craze.
Turpentine's vapour can irritate the skin and eyes, damage the lungs and respiratory system, as well as the central nervous system when inhaled, and cause damage to the renal system when ingested, among other things.
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set the legal limit (permissible exposure limit) for turpentine exposure in the workplace as 100 ppm (560 mg/m3) over an 8-hour workday. The same threshold was adopted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as the recommended exposure limit (REL). At levels of 800 ppm (4480 mg/m3), turpentine is IDLH.
Folk medicine
Turpentine and petroleum distillates such as
coal oil and kerosene, were used in folk medicine for abrasions and wounds, as a treatment for
lice, and when mixed with
animal fat, as a chest rub or inhaler for nasal and throat ailments.
still contain turpentine in their formulations, although not as an active ingredient.
Turpentine, now understood to be dangerous for consumption, was a common medicine among seamen during the Age of Discovery. It was one of several products carried aboard Ferdinand Magellan's fleet during the first circumnavigation of the globe.
Turpentine , a very harsh purgative, had formerly been used for stubborn constipation or impaction.["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]
See also
-
McCranie's Turpentine Still – a historic site in Willacoochee, Georgia
-
Patent medicine – over-the-counter "proprietary" medications
-
flavored with Aleppo pine resin
-
Russia leather – a water-resistant leather curried after tanning with a birch oil distillate similar to turpentine
External links
