Furfural, << FUR fuh ral, >> is a liquid chemical used in many industries. Manufacturers use it in making nylon, plastics, and other important chemicals. Furfural changes from colorless to yellow and finally dark brown when exposed to air. Its vapor irritates the eyes, nose, and throat.
Many synthetic resins are made using furfural. Manufacturers use these synthetic resins to make plastic products. Furfural is also used in the production of the chemical furfuryl alcohol. Furfuryl alcohol is used in making resins that protect metals from corroding (being eaten away by chemical action). Furfural is also used in fungicides, germicides, and insecticides—that is, chemicals that kill fungus, germs, or insects.
Chemists call furfural a selective solvent because it will dissolve some materials in a mixture but not others. Petroleum refineries use furfural to dissolve the harmful carbon and sulfur compounds found in impure lubricating oils. Furfural is also used to refine other petroleum products, such as diesel fuel.
Chemical manufacturers prepare furfural by mixing acid with waste plant materials, such as corncobs or the hulls of cottonseeds, oats, or rice. Furfural is also found in some natural oils. Johann Döbereiner, a German chemist, reported his discovery of furfural in 1832. He accidentally obtained the chemical by treating sugar with sulfuric acid and manganese dioxide. American chemists discovered the methods now used to manufacture furfural in the early 1920’s.
China, South Africa, and the Dominican Republic are top producers of furfural. Interest in producing furfural in the United States has increased because the chemical comes from naturally occurring, renewable resources that are not based on petroleum.
Furfural is an organic chemical. It belongs to the aldehyde chemical family and is sometimes called furfuraldehyde. Furfural freezes at -37.6 °F (-38.7 °C) and boils at 323 °F (161.7 °C). It is about 1.16 times as dense as water.
