What molecule am I?
Furfural, or furan-2-carbaldehyde, is an oily liquid formed when sugars from lignocellulosic biomasses such as corncobs, sawdust, and oat hulls dehydrate. This is a natural process that is the basis of the commercial production of furfural.
In the first half of the 19th century, chemists such as Johann W. D枚bereiner at the University of Jena (Germany) and John Stenhouse at Glasgow University discovered furfural in the distillation products of various biomaterials. It did not become an industrial product until Quaker Oats (Chicago) began to produce it on a large scale from oat hulls.
Furfural, one of the earliest sustainable chemical feedstocks, is used to synthesize a wide range of industrial chemicals, including solvents, resins, plastics, and furan derivatives. As the hazard information table shows, it must be handled with an abundance of caution.
Furfural is one of several five-carbon oxygenated hydrocarbons that make up the you might use to make your Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. Oddly, this odor differs significantly from that of the six-carbon compounds, such as former Molecule of the Week cis-3-hexen-1-ol, that emanates from freshly cut pumpkins.
Happy Thanksgiving from the MOTW team!
Furfural hazard information
| GHS classification*: flammable liquids, category 4 | |
| H227鈥擟ombustible liquid |  |
| GHS classification: acute toxicity,oral, category 3 | |
| H301鈥擳oxic if swallowed |  |
| GHS classification: acute toxicity, dermal, category 4 | |
| H312鈥擧armful in contact with skin |  |
| GHS classification: skin corrosion/irritation, category 2 | |
| H315鈥擟auses skin irritation | |
| GHS classification: serious eye damage/eye irritation, category 2A | |
| H319鈥擟auses serious eye irritation | |
| GHS classification: acute toxicity,inhalation, category 2 | |
| H330鈥擣atal if inhaled | |
| GHS classification: specific target organ toxicity, single exposure, respiratory tract irritation, category 3 | |
| H335鈥擬ay cause respiratory irritation | |
| GHS classification: carcinogenicity, category 2 | |
| H351鈥擲uspected of causing cancer |  |
| GHS classification: hazardous to the aquatic environment, acute hazard, category 3 | |
| H402鈥擧armful to aquatic life |  |
| GHS classification: hazardous to the aquatic environment, long-term hazard, category 3 | |
| H412鈥擧armful to aquatic life with long-lasting effects | |
**Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.聽
Furfural fast facts
| CAS Reg. No. | 98-01-1 |
| Empirical formula | C5H4O2 |
| Molar mass | 96.08 g/mol |
| Appearance | Colorless oily liquid |
| Boiling point | 162 潞C |
| Water solubility | 83 g/L |
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