ABSTRACT
CASRN: 98-00-0; DOT: 2874; DOT label: Poison; molecular formula: C5H6O2; FW: 98.10; RTECS: LU9100000; Merck Index: 12, 4325 Physical state, color, and odor: Clear, colorless to pale yellow liquid with an irritating odor. Darkens to yellowish-brown on exposure to air. A detection odor threshold concentration of 32 mg/m3 (8.0 ppmv) was determined by Jacobson et al. (1958). Melting point (°C): -29 (metastable crystalline form, Verschueren, 1983) Boiling point (°C): 170 (Windholz et al., 1983) Density (g/cm3): 1.1296 at 20 °C (Weast, 1986) Diffusivity in water (x 10-5 cm2/sec): 0.96 at 20 °C using method of Hayduk and Laudie (1974) Flash point (°C): 66 (NIOSH, 1997) 75 (open cup, Windholz et al., 1983) Lower explosive limit (%): 1.8 (NIOSH, 1997) Upper explosive limit (%): 16.3 (NIOSH, 1997) Heat of fusion (kcal/mol): 3.12 (Dean, 1987) Soil organic carbon/water partition coefficient, log Koc: Unavailable because experimental methods for estimation of this parameter for unsaturated alicyclic alcohols are lacking in the documented literature. However, its high solubility in water suggests its adsorption to soil will be nominal (Lyman et al., 1982). Solubility in organics: Soluble in alcohol and ether (Weast, 1986) Solubility in water: Miscible (NIOSH, 1997)
4.01 g/L at 25 °C, 3.39 (air = 1) Vapor pressure (mmHg): 0.4 at 20 °C (quoted, Verschueren, 1983) 0.6 at 25 °C (NIOSH, 1997) Environmental fate: Biological. In activated sludge inoculum, following a 20-d adaptation period, 97.3% COD removal was achieved. The average rate of biodegradation was 41.0 mg COD/g⋅h (Pitter, 1976). Chemical/Physical. Easily resinified by acids (Windholz et al., 1983). Furfuryl alcohol will not hydrolyze because it has no hydrolyzable functional group. In barrel-aged red, white, and model wines, naturally occurring furfuryl alcohol decreased in concentration with time. In red wine, furfuryl ethyl ether was identified as a degradation product after 55 wk of storage. The average percentage decrease of furfuryl alcohol was 73% (Spillman et al., 1998). Exposure limits: NIOSH REL: TWA 10 ppm (40 mg/m3), STEL 15 ppm (60 mg/m3), IDLH 75 ppm; OSHA PEL: TWA 50 ppm; ACGIH TLV: TWA 10 ppm, STEL 15 ppm (adopted). Toxicity: Acute oral LD50 for mice 160 mg/kg, rats 88.3 mg/kg (quoted, RTECS, 1985). Source: Furfuryl occurs naturally in yarrow, licorice, sesame seeds, clove flowers, and tea leaves (Duke, 1992). Also detected in barrel-aged red, white, and model wines. Concentrations ranged from 3.5 mg/L in white wine after 55 wk of aging to 9.6 mg/L after 11 wk of aging (Spillman et al., 1998). Identified as one of 140 volatile constituents in used soybean oils collected from a processing plant that fried various beef, chicken, and veal products (Takeoka et al., 1996). Uses: Solvent for dyes and resins; preparation of furfuryl esters; furan polymers; solvent for textile printing; manufacturing wetting agents and resins; penetrant; flavoring; corrosion-resistant sealants and cements; viscosity reducer for viscous epoxy resins.
