FURFURAL [furfural] or furfuraldehyde(C4H3OCHO), viscous, colorless liquid that has a pleasant aromatic odor; upon exposure to air it turns dark brown or black. It boils at about 160°C. It is commonly used as a solvent; it is soluble in ethanol and ether and somewhat soluble in water. Furfural is the aldehyde of pyromucic acid; it has properties similar to those of benzaldehyde. A derivative of furan, it is prepared commercially by dehydration of pentose sugars obtained from cornstalks and corncobs, husks of oat and peanut, and other waste products. It is used in the manufacture of pesticides, phenol furfural resins, and tetrahydrofuran. Tetrahydrofuran is used as a commercial solvent and is converted in starting materials for the preparation of nylon.
Furfural is used as a solvent in petrochemical refining to extract dienes (which are used to make synthetic rubber) from other hydrocarbons. Furfural, as well as its derivative furfuryl alcohol, can be used either by themselves or in together with phenol, acetone, or urea to make solid resins. Such resins are used in making fiberglass, some aircraft components, and automotive brakes.
Furfural is also used as a chemical intermediate in the production of the solvents furan and tetrahydrofuran. Hydroxymethyl furfural has been identified in a wide variety of heat processed foods.
It can be used lubricating oil refining, furfuryl alcohol production by hydrogenation, making several organic chemical products, such as medicine pesticide. It is utilized as a solvent in petroleum industry. It can be used to produce meleic andydride, tertahydrofuran, furan resin and furfuryl alcohol resin. It is also widely use in food spicery and dye as antiseptic, disinfector, insecticide and rust remover.