Toluene
Toluene is a naturally occurring compound. Toluene is primarily derived from petroleum or petrochemical processes. It is a very common component in substances like gasoline, glues, and other products. Toluene is a liquid that is colourless, water-insoluble and smells similar to paint thinners.
What is Toluene?
Toluene is also known as toluol. Toluene is an aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative and consists of a methyl group i.e., CH3 that is attached to a phenyl group. The systematic IUPAC name of toluene formula is methylbenzene. Toluene is predominantly in use as an industrial feedstock and a solvent. It is a common solvent like paints, paint thinners, silicone sealants, many chemical reactants, rubber, printing ink, adhesives (glues), lacquers, leather tanners, and disinfectants. Toluene is also in use as a recreational inhalant. Toluene has the capability of causing severe neurological harm to our body.
History of Toluene
During the year 1837, a compound was isolated through a distillation of pine oil by the Polish chemist Filip Walter. Filip Walter named it retinnaphte. While in the year1841, a French chemist with the name Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville isolated a hydrocarbon from the balsam of Tolu. The compound was an aromatic extract from the tropical Colombian tree Myroxylon balsamum. He recognized that it was similar to Walter’s retinnaphte and benzene.
Therefore, he called the new hydrocarbon benzoene. In 1843, Jöns Jacob Berzelius suggested the name toluin for the same compound. The French chemist Auguste Cahors isolated a compound from a distillate of wood a hydrocarbon that he recognized as similar to Deville’s benzene. Thus, Cahors named the isolated compound toluene formula in 1850.
Production of Toluene
Toluene occurs naturally in crude oil at low levels. It is a by-product in the production of gasoline by a catalytic reformer or ethylene cracker. Toluene is also a by-product of the production of coke from coal. The final separation and purification are done by the distillation or solvent extraction processes that are in use for BTX aromatics like benzene, toluene formula, and xylene isomers.
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