Turpentine

#### Turpentine. Although the essential oil from turpentine is not used as such to any great extent in perfumery, the product deserves some attention in a work on natural perfume materials since **Turpentine**** ****Oil **is the largest of all essential oils (by volume) in the world (see tables in the rear of this book). **Turpentine Oil **is discussed in the next monograph. **Turpentine **is a natural oleo-resin, formed as a physiological product in the trunks of Pinus Palustris and other species of Pinus (see also Larch Turpentine). The tree grows so extensively that it would take pages of this book to specify all places of production. From Norway to New Zealand, from Portugal to Japan, in the U.S.A. and India, France and Greece, hundreds of thousands of tons of this important oleo-resin is tapped from pines by simple methods, comprehensively discussed elsewhere in literature. The turpentine consists of an essential oil, known as turpentine oil, and a resinous substance-known as **Rosin**. The latter is a mixture of various resin-acids and resin-acid anhydrides, commercially known as **Abietic**** ****Acid**. By steam distillation of turpentine, about one-sixth of the weight of the natural oleoresin distils with the water as turpentine oil, while five-sixths are left as rosin. Thus, the annual world production of natural rosin is between one-half million and one million metric tons. **Turpentine**** **(oleoresin) as such is not used in perfumery. Derivatives of rosin are used as fixatives in certain types of perfume. Some of the well-known derivatives are: **Abitol**** **(a mixture of dihydro- and tetrahydro abietic alcohols), **Abalyn**** **(methyl abietate) **Hercolyn**** **(methyl dihydroabietate) **Hercolyn**** ****D**** **(same, but distilled and deodorized) These are all very high-boiling, almost odorless viscous materials, readily miscible with all conventional perfume materials. **Abitol**** **and **Hercolyn**** ****D**** **have comparatively low odor levels, but even the faint odor of "pine derivative" limits the use of these products to pine fragrances, woody notes, industrial perfumes, masking odors, etc., or they may be used at a low concentration only. For their physical fixative effect, these products are among the very best of all low-cost, readily available solvent-fixatives (see monograph on Fixatives in Part One of this work). ---