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Rosin
(colophony)
Rosin, also known as colophony or Greek pitch, is a solid form of resin obtained from pines and some other plants,
mostly conifers, produced by heating fresh liquid resin to vaporize the volatile
liquid terpene components. It is semi-transparent and varies in color from
yellow to black. At room temperature rosin is brittle, but it melts at stove-top
temperatures.
Rosin Uses:
The unique physical properties of rosin make it
the natural choice for many products and many industries including adhesive,
paint, ink, textile, soap and paper industries. In addition to its
extensive use in soap making, rosin is largely employed in making varnishes
(including fine violin varnishes), sealing-wax and various adhesives. It is also
used for preparing shoemakers' wax, as a flux for soldering metals, for pitching
lager beer casks, for rosining the bows of musical instruments and numerous
minor purposes. Rosin is also a main ingredient of
many healing salves made using traditional recipes.
Learn more about the uses of rosin.
Rosin Production:
Rosin is the resinous constituent of the oleo-resin exuded by various species of
pine, known in commerce as crude turpentine. The separation of the oleo-resin
into the essential oil-spirit of turpentine and common rosin is effected by
distillation in large copper stills. The essential oil is carried off at a
temperature of between 100° and 160°C, leaving fluid rosin, which is run off
through a tap at the bottom of the still, and purified by passing through
straining wadding.
Rosin Colors and Grades:
Rosin varies in color, according to the age of the tree from
which the turpentine is drawn and the degree of heat applied in distillation,
from an opaque, almost pitch-black substance through grades of brown and yellow
to an almost perfectly transparent colorless glassy mass. The commercial grades
are numerous, ranging by letters from A, the darkest, to N, extra pale, superior
to which are W, window glass, and WW, water white varieties, the latter having
about three times the value of the common qualities.
Other Sources:
Other sources of rosin include rosin (called tall oil rosin) obtained from the
distillation of Crude Tall Oil (CTO). Crude Tall Oil is a by-product obtained
from the kraft paper making process. Additionally rosin may be obtained from
aged pine stumps. This type of rosin is typically called wood rosin. In this
process, aged wood stumps are chipped and soaked in a solvent solution. The
solvents are recovered along with the rosin, fatty acids, turpentine, and other
constituents through distillation.
On a large scale, rosin is treated by destructive distillation for the
production of rosin spirit, pinoline and rosin oil. The last enters into the
composition of some of the solid lubricating greases, and is also used as an
adulterant of other oils.
Rosin Hazards:
Prolonged exposure to rosin fumes released during soldering can cause
occupational asthma (formerly called colophony disease in this context) in
sensitive individuals, although it is not known which component of the fumes
causes the problem.
Rosin Sources:
The chief region of rosin production is Indonesia, southern China, such as
Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan and Jiangxi, and Northern part of Vietnam.
Chinese rosin
(Product
Code: CROSIN) is obtained mainly from the turpentine of Masson's Pine Pinus
massoniana and Slash Pine P. elliottii.
The South Atlantic and Eastern Gulf states of the United States is also a chief
region of production. American rosin is obtained from the turpentine of Longleaf
Pine Pinus palustris and Loblolly Pine P. taeda. In Mexico, most of the rosin is
derived from live tapping (gum rosin) of several species of pine trees, but
mostly Pinus oocarpa, Pinus leiophylla, Pinus michoacana and Pinus montezumae.
Most production is concentrated in the west-central state of Michoacán.
The main source of supply in Europe is the French district of Les Landes in the
departments of Gironde and Landes, where the Maritime Pine P. pinaster is
extensively cultivated. In the north of Europe rosin is obtained from the Scots
Pine P. sylvestris, and throughout European countries local supplies are
obtained from other species of pine, with Aleppo Pine P. halepensis being
particularly important in the Mediterranean region.
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Where to buy gum rosin or pine rosin?
Where to buy Rosin?
Our rosin products are available for sale at
www.ChemicalStore.com. For large orders please call in advance and verify the
availability, wholesale discounts and shipping options. If you cannot find any
product in the online store of your choice, please use the search option of the
store or call (973)405-6248 for further assistance.
All orders will be shipped from our
warehouses in United States (USA), Canada or United Kingdom. We ship worldwide
to most countries including U.S., Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, New
Zealand, Germany, France, Netherlands, and many other countries.
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