Resin Acid

Resin Acid

Resin acids refers to mixtures primarily. Abietic acid is the main component but several related carboxylic acids. Nearly all resin acids have the same basic skeleton: three fused ring fused with the empirical formula C₁₉H₂₉COOH. These materials occur in rosin but also occur in fossil coal or copal resins, in old pine tree stumps, etc. Resin acids are tacky, yellowish gums that are water-insoluble. They are used to produce soaps for diverse applications, but their use is being displaced increasingly by synthetic acids such as 2-ethylhexanoic acid or petroleum-derived naphthenic acids.