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Furfural is a colorless, viscous liquid that has pleasent aromatic odor and changes color to dark brown and black upon exposure. This is commonly used as a solvent that is soluble in ethanol and ether. Furfural is the aldehyde of pyromucic acid and has the properties similar to benzaldehyde. This aldehyde furfural can be obtained commercially from a variety of agricultural by-products, including concobs, oats, wheat, bran and sawdust. This furfural irreversibly solidifies into a thermosetting resin, when heated in the presence of acids. As a solvent in the petrochemical refining, this chemical compound is ideal to extract dienes that are used to make synthetic rubber. Furfural and also its derivatives are used with phenol, acetone and urea to make solid resins that are used in preparing fireglass, aircraft components and automative brakes. This inorganic chemical is even helpful as a chemical intermediate in the production of solvents such as furan, tetrahydrofuran and hydroxymethylfurfural.
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