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| | COAL TAR Basic information |
| Product Name: | COAL TAR | | Synonyms: | D03573;Tar coking;Tarcron 180;Tarcron 180L;Tarcron 230;kc261;lavatar;piciscarbonis | | CAS: | 8007-45-2 | | MF: | | | MW: | 0 | | EINECS: | 232-361-7 | | Product Categories: | UVCBs-organic | | Mol File: | Mol File | ![COAL TAR Structure]() |
| | COAL TAR Chemical Properties |
| density | 1.18~1.23 | | Fp | 13°(55°F) | | form | Liquid | | color | Dark brown | | Water Solubility | Not miscible or difficult to mix with water. | | Merck | 14,2426 | | Exposure limits | ACGIH: STEL 1000 ppm
OSHA: TWA 1000 ppm(1900 mg/m3)
NIOSH: IDLH 3300 ppm; TWA 1000 ppm(1900 mg/m3) | | IARC | (Vol. 35, Sup 7) 1987, 1 (Vol. 92, 100F) 2012 | | EPA Substance Registry System | Coal tar (8007-45-2) |
| Provider | Language |
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ALFA
| English |
| | COAL TAR Usage And Synthesis |
| Description | Coal tar is a complex hydrocarbon mixture produced by
thermal destruction (pyrolysis) of coal, typically a dark
viscous liquid or semisolid with a smoky or naphthenic odor.
The composition of coal tar will be influenced by the process
used for pyrolytic distillation as well as by the original
composition of the coal; however all coal tars will be
comprised of a variable mixture of organic compounds
including benzene, toluene, xylenes, cumenes, coumarone,
indene, benzofuran, naphthalene, acenaphthene, methylnaphthalenes,
fluorine, phenol, cresols, pyridine, picolines,
phenanthracene, carbazole, quinolines, fluoranthene, and
pyrene. The number of specific chemical constituents is in the
thousands. Coal tar creosotes and coal tar distillates, oily
liquids generally lighter in color and of lower viscosity than
coal tar, are fractions produced by additional distillation of
crude coal tar. Coal tar pitch is a highly viscous dark semisolid
byproduct of coal pyrolysis. Coal tar volatiles are the vapors
produced from heated coal tar or coal tar pitch, containing
lower molecular weight (smaller ring number) polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Coal tar is noteworthy as one of the first – if not the
first – chemical substances documented to cause cancer
through occupational exposures. In the eighteenth century,
Sir Percival Pott, a British surgeon, noticed a higher incidence
of cancers in chimney sweeps chronically exposed to
soot and coal tar. He then demonstrated excess cancers
occurring in laboratory animals when coal tar is applied to
the ears and skin. In the early twentieth century, polycyclic
aromatic compounds isolated from coal tar were identified
as chemical carcinogens. | | Chemical Properties | Coal tars are by-products of the destructive distillation (carbonization) of coal to produce coke or gas. The composition and properties of a coal tar depend primarily on the temperature of the carbonization and to a lesser extent on the nature (source) of the coal used as feedstock. In general, coal tars are complex combinations of hydrocarbons, phenols, and heterocyclic oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen compounds. Over 400 compounds have been identified in coal tars, and as many as 10,000 may actually be present. The PAH content of coal tars increases with increasing carbonization temperature. Coal tars typically are black or almost-black viscous liquids or semisolids with a characteristic naphthalene-like odor (ATSDR 2002). They are slightly soluble in water, partially soluble in acetone, carbon disulfide, chloroform, diethyl ether, ethanol, methanol, petroleum ether, and sodium hydroxide, and soluble in benzene and nitrobenzene. Lowtemperature coal tars (formed at temperatures below 700°C) are black, viscous liquids that are denser than water and contain a lower percentage (40% to 50%) of aromatic compounds than high-temperature coal tars (IARC 1985). Coal tars are highly flammable and corrosive, and toxic gases may be released when they burn. Their vapors can form explosive mixtures with air (HSDB 2009).
Coal-tar pitches are shiny, dark-brown to black residues produced during the distillation of coal tars. They contain various PAHs, their methyl and polymethyl derivatives, and heteronuclear compounds (IARC 1985). | | Uses | Coal tars and coal-tar pitches have many uses in industry and in consumer products. Coal tars are used primarily for the production of refined chemicals and coal-tar products, such as creosote, coal-tar pitch, and crude naphthalene and anthracene oils from the distillation of crude coal tar. Coal tar has been used as a fuel in open-hearth furnaces and blast furnaces in the steel industry, as a binder and filler in surface-coating formulations, and as a modifier for epoxy-resin surface coatings. U.S. Pharmacopeia–grade coal tar is approved for use in denatured alcohol (IARC 1985). Coal-tar preparations have been used for many years to treat various skin conditions, such as eczema, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, and dandruff. Both prescription and nonprescription preparations are available and include cleansing bars, creams, gels, lotions, ointments, shampoos, and other topical solutions and suspensions (DermNet NZ 2010). Coal tar is also registered as an active ingredient in pesticides with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 2003).
Coal-tar pitches are used primarily as the binder for aluminumsmelting electrodes (IARC 1984). They are also used in roofing materials, to impregnate and strengthen refractory brick (for lining industrial furnaces), and in surface coatings, such as pipe-coating enamels and black varnishes used as protective coatings for industrial steelwork and as antifouling paints for boats. Hard pitch is used as a binder for foundry cores. Coke-oven pitch is used to produce pitch coke, which is used as the carbon component of electrodes, carbon brushes, and carbon and graphite articles. Distillation fractions and residues from high-temperature coal tars are used for road paving and construction and in the production of naphthalene, recovery of benzene, production of anthracene paste, briquetting of smokeless solid fuel, impregnation of electrodes and fibers, and manufacture of electrodes and graphite (IARC 1985). | | Uses | Coal tar is primarily used as a raw material in the manufacture
of plastics, solvents, dyes, and in the manufacturing of other
chemicals. Most coal tar undergoes further distillation. Industries
that use coal tar include road paving, roofing, smelting,
and coking. Coal tar creosote is used as a wood preservative.
Coal tar products are also ingredients in medicine (Coal Tar
United States Pharmacopeia) used to treat skin diseases such
as psoriasis or eczema. | | Uses | Coal tar is used for constructing roads, electricity generation and coking. It has been used as topical medical treatment for psoriasis and dandruff and is formulated as a soap or ointment. It is also used for other types of rashes (such as eczema, atopic dermatitis, chronic exudative dermatitis). | | Definition | The by-product from the destructive distillation of coal. Almost black semisolid. A complex combination of aromatic hydrocarbons, phenolic compounds, nitrogen bases and thiophene. | | Safety Profile | A human and experimental skin
irritant. A flammable liquid. When heated to
SYNS: ANTHMCITE PARTICLES 0 COAL FACINGS 0
COAL, GROUND BITUMINOUS (DOq 0 COAL-MILLED
0 COAL SLAG-MILLED SEA COAL
decomposition it emits acrid smoke and
irritating fumes. | | Carcinogenicity | Coal tars and coal-tar pitches are known to be human carcinogensbased on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in humans. | | Environmental Fate | Due to the variability in composition, it is not possible to
describe all potential mechanisms of toxicity for coal tar. The
reader is recommended to review additional references for
individual constituents found in the Table of Contents. It is
likely that acidity of some constituents, such as phenols, and
the defatting potential of some hydrocarbons, contribute to the
irritancy of coal tar. Phototoxicity of PAHs is likely to be a main
cause of contact irritation.
The carcinogenicity of PAH constituents is believed to lie in
their potential for their reactive metabolites to be bound to
macromolecules such as DNA. The mechanism of therapeutic value as a topical agent in the treatment of skin diseases is
unknown but is thought to involve decreased epidermal
proliferation. | | Toxicity evaluation | Environmental partitioning will vary dependent upon the
chemical characteristic of various constituents of coal tar.
Photochemical degradation may occur in the atmosphere. If
entered into aquatic systems, light hydrocarbon constituents
such as benzene will volatilize in the air. Biodegradation in
aquatic ecosystems will occur at various rates for different
constituents. Large molecules such as PAHs are likely to adsorb
to soil and sediment, undergoing slow degradation. Other
hydrocarbons, such as phenols, may be readily degraded under
aerobic conditions. |
| | COAL TAR Preparation Products And Raw materials |
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