**Properties and Composition:**
– Rosin is brittle, friable, and has a faint piny odor.
– It varies in melting point, with some being semi-fluid at boiling water temperature.
– Rosin is flammable and soluble in alcohol, ether, benzene, and chloroform.
– Mainly consists of abietic acid and forms salts with caustic alkalis.
– Chiefly consists of various resin acids, especially abietic acid.
– Rosin is semi-transparent and ranges in color from yellow to black.
**Uses and Applications:**
– Rosin is used in making varnishes, adhesives, sealing wax, and shoemakers wax.
– It is an ingredient in printing inks, varnishes, adhesives, soap, and paper sizing.
– Used in medicines, chewing gum, and soft drinks as a glazing agent.
– Enhances friction for various applications such as dance shoes, gymnasts, weightlifters, and athletes.
– Improves grip for dancers, gymnasts, rock climbers, and athletes in various sports.
– Applied in fine art for tempera emulsions, oil paintings, and aquatint rosin in printmaking.
**Health Concerns:**
– Prolonged exposure to rosin fumes during soldering can cause occupational asthma.
– Handling rosin-coated products can lead to industrial contact dermatitis.
– Sensitivity to rosin fumes can cause colophony disease.
– Different types of rosin are used based on instrument size and climate conditions.
– Rosin is an FDA-approved food additive.
**Production Methods:**
– Rosin is obtained from pines and conifers by heating liquid resin.
– Separation of oleo-resin into essential oil and common rosin is done through distillation.
– Tall oil rosin is produced during the distillation of crude tall oil.
– Wood rosin is made from stump waste using destructive distillation or solvent processes.
– Rosin production regions include Indonesia, southern China, northern Vietnam, the U.S., Mexico, and Europe.
**Industrial Applications and References:**
– Rosin is used in various industries, including the production of rosin spirit, pinoline, and rosin oil.
– Different regions worldwide are major producers of rosin, using various pine species.
– Rosin production involves complex processes like destructive distillation and solvent extraction.
– Studies have explored rosin’s potential in drug delivery systems and controlled release formulations.
– References from sources like “Riegels Handbook of Industrial Chemistry” provide detailed information on rosin.
Rosin (/ˈrɒzɪn/), also called colophony or Greek pitch (Latin: pix graeca), 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 temperature. It chiefly consists of various resin acids, especially abietic acid. The term colophony comes from colophonia resina, Latin for "resin from Colophon" (Ancient Greek: Κολοφωνία ῥητίνη, romanized: Kolophōnía rhētínē), an ancient Ionic city. It is an FDA approved food additive.
