Editing Pyroligneous acid

{{Chembox
| Reference = <ref>[http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/w296708?lang=en&region=US Pyroligneous acid from Sigma-Aldrich]</ref><ref>{{citation | entry=PYROLIGNEOUS ACID | author=George A. Burdock | title=Fenaroli's Handbook of Flavor Ingredients | edition=6th | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2010 | pages=1774–1775 | isbn=978-1-4200-9077-2}}</ref>
| OtherNames = wood vinegar and wood acid
|Section1={{Chembox Identifiers
| CASNo = 8030-97-5
| CASNo_Ref = {{cascite|correct|}}
| UNII_Ref = {{fdacite|correct|FDA}}
| UNII = N4G9GAT76C
| EINECS = 232-450-0
 }}
|Section2={{Chembox Properties
| Appearance = Yellow to red liquid
| Odor = acrid smoky
| Density = 1.08 g/mL
| RefractIndex = 1.371-1.378
| BoilingPtC = 99
| Solubility = }}
|Section3={{Chembox Hazards
| FlashPtC = 44
| GHSPictograms = {{GHS02}}{{GHS07}}
| GHSSignalWord = Warning
| HPhrases = {{H-phrases|226|312|315|319|335}}
| PPhrases = {{P-phrases|}}
}}
|Section8={{Chembox Related
| OtherCompounds = [[Liquid smoke]]
}}
}}

'''Pyroligneous acid''', also called '''wood vinegar''' or '''wood acid''',<ref>[[Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary]] (1913)</ref> is a dark liquid produced by the [[destructive distillation]] of wood and other plant materials.

== Composition ==
The principal components of pyroligneous acid are 10% [[acetic acid]], [[acetone]] and [[methanol]]. It was once used as a commercial source for acetic acid.

== History ==
Pyroligneous acid (acetum lignorum) was investigated by German chemist [[Johann Rudolph Glauber]].<ref>{{citation | author=Fielding H. Garrison | author-link=Fielding H. Garrison | title=History of Medicine | edition=3rd | publisher=W. B. Saunders | year=1921 | page=286 | url=https://archive.org/details/3edintroductiont00garruoft}}</ref> The acid was used as a substitute for vinegar. It was also used topically for treating wounds, ulcers and other ailments. A [[Salt (chemistry)|salt]] can be made by [[Neutralization (chemistry)|neutralizing]] the acid with a [[lye]] made from the ashes of the burnt wood.<ref>{{citation | author=Johann Rudolph Glauber | author-link=Johann Rudolph Glauber | title=Furni Novi Philosophici | volume=1 | year=1651 | publisher=Johann Jansson | pages=47–49 | url=https://archive.org/details/furninoviphiloso00glau}}</ref>

During the [[United States Civil War]] it became increasingly difficult for the [[Confederate States of America]] to obtain much needed salt. Curing meat and fish with pyroligneous acid was attempted by cooks to compensate for this deficiency, but it was insufficient.<ref>{{cite book | title=Salt: A World History | author=Mark Kurlansky | author-link=Mark Kurlansky | year=2002 | publisher=Penguin Books | isbn=0-14-200161-9 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/saltworldhistory00kurl_0/page/267 267–68] | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/saltworldhistory00kurl_0/page/267 }}</ref>

In the nineteenth century, pyroligneous acid was used to prepare an impure [[aluminium sulfacetate]] [[mordant]] for use with cotton, but the resulting mixture imparted a burnt odor to the cotton, and Ganswindt recommended its use be abandoned in favour of purer preparations in 1899.<ref name = Ganswindt>{{cite book|last = Ganswindt|first = Albert|title = Handbuch der Färberei und der damit verwandten vorbereitenden und vollendenden Gewerbe|year = 1889|language = de|url = http://www.deutschestextarchiv.de/book/view/ganswindt_faerberei_1889?p=296|page = 270}}</ref>

In 1895, pyroligneous acid was first marketed under the brand Wright's Liquid Smoke,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Unusual Stories of Unusual Men: Ernest H. Wright - Classification: "Condensed Smoke"|publisher=The Rotarian|year=1923|pages=209–10, 240}}</ref> a [[liquid smoke]] product intended to impart the flavor and some of the preservative effects of [[Smoked meat|wood smoking]] to meats and vegetables. In the early 21st century, concerns about the carcinogenic effects of components of wood smoke decreased the production of heavily smoked foods in favor of lighter smoking and liquid smoke for foods.<ref name="Kraig2013">{{cite book|author=Bruce Kraig|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOJMAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA278|date=31 January 2013|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-973496-2|pages=2–}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.ayrshirehistory.org.uk/AcidWorks/acidworks.htm AcidWorks]

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{{portal bar|Food}}

[[Category:Wood]]
[[Category:Organic acids]]
[[Category:Vinegar]]