Difference between revisions of "Formaldehyde"

Latest revision as of 13:16, 3 November 2023

Description

A flammable, colorless gas with a strong, suffocating odor. Formaldehyde was first synthesized in 1859. It occurs naturally in Coal and Wood smoke and as an outdoor Pollutant. Formaldehyde is also found in indoor environments evolved items such as new Particle board, freshly laid carpet, Foam, adhesives, Insulation, and new fabrics. Formaldehyde is a powerful reducing agent and is also a precursor of Formic acid. Both forms exist as aerosols and will react with many materials on contact.

Formaldehyde is used as a Disinfectant, Fumigant, embalming fluid, tanning agent, and in durable press textile finishes. It is also used as an ingredient in some polymers, such as urea, phenolic, melamine, and acetal resins. Aqueous solutions containing 37% formaldehyde by weight (40% by volume) are commercially sold as Formalin. Formaldehyde can self-polymerize to form trioxane and Paraformaldehyde.

See Pollutant record for a comparison table of aerosols and collection risks.
Formaldehyde is on the ILFI Red list of building materials.

Synonyms and Related Terms

methanal (IUPAC); oxymethylene; formic aldehyde; oxomethane; methylene oxide; methyl aldehyde; metanal (Ces., Esp.); Formaldehyd (Dan., Deut., Nor., Pol., Sven.); formaldehído (Esp.); méthanal (Fr.); formaldéhyde (Fr.); formaldeide (It.); formaldehyde (Ned.); aldehyd mrówkowy (Pol.); formaldeído (Port.);

Aqueous solutions: Aqueos; formalin; formol; morbicid acid; Formaol; Veracur

Personal Risks

Human carcinogen.
Skin contact will cause irritation and burns.
Toxic by inhalation at 5 ppm.
Flammable. Flash point=-53C.
ValTech: SDS

Collection Risks

Metal corrosion
Reaction with calcareous materials
Cellulose and protein embrittlement
Discoloration of dyes, pigments, and textiles

Physical and Chemical Properties

Soluble in water.

Composition	HCHO
CAS	50-00-0
Melting Point	-92 C
Density	1.067 g/ml
Molecular Weight	mol. wt. = 30.03
Boiling Point	-19 C

Resources and Citations

G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 342
Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982
Pam Hatchfield, Pollutants in the Museum Environment, Archetype Press, London, 2002
Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986
S.R.Trotman, E.R. Trotman, Textile Analysis, J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, 1932
Rosalie Rosso King, Textile Identification, Conservation, and Preservation, Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985
Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979
The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983
G.Caneva, M.P.Nugari, O.Salvadori, Biology in the Conservation of Works of Art, ICCROM, Rome, 1991
Book and Paper Group, Paper Conservation Catalog, AIC, 1984, 1989
Wikipedia: Formaldehyde (Accessed Feb. 10, 2006 and July 2023) melting point -117C
Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 Formaldehyde is used as a [[disinfectant]], [[fumigant]], embalming fluid, tanning agent, and in durable press textile finishes. It is also used as an ingredient in some polymers, such as [[urea formaldehyde resin|urea]], [[phenol formaldehyde resin|phenolic]], [[melamine resin|melamine]], and [[acetal resin|acetal]] resins. Aqueous solutions containing 37% formaldehyde by weight (40% by volume) are commercially sold as [[formalin]]. Formaldehyde can self-polymerize to form trioxane and [[paraformaldehyde]].
+* See [[Pollutant]] record for a comparison table of aerosols and collection risks.
+* Formaldehyde is on the ILFI [[Red list of Materials|Red list]] of building materials.
 == Synonyms and Related Terms ==