Gilsonite

Description

[American Gilsonite Co] A registered trademark for a very pure, rock-hard, Asphalt originally sold in the late 19th century. Gilsonite®, or uintahite, is a natural Bitumen found only in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. It is very brittle and lustrous. Gilsonite® is used in black varnishes, lacquers, baking enamels, japans, Linoleum, floor tile and paving where it increases resistance to acids, alkalis and water. In the early 19th century, Gilsonite® was often mixed with Mica, Asbestos, gums, or resins to produce electrical components. It is also the first solid hydrocarbon to be converted to Gasoline.

FTIR(MFA)

Synonyms and Related Terms

uintaite; gilsonita (Esp.); asfaltita (Esp.); uintahite; Gilsonite; asphaltite; Utah coal resin; rock asphalt

Risks

• Skin contact may cause irritation.
• Gilsonite: SDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Soluble in ethanol, turpentine, mineral spirits.
• Softening point = 290-400F
• Acid value = 2.3
• Density = 1.04-1.10

Resources and Citations

• American Gilsonite Co.: Website

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 9977

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilsonite (Accessed Jan. 15, 2006)

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000