Pitch

Description

1) A sticky, black residue obtained from the distillation of Coal tar, Petroleum or Pine tar. Pitch is used as a sealant and wood preservative as well as a component in roofing, paving and water proofing. Early used of the term 'pitch' were used for the residue obtained from burning evergreen trees, such as Spruce.

2) In papermaking, pitch is a mixture of resin acids, fatty acids, Calcium carbonate, calcium soaps and other residues from the manufacturing process. Pitch can collect and cause trouble in the pressing equipment.

Synonyms and Related Terms

brea (Esp.); Burgundy pitch; Canada pitch; Jew's pitch

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Density = 1.07

Resources and Citations

• R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 800

• Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Dictionary of Fiber & Textile Technology (older version called Man-made Fiber and Textile Dictionary, 1965), Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Charlotte NC, 1990

• Rosalie Rosso King, Textile Identification, Conservation, and Preservation, Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985

• The Dictionary of Paper, American Paper Institute, New York, Fourth Edition, 1980

• Theodore J. Reinhart, 'Glossary of Terms', Engineered Plastics, ASM International, 1988

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

• CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Robert Weast (ed.), CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, v. 61, 1980 Comment: density=1.07