Heavy exposure to furfural can cause numbness of the tongue.
Furfural is a chemical made from organic matter, usually produced for industrial purposes. It is made up primarily of agricultural by-products such as oat hulls, bran, corn on the cob, and sawdust. Some of the products in which it is used include herbicides, fungicides and solvents. It is also a familiar element in the production of transportation fuels and in the process of refining lubricating oils. The chemical is also an element in the production of several other industrial agents.
Furfural is a chemical made from organic matter, usually produced for industrial purposes.
When mass-produced, the chemical is made by putting the pentosan polysaccharides through the process of acid hydrolysis, which means that the cellulose and starches in the base material are converted to sugar using acid. In an airtight container, furfural is viscous, colorless, and oily, and has an almond-like aroma. Exposure to air may color liquid yellow to brown.
Heavy exposure to furfural, such as from people who work with the chemical in an industrial setting, can be toxic.
Furfural is slightly soluble in water and completely soluble in ether and ethanol. In addition to being used as a lone chemical, it is used in the production of chemicals such as furan, furfuil, nitrofuran, and methylfuran. These chemicals are also used in the manufacture of products including agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and stabilizers.
There are several ways that humans can come into contact with furfuraldehyde. In addition to exposure to the chemical during processing, it can be found naturally in many types of foods. Light exposure of this nature has not been shown to be harmful.
Exposure to furfural can cause throat discomfort.
Heavy exposure to furfuraldehyde can be toxic. In laboratory tests on humans and animals, furfural was found to be irritating to the skin, mucous membranes, and eyes. It also caused throat and respiratory discomfort. Some reported short-term effects of exposure to the chemical in poorly ventilated areas include difficulty breathing, numbness of the tongue, and an inability to taste. Possible long-term effects of this type of exposure can range from skin conditions such as eczema and photosensitization to vision problems and pulmonary edema.
Long-term exposure to furfural can cause skin problems such as eczema.
Furfural became widely used in 1922, when the Quaker Oats Company began producing it from oat hulls. Oatmeal remains one of the most popular ways to make the chemical. Before, it was only regularly used in some perfume brands. It was first developed in 1832 by Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, a German chemist who used ant carcasses to create formic acid, of which furfural was a byproduct. The ants are believed to have been effective in creating the chemical because their bodies contained the type of plant matter currently used for processing.