UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



jru^^^-o. 



I BULLETIN No. 1036 



Contribution from the Forest Service 

 WILLIAM B. GREELEY, Forester 



^"^^"=^6, 



Washington, D. C. 



October 20, 1922 



COAL-TAR AND WATER-GAS TAR CREOSOTES: THEIR PROP- 

 ERTIES AND METHODS OF TESTING. 



By Ernest Bateman, Chemist in Forest Products. 



CONTENTS. 



Fart I. Tars and the production of creosotes 



from tars 



Chapter I. Introduction and definitions 

 Chapter II. Composition of tars and 



methods of manufacture 



Chapter III. Production of creosote from 



tars 



Part II. Experimental comparison of au- 

 thentic specimens of creosote 



Chapter I. Collecting and testing the 



specimens of creosote 



Chapter II. Determining certain condi- 

 tions for the tests 



Chapter III. Results of the tests 



Chapter IV. Comparison of theproperties 

 of authentic coal-tar creosotes with 

 those of authentic water-gas tar creo- 

 sotes 



Part III. Properties of creosotes 



Chapter I. Composition and chemical 

 properties of coal-tar creosote 



Page. 



3 

 3 



47 



Part III— Continued. Page. 

 Chapter II. Physical properties of coal- 

 tar creosotes 



Chapter III. Toxic properties of coal-tar 



creosotes 



Chapter IV. Composition and properties 



of water-gas tar creosotes 



Chapter V. Comparison of the properties 

 of commercial coal-tar creosotes and 



commercial water-gas tar creosotes 



Chapter VI. Tar-creosote solutions 



Chapter VII. A theory of the mechanism 

 of the protection of wood by oil solu- 

 tions 



Part IV. Methods of testing creosotes and 



oiRcial specifications for creosote 



Chapter I. Practical methods of testing 



creosotes 



Chapter II. Specifications nowin force by 



various associations 



Appendix 106 



Bibliography 112 



50 



66 



84 



87 



87 



103 



FOREWORD. 



Creosote as a preservative is widely used in this and certain other 

 countries, and a considerable number of articles have been published 

 from time to time on its chemical, physical, and toxic properties. 

 Most of these articles appeared in various technical periodicals, in the 

 proceedings of a number of societies, or in the form of Government 

 bulletins. It is believed that the presentation of the substance of 

 these articles in compact form will be serviceable to those interested 

 in the use of creosote for preserving wood. In addition to giving such 

 a summary, this bulletin also makes available the hitherto unpub- 

 lished results of certain minor investigations and also of an extended 

 research conducted at the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, 

 Wis., prinuirily for the purpose of obtaining a broader knowledge of 



