 SUBJECT: The Right Chemistry |
| Chemicals from Trees |
What do glue, salad dressing, chewing gum, plastic, ice cream, detergents
and your rayon shirt have in common? They all contain chemicals that come from trees! Trees are a natural supply of valuable chemicals and are the basic ingredients used to make many of the things we consider necessary in everyday life. Where do chemicals from trees come from? Chemicals such as turpentine and rosin are stored in the sticky sap of trees. Cellulose comes from wood fiber. It is often combined with other chemicals and used in products such as ice cream and shampoo. Lignin is another chemical we get from trees. It is a glue-like substance that holds the tree’s cellulose fibers together. These chemicals can be removed from the tree during the process that turns wood chips into paper. They are then sent to a chemical manufacturing plant, where they are made into other useful products. |
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