A Day Without Chemistry

Organic Chemistry and Petrochemicals

You really have to sit back and wonder what would the world be like if organic chemistry did not exist? How big would the impact be if organic molecules were not discovered?

When you do seriously think about it, then you would have to take away all the various forms of rubber, vitamins, cloth and paper made from organically based compounds. Aspirins and all other types of drugs, preservatives that keep food from spoiling, perfumes and toiletries, dyes and food flavourings. None of these would exist if it wasn’t for the miracle of organic chemistry.

Synthetic Fibers such as nylon (used in a wide range, all the way from toothbrushes to parachutes) would be unheard of it were not for the enormous progress made by organic chemistry. The same is true of plastics or polymers in general, which have literally hundreds upon hundreds of applications. It is virtually impossible for a person in the twenty-first century to spend an entire day without coming into contact with at least one, and more likely, dozens of plastic products. Car parts, toy, computer housing, Velcro Fasteners, PVC plumbing pipes, and many more fixtures of modern life are all made possible by plastics and polymers.

Then there is a vast array of petrochemicals that power modern civilization, Best-known among these is petrol, but there is also coal, still one of the most significant fuels used in electrical power plants, as well as natural gas and various other forms of oil used either directly or indirectly in providing heat, light, and electric power to homes. But the applications of petrochemicals extends far beyond their usage for fuel.

e.g - The roofing materials and tar that keeps a roof over a person’s head, protecting them from sun and rain, are the product of petrochemicals. And ultimately, organic chemistry.

Petrochemicals are simple derivatives of petroleum, itself a mixture of alkanes and alkenes, as well as aromatic hydrocarbons. Through a process known as fractional distillation, the petrochemicals of the lowest molecular mass boil off first, and those having higher mass separate at higher temperatures.

Among the products derived from the fractional distillation of petroleum are the following, listed from the lowest temperature range to the highest: natural gas; petroleum ether, a solvent; naphtha, a solvent (used for example in paint thinner); gasoline; kerosene; fuel for heating and diesel fuel; lubricating oils; petroleum jelly; paraffin wax; and pitch, or tar. A host of other organic chemicals, including various drugs, plastics, paints, adhesives, fibers, detergents, synthetic rubber, and agricultural chemicals, owe their existence to petrochemicals.

Obviously, petroleum is not just for making gasoline, though of course this is the first product people think of when they hear the word "petroleum." Not all hydrocarbons in gasoline are desirable. Straight-chain or normal heptane, for instance, does not fire smoothly in an internal-combustion engine, and therefore disrupts the engine's rhythm. For this reason, it is given a rating of zero on a scale of desirability, while octane has a rating of 100. This is why gas stations list octane ratings at the pump: the higher the presence of octane, the better the gas is for one's automobile.

And if petroleum did not exist, we wouldn't even have bothered with the modern invention of the automobile. Transportation would thus be much difficult, we would have to use donkey carts. All of these millions of miles worth of travel made possible only by a hydrocarbon, and by extension, all of organic chemistry.

You are eating chemicals!!!

            In the modern society today, our requirement on food has far increase as compared to our grandparent’s day. Many of us would prefer fast, delicious and cheap food. That is why scientist has created such thing called food flavourings. Back in those days, our grandparent made food by pickling food for a period of time before they actually cook them. Due to the convenience, food industries nowadays use chemical flavourings instead of the traditional ways. The main reason is food flavourings can make food taste more delicious or enhance the original flavour. Table below shows some example of food and the reasons for adding flavour into them.

Food	Reasons for adding flavour
Margarine	Taste is unacceptable without the addition of favourings.
Ice cream	Taste is unacceptable without the addition of favourings.
Meat substitutes such as soya protein and mycoprotein	These are low fat and extremely nutritious food, however, they have bland and uninteresting taste without the addition of flavor.
Wine gums / table jelly	No flavor at all without the addition of flavouring.
Yogurt	May have a natural flavour present but possibly at a low intensity. Flavourings may be added to enhance the natural flavour

           Monosodium glutamate, MSG is one of the examples of food flavouring which is used worldwide. It is a salt of glutamic acid, one of the building blocks that make up animal and vegetable proteins. It occurs in virtually all protein containing foods including meats, fish, vegetables and dairy products. Various cheeses, tomatoes, peas and mushrooms are among the foods richest in glutamate. Glutamate from our diet is a source of energy for the digestive system, and the human body itself produces around 48 grams of glutamate every day. Glutamate is found in abundance in mothers' milk, at levels about ten times that found in cows' milk. The glutamate naturally present in food and the glutamate derived from MSG are treated by the body in exactly the same way.

In 1907 a Japanese scientist observed that there was a taste, common to many savoury foods, which did not fall into the category of the four well known tastes of sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Professor Ikeda called this new taste "umami". Through experiments with stock prepared from kombu seaweed (an ingredient in traditional Japanese cuisine) he identified glutamate as the source of umami and decided to use it to produce a food seasoning. MSG was first marketed in Japan in 1909.

Doubt was thrown on the safety of monosodium glutamate when reports of nausea, numbness and dizziness were linked to its use. This became known as 'Chinese restaurant syndrome'. Despite this hundreds of studies conducted by scientific and regulatory authorities, including the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, the US Food and Drug Administration and the American Medical Association have repeatedly affirmed its safety.

Besides, some food flavourings are made artificially. Many of the processed foods that you buy today come with an ingredient label that lists "artificial flavors" as one of the key ingredients. Artificial flavors are simply chemical mixtures that mimic a natural flavor in some way. Any natural flavor is normally quite complex, with dozens or hundreds of chemicals interacting to create the taste/smell. But it turns out that many flavors -- particularly fruit flavors -- have just one or a few dominant chemical components that carry the bulk of the taste/smell signal. Many of these chemicals are called esters. An ester is an organic compound that is formed when a carboxylic acid reacts with an alcohol. Esters give nice fragrances such as apple, orange and pineapple aroma. That is why esters are widely used in bakery and other food industry. For example, the ester called Octyl Acetate (CH3COOC8H17) is a fundamental component in orange flavor. The ester called isoamyl acetate (CH3COOC5H11) is a fundamental component of banana flavor. If you add these esters to a product, the product will taste, to some degree, like orange or banana. To make more realistic flavors you add other chemicals in the correct proportions to get closer and closer to the real thing. You can do that by trial and error or by chemical analysis of the real thing.

There are hundreds of chemicals known to be flavoring agents. It's interesting that they are normally mixed to create "known" tastes. People make artificial grape, cherry, orange, banana, apple, etc. flavors, but it is very rare to mix up something that no one has ever tasted before. But it can and does happen occasionally -- take Juicy Fruit gum as an example!

Your Garbage Can Do This!

In a world which is full with chemicals now, people start to realize that they should make a change. We start to put our priority on organic products such as organic food. Besides organic food, garbage enzyme is also getting popular nowadays. Garbage enzyme is an organic solution, a product of a 3-month fermentation process made from kitchen waste, brown sugar and water.

Garbage Enzyme was researched and popularized by the founder of the Organic Agriculture Association of Thailand, Dr. Rosukon Poompanvong who won an FAO award in 2003 for her outstanding contribution to organic farming. She does researching on alternative medicine and has also created her own natural products. She has also worked closely with farmers in various countries in organic farming without the use of artificial fertilizers. And she has been recognized for her various outstanding achievements. Garbage Enzyme is very popular in Malaysia. It was introduced into Malaysia by Dr Joean Oon, who learned it from Dr Rosukon Poompanvong.

Garbage enzyme has many functions such as:

·         Purify air: Ozone produced in the creation of garbage enzyme kills air-borne bacteria and increases oxygen levels in the air.

·         Deodorize air: Diluted and sprayed into a room from a bottle, it removes odours in the air.

·         Cleaning the house: Just 2 tablespoons of garbage enzyme in a bucket of water as you mop will clean the floor and kill bacteria.

·         Cleaning the toilet: Use undiluted to clean the toilet. It kills harmful microorganisms, breaks down heavy stains, freshens the air, and keeps ants and roaches away.

·         Cleaning the kitchen: Use diluted. It can effectively clean most stubborn kitchen stains. Pour it into the sink and let it sit overnight to keep your drains running freely.

·         Cleaning vegetables: Wash fruits and vegetables with a light dilution of garbage enzyme to remove traces of pesticide on them.

As you can see garbage enzyme gives us so many benefits. If you don’t want to get outdated, start using garbage enzyme today and spread out the words!