Description
Iron napthenate is one of four substances (along with iron linoleate,
iron caprylate and iron tallate) that are included among commercial
products known as metallic driers. They hasten the drying of
oleoresinous coating materials which are used to line the inner
surfaces of food-containing cans. Each preparation represents a
mixture rather than a single compound; its composition will
depend upon the nature and amount of organic acids in the parent
oil. Commercial preparations contain both ferrous and ferric salts,
with a total iron content of about 6 or 7 percent.
Iron napthenate refers to the iron salts of various mixed acids
occurring in naphthalene-base crude petroleums. Naphthenic acid
is a complex mixture of cyclic compounds with aliphatic side
chains. Driers are usually prepared from acid fractions with molecular weights between 220 and 230.
