Furfuryl alcohol

Furfuryl alcohol, also called 2-furylmethanol or 2-furancarbinol, is an organic compound containing a furan substitited with a hydroxymethyl group. It is a clear amber liquid with a faint burning odor and a bitter taste. It is miscible with, but unstable in, water. It is soluble in common organic solvents. Upon treatment with acids, it forms a resin.

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Furfuryl alcohol is manufactured industrially by the catalytic reduction of furfural which is obtained from corncobs and sugar cane bagasse. It finds use as a solvent, but is primarily used as an ingredient in the manufacture of various chemical products such as foundry resins, adhesives, and wetting agents.

Furfuryl alcohol has been used in rocketry as a fuel which ignites hypergolically (immediately and energetically in contact) with white fuming nitric acid or red fuming nitric acid oxidizer. This avoids needing separate igniters. Furfuryl alcohol is probably a BK channel agonist.

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