Resorcin
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a colorless crystalline compound prepared on a large scale by the action of sulphuric acid on benzene, and by the treatment of the resulting compound with caustic soda. It yields a fine purple-red coloring matter and several other dyes used in dyeing and calico printing, is a powerful disinfectant and deodorizer, and is used as a medical drug. A SELF-REVISING REFERENCE WORK WITH LOOSE-LEAF FEATURES IN TEN BOUND VOLUMES WITH 515 ILLUSTRATIONS AND NINETY-SIX MAPS, SUPPLEMENTED BY A LOOSE-LEAF VOLUME VOLUME EIGHT P. F. COLLIER & SON COMPANY NEW YORK Copyright, 1921 By P. F. COLLIER & SON COMPANY DR. WILLIAM A. NEILSON, CHAIRMAN PRESIDENT SMITH COLLEGE, NORTHAMPTON, MASS. FORMER PRESIDENT OF NAVAL WAR COLLEGE, NEWPORT, R. I. DR. JOSEPH H. ODELL DIRECTOR, SERVICE CITIZENS OF DELAWARE, WILMINGTON, DEL. DR. KENNETH C. M. SILLS PRESIDENT BOWDOIN COLLEGE, BRUNSWICK, ME. DR. HENRY S. CANBY EDITOR LITERARY REVIEW, NEW YORK, N. Y. DR. W. T. COUNCILMAN DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, BOSTON, MASS. DR. CHARLES F. THWING PRESIDENT WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, CLEVELAND, OHIO DR. EDWIN GREENLAW UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL, N. C. DR. J. H. KIRKLAND CHANCELLOR VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, NASHVILLE, TENN. PROFESSOR IRVING FISHER YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CONN. EDITOR IN CHIEF FRANCIS J. REYNOLDS FORMER REFERENCE LIBRARIAN, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS MANAGING EDITOR ALLEN L. CHURCHILL ASSOCIATE EDITOR THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA 1 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS J. W. DUFFIELD EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE NEW YORK TIMES ALBERT SONNICHSEN ECONOMIST, WAR CORRESPONDENT T. C. SHAFFER PROFESSOR OF HISTORY B. H. GOLDSMITH EDITOR, ECONOMIST BENEDICT FITZPATRICK FORMERLY LITERARY EDITOR OF THE LONDON MAIL C. E. MELOY SMITH DREXEL INSTITUTE, CONSULTING ENGINEER E. D. PIERSON EDITOR, CORRESPONDENT LONDON TIMES J. B. GIBSON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY J. L. FRENCH EDITOR, AUTHOR List of Illustrations RIO DE JANEIRO-Colored Frontispiece Opposite page 52 RICE FIELDS IN CHINA TRANSPLANTING RICE, JAPAN HARVESTING RICE, LOUISIANA
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's 1921 route -- sulphonating benzene and fusing the product with caustic soda -- was the standard industrial method for decades, but most resorcinol today is made by air oxidation of m-diisopropylbenzene and acid cleavage of the resulting hydroperoxide, a Hock-type process commercialised in the second half of the twentieth century. The dye and calico-printing uses that Collier's led with have almost vanished; the bulk of world output now goes into resorcinol-formaldehyde resins, above all the RFL dip that bonds textile and steel cord to rubber in tyres, and into weatherproof wood adhesives. The medical use survives in a narrow form: resorcinol is still sold in over-the-counter acne and peeling preparations, though it is no longer relied on as the "powerful disinfectant" of 1921. Regulators now treat it as a substance of concern for thyroid and endocrine effects rather than a routine household antiseptic.
Written for this edition, 2026.