Organic Compounds
In dealing with cleanup of contaminated soil and groundwater, one runs most frequently into organic compounds.
Petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel are essentially mixtures of scores of organic compounds. |
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Dry-cleaning chemicals such as perchloroethylene (also known as perc, PCE, tetrachloroethene or tetrachloroethylene) and Stoddard solvent are organic compounds. |
| Machining operations involve organic compounds as coolants, lubricants and degreasers. |
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An organic compound is a member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. (There are exceptions; for example, carbon dioxide belongs in the inorganic compound family.)
| Across is a diagram of an organic molecule of the amino acid family. “C” stands for the carbon atom, and “N”, “H” and “O” for the nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen atoms respectively. |
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The dividing line between organic and inorganic is debatable and historically arbitrary. Generally speaking, organic compounds are defined as those compounds which have carbon-hydrogen bonds, and inorganic compounds, those without.
The name "organic" is a historical name, dating back to 19th century, when it was believed that organic compounds could only be synthesized in living organisms through vis vitalis - the "life-force".
(Acknowledgement:Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org)
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