page_title: Resin acid
section_title: Abietic-type acids
hierarchical_section_title: Resin acid / Chemical components / Abietic-type acids
context_page_description: Resin acid refers to mixtures of several related carboxylic acids, primarily abietic acid, found in tree resins. Nearly all resin acids have the same basic skeleton: three fused rings having the empirical formula C₁₉H₂₉COOH. Resin acids are tacky, yellowish gums that are water-insoluble. They are used to produce soaps for diverse applications, but their use is being displaced increasingly by synthetic acids such as 2-ethylhexanoic acid or petroleum-derived naphthenic acids.
context_section_description: Represents the majority 85-90% of typical tall oil.
  abietic acid
  abieta-7,13-dien-18-oic acid
  13-isopropylpodocarpa -7,13-dien-15-oic acid
  Neoabietic acid
  Dehydroabietic acid
  Palustric acid
  Levopimaric acid
  Simplified formula C₂₀H₃₀O₂, or C₁₉H₂₉COOH
  molecular weight 302
caption: The terpenoid abietic acid is a common resin acid.