coaltar (koltar)

A thick, black, viscid, opaque liquid which condenses in the pipes when gas is distilled from coal. It is a mixture of many different liquid and solid substances, and the sep a ration of these into useful products is now an important branch manufacturing ducts may be named paraffin, naphtha, benzol, creasote, anthracene, carbolic acid, naphthaline, pitch, etc. The basic oil of coal-tar is the most abundant source of the beautiful aniline colors, their various hues being due to the oxidation of aniline by means of acids, gdanine Coal-tar is made into asphalt for pavements, and with coaldust forms by pre ure an excellent artificial fuel. It is largely used, by itself and combined with other substances, to form preservative compositions for coating wood and metal. gas -tar. Coal-tar colors, a name given to a numerous cla of colors derived from coal-tar by various complex chemical proce es. They are more often and popularly called aniline colors, as aniline was the first of them discovered. See aniline.