naptha ruins metal - ?

[Kenelm Philip]

> Many a museum curator has placed naphtha crystals in the fumigant pocket
> on the door of a museum storage cabinet...

Do not confuse naphtha and naphthalene--these are totally different sub-
stances. Naphtha is a liquid--and the name is applied to a wide variety
of solvents (even ethyl acetate). In the dry cleaning industry 'naphtha'
refers to various petroleum distillates--usually in no sense a pure
compound. Naphthalene is (at room temperature) a solid, used as a repel-
lant for museum pests--not for degreasing moths!

							Ken Philip
fnkwp at uaf.edu





 
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