Ethyl palmitate is an
organic compound
Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...
with the
chemical formula
A chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as pare ...
C
18H
36O
2. It is a colorless solid with a wax-like odor. Chemically, ethyl palmitate is the
ethyl ester
In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...
of
palmitic acid
Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The ...
.
Ethyl hexadecanoate is produced in aged
whiskey
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
, and is sometimes removed from the final product via
chill filtering
Chill filtering is a method in whisky making for removing residue. In chill filtering, whisky is cooled to between and passed through a fine adsorption filter. This is done mostly for cosmetic reasons — to remove cloudiness — howeve ...
.
Ethyl palmitate is used as a hair- and skin-conditioning agent.
References
Ethyl esters
Palmitate esters
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