Tall oil rosin is a product of crude tall oil distillation. The fraction of resin acids is collected from the lower part of the first distillation column and its content is represented by abietic, dihydroabietic, palustric, neoabietic, isopimaric and other acids. Aside from resin acids, the tall oil rosin contents also up to 6% of unsaponifiable matters. Depending on processing methods, the tall oil rosin delivered by Pine Chemical Group differs in softening points. Presently, there are three types of tall oil rosin in production: with softening point 60 – 61°C, with softening point 63 – 64°C, and with softening point 65 – 66°C (“strong” rosin). These softening points are defined by type IKAR unit. Defining by “ring and ball” method gives higher softening points (by 3 degrees on the average).

Major difference of (“strong” tall oil rosin from plain rosin is in higher content resin acids of abietic group, in particular: abietic – 43%, dihydroabietic – 24%, and neoabietic – 5%. It cheapens the process when using “strong” tall oil rosin for disproportionation, as far as it already has a high amount of dihydroabietic acid – ready product from abietic acid disproportionation.

The “strong” tall oil rosin is obtained by changing the distillation parameters in rosin column. Strong tall oil rosin mostly is applied for disproportionation, but it may be used also in other fields because of its high quality factors – colority, acid number, and others. Pine Chemical Group has a possibility of shipping to customers both liquid tall oil rosin and solid tall oil rosin in metal drums. In case of liquid rosin, the shipment is exercised in railroad tank cars specialized for liquid rosin transportation, in tank-containers or tank trucks. For solid rosin is carried out its filling in steel drums from zinc-coated steel, volume 200dm³. Tall oil rosin mass in each drum amounts to 190kg.

One of the special features of solid tall oil rosin delivered by Pine Chemical Group is its towards to crystallization. The grade of crystallinity varies from consignment to consignment and may have values from 0% (fully amorphous rosin) up to 100% – fully crystallized rosin. Some of the customers which have been receiving crystallized tall oil rosin in drums, had difficulties getting the product out of drum because it is hard to split crystallized tall oil rosin by mechanical action.

Another set of problems deal with necessity to control the homogenizing of reaction mass when big pieces of crystallized tall oil rosin is melted in reactor. However, there is no difference in chemical properties between amorphous and crystallized tall oil rosin. Thus, the adequately trained personnel do not have any problems handling the crystallized tall oil rosin.