PRODUCT HISTORY

As early as the 15th century, some alchemists and naturalists were aware that ant hills gave off an acidic vapor. The first person to describe the isolation of this substance (by the distillation of large numbers of ants) was the English naturalist John Ray, in 1671. Ants secrete the formic acid for attack and defense purposes. Formic acid was first synthesized from hydrocyanic acid by the French chemist Joseph Gay-Lussac. In 1855, another French chemist, Marcellin Berthelot, developed a synthesis from carbon monoxide that is similar to that used today.

In the chemical industry, formic acid was long considered a chemical compound of only minor industrial interest. In the late-1960s, however, significant quantities of it became available as a by product of acetic acid production. It now finds increasing use as a preservative and antibacterial in livestock feed.

Formic acid (systematically called methanoic acid) is the simplest carboxylic acid. Its formula is HCOOH or CH2O2. It is an important intermediate in chemical synthesis and occurs naturally, most famously in the venom of bee and ant stings.In nature, it is found in the stings and bites of many insects of the order Hymenoptera, mainly ants. It is also a significant combustion product resulting from alternative fueled vehicles burning methanol (and ethanol, if contaminated with water) when mixed with gasoline.