furan

[fyoor-an, fyoo-ran]

noun

1. a colorless, liquid, unsaturated, five-membered heterocyclic compound, C 4 H 4 O, obtained from furfural: used chiefly in organic synthesis.

furan

/ ˈfjʊəræn, fjʊəˈræn /

noun

1. Also called: furfuran. a colourless flammable toxic liquid heterocyclic compound, used in the manufacture of cotton textiles and in the synthesis of nylon. Formula: C 4 H 4 O

furan

1. Any of a group of colorless, volatile, organic compounds containing a ring of four carbon atoms and one oxygen atom. Furans are obtained from wood oils and used in the synthesis of many organic compounds.

2. The simplest such compound, consisting of a furan ring with two double bonds and attached to four hydrogen atoms. Chemical formula: C ₄ H ₄ O.

Word History and Origins

Origin of furan¹

First recorded in 1890–95; aphetic form of furfuran

Word History and Origins

Origin of furan¹

C19: shortened form of furfuran , from _furfur

Example Sentences

"Large quantities of dioxin and furan have been added to the atmosphere and these are carcinogens. And then we have calculated it may kill about 70 people in our country," says Prof Guneeardena.

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Next, the team equipped modern Pseudomonas protegens bacteria with a pair of ancient genes to make proteins that produce milligrams’ worth of a molecule called a furan.

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Pulp mills stopped dumping “black liquor,” a paper byproduct, into the water and Environment Canada began testing for waterborne carcinogens, like dioxins and furans, that had decimated fisheries.

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Acrylamide and furan are two compounds commonly found in coffee that are produced when the beans are roasted.

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They include chemicals such as furan, benzene and formaldehyde, as well as aerosols in microscopic particles that can penetrate human lungs.

Read more on Scientific American