What is the difference between phenol, phenols, and phenolics?
The terms Aphenol,@ Aphenols,@ and Aphenolics@ have caused confusion in environmental analyses for over 20 years. APhenol@ (or hydroxybenzene) is a single organic compound. APhenols@ refers to the class of compounds having a hydroxyl (-OH) group, as well as other substituent groups, on a benzene ring or, prior to the introduction of the list of priority pollutants in the late 1970s, to the colorimetric analyses of phenols. APhenolics@ is the title used for the US Environmental Protection Agency=s (EPA) SW-846 Methods 9065 and 9066 for the colorimetric measurement of numerous known and unknown substances with one or more hydroxyl groups attached to a benzene ring. The organic compound, phenol, is the chemical used to calibrate the colorimetric test for the classes of compounds known as Aphenols@ or Aphenolics.@ The EPA=s list of priority pollutants includes a number of phenols measured in the acid fraction of the base/neutral/acid (BNA) analysis or the semivolatile organic compounds (SV
