organic compounds with a structure resembling a chain of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms Aldehydes such as formaldehyde are made commercially, through reactions that include the catalytic removal of hydrogen from alcohols But aldehydes are also present in fossil fuel engine exhausts Formaldehyde, for example, is found typically at 29-43 parts per million in automobile exhaust, and at a higher percentage in diesel engines Aldehydes have been linked to cancer risk in humans, and formaldehyde was listed as a hazardous air pollutant in the 1990 United States Clean Air Act (Source: Mintzer, 1992)
Hydrocarbons that have a carbon-hydrogen-oxygen (CHO) triplet as part of their chemical structure The oxygen is attached to the carbon by a double bond This means that aldehydes are less stable and more reactive than alcohols
a class of organic compounds which have an end group with a carbon and oxygen double bonded to the same carbon These compounds, related to formaldehyde, are cross-linkers, mutagens, and carcinogens Malonaldehyde, created in the breakdown of peroxidized fats, is also carcinogenic, and an extremely potent cross-linker Acetaldehyde is made from alcohol in the liver (the acetaldehyde is a major reason alcoholics have such heavily wrinkled skin) and is found in cigarette smoke and smog Most aldehydes autoxidize, producing damaging free radicals
Very reactive organic compounds that contribute to local and regional ozone production, and also act as the precursors of peroxyacetyl nitrates Their major atmospheric fate is reaction with hydroxyl radicals or photolysis
An organic compound that is a precursor to ethanol in a normal beer fermentation In the presence of excess air, this reaction can be reversed by oxidation which imparts papery/woody flavors
Broad class of reactive organic compounds containing the CHO group and characterized by a carbonyl group (C=O)