Palmitic acid World War II to produce napalm. The word "napalm" is derived from the words naphthenic acid and palmitic acid. Palmitic acid was discovered by Edmond Frémy in 1840, in saponified palm oil. This remains the primary industrial route for its production, with the triglycerides (fats) in palm oil being hydrolysed by high temperature water (above ), and the resulting mixture fractionally distilled to give the pure product. Palmitic acid is naturally produced by a wide range of other plants and organisms, typically at low levels. It is naturally present in butter, cheese, milk, and meat, as well as cocoa butter,
Naphthenic acid The nature, occurrence, recovery and commercial uses of naphthenic acid have been reviewed. Crude oils from fields in Romania, Russia, Venezuela, the North Sea, China, and West Africa are known to be high in acidic compounds as compared to most American crude oils. The carboxylic acid content of certain California crude oils is particularly high (up to 4%) where the most abundant classes of carboxylic acids are reported to be cycloaliphatic and aromatic acids. The composition varies with the crude oil composition and the conditions during refining and oxidation. Fractions that are rich in naphthenic acids can cause corrosion damage