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,
Haloacetic acids Haloacetic acids Haloacetic acids are carboxylic acids in which a halogen atom takes the place of a hydrogen atom in acetic acid. Thus, in a monohaloacetic acid, a single halogen would replace a hydrogen atom. For example, chloroacetic acid would have the structural formula CHClCOH. In the same manner, in dichloroacetic acid two chlorine atoms would take the place of two hydrogen atoms (CHClCOH). The inductive effect caused by the electronegative halogens often result in the higher acidity of these compounds by stabilising the negative charge of the conjugate base. Haloacetic acids (HAAs) are a common undesirable by-product of drinking