Sources/Uses
A highly pure natural bitumen found exclusively in Utah and Colorado; [Hawley] Used to make asphalt floor tiles, storage battery boxes, paints, black varnishes, lacquers, and baking enamels; Also used in hot underground piping, waterproof coatings, wire insulation, linoleum and floor tiles, paving, low grade rubber compounds, dark photogravure inks, solvent-free seam sealers in automobiles, and other applications in the oil-drilling, foundry, explosive, and nuclear graphite industries; [HSDB] A hard natural asphalt and fossil resin that is assumed to be formed by the evaporation of crude petroleum followed by chemical reactions such as oxidation and polymerization; Found in Utah/Colorado, Virginia, and Syria; The Utah variety was discovered by Samuel Gilson in 1860. It consists of about 85% carbon, 10% hydrogen, and 2.5% nitrogen. It contains about 60% asphaltenes and 40% resins; [Ullmann]