oleum
1
9.9
A very strong and dangerous acid solution used in factories to make chemicals like detergents
- noun
- /ˈoʊliəm/
- Specialized
:
oleum
- The chemical plant uses oleum to produce sulfuric acid on a large scale.
Examples
-
In the laboratory, we carefully handled oleum due to its reactive properties.
-
Industry experts recommend using oleum for efficient sulfur dioxide absorption.
-
"Well, I don't know that y'all are prepared for this particular assignment," Nat said as he painted the fire escape with black Rust-Oleum.
Fiction book (1993)
How Concentrated
Surface Forms
Etymology
Oleum comes from the Latin word oleum, which meant 'oil' and is the same root as English oil and olive. Chemists called the oily sulfuric solution oleum because it is a liquid that looks and acts like oil.