Furfuryl Mercaptan
Furfuryl Mercaptan, also known as 2-furfurylthiol, is a colourless to pale yellow liquid aroma chemical with the formula C₅H₆OS and CAS number 98-02-2. It is the single most important character-impact molecule of freshly roasted coffee aroma.
At trace dilution it smells of warm roasted coffee with a soft sulfury edge. Overdosed it turns sharply sulfurous and skunky, which is why it is handled at parts-per-billion dosing in finished food.
We source bulk Furfuryl Mercaptan from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Shandong. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Packaging
- 25 kg galvanised drum, nitrogen blanketed
- ISO 9001
- HACCP
- Halal
- Kosher
Specifications
Grades / Types Available: Food Grade, Feed Grade
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Colourless to pale yellow liquid |
| Assay | ≥ 98.0% |
| Specific Gravity (20°C) | 1.130-1.140 |
| Refractive Index | 1.530-1.536 |
| Heavy Metals (as Pb) | ≤ 10 mg/kg |
| Purity (Food Grade) | ≥ 98% |
| Viscosity | 1.2 mPa·s |
| Moisture/Loss on Drying | ≤ 0.5% |
| pH | 5.0 - 7.0 |
| Lead | ≤ 1 ppm |
| Arsenic | ≤ 0.5 ppm |
| Total Plate Count | ≤ 100 cfu/g |
| Yeast & Mold | ≤ 10 cfu/g |
Common Markets Grades
Two forms are traded, neat and pre-diluted.
The standard commercial grade is 97 to 98 percent minimum assay by gas chromatography, packed in amber glass under nitrogen and stored cool to slow oxidation to the disulfide.
Pre-diluted solutions at 0.1 percent, 1 percent, and 10 percent in triacetin, propylene glycol, or refined vegetable oil are widely stocked, since the neat material is too potent to weigh accurately on a flavour bench.
FCC and FEMA GRAS conforming material is the routine specification. Kosher and Halal certifications exist on request.
Applications
- Coffee flavours as the primary character-impact ingredient for roasted character
- Coffee extracts and instant coffee aroma top-ups
- Mocha and coffee-chocolate flavours
- Roasted nut flavours including hazelnut and peanut for a roasted sulphur edge
- Cocoa and dark chocolate flavours for a roasted lift
- Bread and biscuit flavours as a trace sulphur top note
- Meat and savory flavours, where it bridges the roasted top note and the sulphur base
- Beer, stout, and dark malt flavours
- Whisky and aged spirit reconstructions
- Tobacco casing flavours as a sulfury roasted note
- Fine fragrance gourmand accords for coffee and praline themes
China Manufacturers of Furfuryl Mercaptan
Top Furfuryl Mercaptan manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
How We Help Source Furfuryl Mercaptan
Direct Factory Sourcing
We run the whole process: selecting the manufacturer from the top Chinese food ingredient producers, negotiating the price, verifying quality, and coordinating the logistics. You deal with us instead of with several factories at once.
Original Packaging and Documents from the Manufacturer
The manufacturer sends your Furfuryl Mercaptan out of its own factory in the original packing, through to your destination port. The COA, COO, MSDS, TDS and any certifications reach you from the manufacturer as well.
Free Samples and Lead Time
We send 100 to 500 g free for your own laboratory to test and you cover only the courier, usually within 2 to 3 working days. ETD is usually within 7 to 15 days once the order is confirmed, and we check that date against the factory's own manufacturing schedule before we give it to you.
Combined Shipment
We can load Furfuryl Mercaptan together with other ingredients such as Capsicum Oleoresin, Ethyl Maltol and White Pepper into one 20' FCL. If your quantity is small, we can also ship LCL.
Regulatory Status
Furfuryl Mercaptan is recognised as a flavouring substance in the major regulated markets.
It carries FEMA GRAS number 2493 in the Flavour and Extract Manufacturers Association inventory.
The European Union lists it in the Union list of flavourings as FL number 13.027, permitted for general flavour use under good manufacturing practice.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recognises it as a synthetic flavouring substance under 21 CFR 172.515. The Council of Europe and JECFA have both reviewed the furan-thiol flavouring group and concluded no safety concern at the very low use levels typical of this ingredient.
Material conforms to the Food Chemicals Codex monograph for Furfuryl Mercaptan. Kosher and Halal certifications are routinely provided.
Manufacturing Process
Industrial Furfuryl Mercaptan is produced synthetically from furfuryl alcohol.
The dominant route reacts furfuryl alcohol with thiourea under acid catalysis, forming the isothiouronium salt, which is then hydrolysed under base to release the free thiol.
An alternative route converts furfuryl chloride or furfuryl bromide directly with sodium hydrosulfide or with thiourea followed by hydrolysis. Strict temperature control is needed to avoid polymerisation of the furan ring.
Crude product is purified by vacuum distillation under nitrogen and stabilised with a trace antioxidant. Because the free thiol oxidises readily to its disulfide dimer (difurfuryl disulfide), the finished material is packed under inert gas in tightly closed amber containers and kept cold during storage and transport.
