Pure pyrene is a colorless solid but when it is recrystallized from toluene or it is impure the substance becomes pale yellow. Pyrene is a four-ringed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), derived from coal tar and is released to the environment through various waste streams. Some sources of pyrene include incomplete combustion process such as occurring in exhaust from motor vehicles, emissions from cigarette smoke, coal-, oil-, and wood-burning stoves and furnaces. Pyrene has been identified in drinking water, numerous foods, and in ambient air. Although most of the PAHs are toxic and carcinogenic, toxicity data for pyrene is limited. Pyrene has been shown to be involved in the bacterial co-metabolism of the potent carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene. Some applications of pyrene are biochemical research, as starting material in the production of optical brighteners and dyes, and for the synthesis of benzo(a) pyrene. Pyrene is not produced commercially in USA.
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Common molecules
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Obtained courtesy of the Cambridge Structural Database
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