Caproic Acid is a saturated medium-chain fatty acid with a 6-carbon backbone. It is considered to be a short-chain fatty acid. Caproic acid is found naturally in various plant and animal fats and oils.
It is a colorless oily liquid, with an odor at once suggestive of vinegar and of sweat; its taste is acid and sharp, with a sweetish aftertaste.
Caproic acid or hexanoic acid is widely used in the synthesis of spices, as a medicine, flotation agent, and as an agent for thickening lubricating oil.
It has a high boiling point. So its separation from dilute solution by distillation is extremely energy-intensive.
Saturated fatty acid:
Caproic acid
