Classification of colophony based on extraction method.
Colophony is classified into three types, based on the extraction method:
Tall oil colophony
Tall oil colophony is obtained by distilling tal oil*, which is a co-product of the kraft pulp manufacturing process. Harima is the only commercial producer of tall oil rosin in Japan and is a leading manufacturer in the field of pine chemicals, using both gum rosin and tal oil rosin.
*The term tall oil comes from the Swedish word Talloja, which means pine oil.
Gum resin colophony
Gum resin rosin is obtained by distilling raw gum, collected from living pine trees. Gum resin colophony (informally known as rosin) is the oldest and most widely consumed type of rosin in the world today.
Wood colophony
Wood colophony is obtained by solvent extraction from pine wood stumps, which are then distilled.
