Turpentine is composed of terpenes, primarily the monoterpenes alpha- and beta-pinene, with lesser amounts of carene, camphene, limonene, and terpinolene.

[13] Unless burned at the mill for energy production, sulfate turpentine may require additional treatment measures to remove traces of sulfur compounds.

[14] As a solvent, turpentine is used for thinning oil-based paints, for producing varnishes, and as a raw material for the chemical industry.

Its use as a solvent in industrialized nations has largely been replaced by the much cheaper turpentine substitutes obtained from petroleum such as white spirit.

Commercially used camphor, linalool, alpha-terpineol, and geraniol are all usually produced from alpha-pinene and beta-pinene, which are two of the chief chemical components of turpentine.

[23] Ingestion can cause burning sensations, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, confusion, convulsions, diarrhea, tachycardia, unconsciousness, respiratory failure,[24] and chemical pneumonia.

The same threshold was adopted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as the recommended exposure limit (REL).

[25] Turpentine and petroleum distillates such as coal oil and kerosene, were used in folk medicine for abrasions and wounds, as a treatment for lice, and when mixed with animal fat, as a chest rub or inhaler for nasal and throat ailments.