Improvements in or relating to the Extraction of Wool Grease.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Aug., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 2nd May, 1898-Accepted, 4th June, 1898
Improvements in or relating to the Extraction of Wool Grease.
A communication from LOUIS EMILE VIAL, of Rue des Palais, Brussels, in the Kingdom
of Belgium, Chemist.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to the extraction of wool grease (suintine).
If a small quantity of acid or salt of aluminium (sulphuric or hydrochloric acid;
alum etc.) is added to the aqueous extract of wool obtained by washing raw wool a
precipitate (magma) is obtained which mainly consists of water, nitrates and a fatty
substance called wool grease (suintine). In order to decompose this precipitate and
to extract from it the wool grease (suintine), the process according to the present
invention is as follows:-
The magma collected is placed into a vat and liquefied by stirring with a sufficient
quantity of water either pure or alkaline if the precipitate has been formed with an
excess of acid. The liquefaction finished, any fatty substance-usually wool grease
(suintine) obtained previously-in introduced in the same quanity as that of the
magma to be treated into the vat which is heated and provided with a mixing
device, and the whole mass is stirred till it becomes perfectly homogeneous. Then
either by leaving it to settle, or, quicker still, by adding a little acid, said mixture
is divided into three following superposed layers 1, the fat substance with which
is incorporated the whole wool grease of the magma, floating on the surface (2) solid
nitrates and (3) water. The whole is then introduced into a moving drying machine
provided with a filter-cloth which retains the solid matter and lets the liquid part
-water and the fat substance liquefied by heat-pass into decanting basins where
the fat substance is spontaneously separated owing to the difference in density.
For decomposing aqueous extract of wool for the purpose of separating from it
the fat substance, acids are usually employed, especially sulphuric acid, the use of
said acids having the drawback of altering and colouring to a greater or smaller
extent the fat and nitrous elements of the magma. To the best of my correspondent's
knowledge it has not been hitherto suggested to use salts of alumina, such for
instance as aluminium sulphate, alum etc. which have the double advantage of
forming a more complete precipitate and of not effecting any colouring. For the
decomposition of the magma it has not also been suggested to use any fat substance
as a solvent, said fat substance appropriating, owing to the molecular affinity, all
the fat substances of the suint, so as to mechanically separate them from the other
constituent parts of the magma.
Thus the features of this invention are:-
A new method of treating aqueous extract of wool for the purpose of separating
from it the organic matter that can be used, and chiefly, isolating from it the fat
substance, said method consisting
(1) In adding to the aqueous extract of wool a small quantity of a soluble

page_text: salt of alumina, such as aluminium sulphate alum, or other salt for the purpose of
precipitating the magma.
(2) In adding to the magma precipitated either by a soluble salt of alumina or
by any other agent, any fat substance which may be wool grease, in sufficient
quantities to enable it to act as a solvent for the wool grease of the magma which
wool grease is thus separated from the other constituents.
Dated this 17th day of Angust 1897
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
P
ще ихласлоп от W001 Crease.
A communication from LOUIS EMILE VIAL, formerly of Rue des Palais, now of 132,
Rue Bellaird, in Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
It is well known that greasy water which has been used for washing raw wool, as
well as all soapy and nitrate waters are decomposed by acids or acidified liquids.
The greasy substances, the earthy substances and the putrescible matter coagulated
by the acid form an insoluble precipitate which after having been pressed still con-
tains 50 to 60% of water held by emulsified solid substances. This precipitate
(magma) has the appearance of damp earth and preserves this appearance owing to
the excess of fatty substance contained in it, and helping to preserve it from putre-
faction or decomposition.
The presence of water which is the cause of the emulsion does not allow the fatty
substance to be separated by a direct treatment of the magma by a volatile solvent.
The only way of separating the emulsified substances without altering them, is to
render them first perfectly anhydrous. Unfortunately the direct desiccation
possible for small quantities on a laboratory scale, cannot be used on a large scale,
owing to the paste-like mass acquiring when becoming concentrated, great
plasticity which is a serious obstacle to attaining the desired degree of dehydration
when working on a large scale. In consequence the water used for washing wool
continues to be discharged and to pollute streams etc. owing to the difficulty of
extracting from it economically a product that can be utilised commercially.
This difficulty is obviated by the process according to this invention.
This process chiefly consists in boiling the watery magma with a certain quantity
of fatty substance which acts as a vehicle and incorporates with it the wool-grease,
like an ordinary solvent. The proportional amount of said fatty substance may vary
considerably the important point being to use enough to divide or break up the
mass and thus to cause its plasticity to disappear. In these conditions the watery
portion is evaporated with the greatest facility and the solid dissociated substances
quickly become perfectly anhydrous.
For this purpose wool grease, obtained by previous operations is used, but the
practical result will be the same even if oleic acid or other fatty substance, say a
slightly volatile hydrocarbon, is used.
As a rule the process is as follows:-
:-
For the sake of economy the magma is first concentrated in vats or receptacles to
a greater or lesser extent, the waste heat of combustion gases being utilised for

page_text: this purpose.
The mass is then placed in a large boiler with a double semi-
spherical bottom, provided with a stirring device and containing about the same
amount of liquid wool-grease maintained at a temperature slightly above the boil-
ing point of water. The mixture is constantly stirred to assist the evaporation of
the water, and the mass begins to boil violently which boiling suddenly stops when
the solid, earthy and organic substances have become dehydrated. These solid
substances deposited on the bottom of the boiler are then mechanically withdrawn
and treated in well known manner by a volatile solvent (carbon sulphide, benzine,
petroleum ether or similarly acting agents) which separates from them the whole
fatty substance with which they are permeated.
There is thus obtained on the one hand, a very fine dry powder showing about
4% of nitrogen and forming an excellent manure, and on the other hand, raw wool
grease having the appearance of congealed oil more or less brown, consisting of
oleic and other fatty acid and adapted to easily saponify to the extent of about
68-70%. The non-saponifiable portion can be separated economically, say by
saponification by lime, which enables it to be separated by pressure when hot or by
a volatile solvent.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The process for extracting raw woolgrease from the wash waters of wool and
also any fatty substances from soapy and nitrate waters, consisting in boiling the
precipitate resulting from the decomposition of such liquid, with woolgrease or
other fatty substance, in order to completely vaporize the water contained in it and
separating from the fatty substance all dehydrated solid substances which, after
having been deprived of their grease may be used for any useful purpose.
Dated this 2nd day of May 1898.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.