ES2350216B1 - PROCEDURE FOR DECONTAMINATION OF BEE WAX AND BEE WAX RESULTING. - Google Patents

Abstract

Decontamination procedure of beeswax and resulting beeswax # In a first stage, beeswax is introduced into a tank under stirring at 90 ° C, keeping it in that state for about 30 minutes until the moisture is completely released, said tank being double chamber or similar so that the temperature is maintained at 90 ° C by means of hot water or steam, in a second stage the following reagents are added by means of a dispenser: diatolite type non-bleaching diatomaceous earth in an amount equivalent to 14% weight of the wax, and special food grade active carbon for HPA in an equivalent to 0.04% of the weight of the wax, in a third stage the mixture is stirred at 250 rpm for 30 minutes at 90 ° C, in a fourth stage Bring the wax to the plate filters where it is filtered hot at 70-80 ° C for later decantation, in a fifth stage the pre-laminate blocks are made to store or laminate directly and the land and coal retained therein are removed from the filters to be managed in accordance with the corresponding legislation.

Description

Decontamination procedure of beeswax and resulting beeswax.

The present invention relates to the process by means of which it is achieved that beeswax has a considerably lower level of harmful and contaminating materials for both the bees themselves and for humans. According to the tests carried out, by means of the proposed process, a level of decontamination that reaches up to 91% has been achieved.

Wax is the material that bees use to build their nests. It is produced by young honey bees that secrete it as a liquid through their cherry glands. Upon contact with the air, the wax hardens and forms small flakes of wax at the bottom of the bee. A million or so of these scales means a kilo of wax. The bees use it to build the hexagonal alveoli of their honeycombs, with it they conserve honey and pollen, in addition the queen deposits their eggs in them and the new bees are raised inside. Wax is produced by all species of honey bees, although waxes produced by different species of bees have slightly different chemical and physical properties.

In Spain, the wax industry has undergone major transformations in recent decades. The old corcher beekeepers renewed all the wax in their hives every 2 years, not recycling the wax in the hive. This extracted wax was used for lighting liturgies and for various industries such as submarine communication cable liners.

The imposition of mobile frame hives and the use of vegetable waxes in the liturgy resulted in beeswax becoming an industrial activity from which there is very little wax to other sectors. The wax is heated, cleaned and returned to the hive in the form of sheets.

The problem that arises is the pollution suffered by the wax, which in principle does not seem serious, but since the entrance of Varroa destructor, which is a genus of a mite that produces the disease called varroasis, this recycling circuit accumulates after year after year the acaricides used in the fight against this mite, which are fat soluble. Thus in Spain, waxes accumulate mainly Chlorfenvinphos, which is an ingredient contained in acaricides, with values between 0.13-10.64 mg / kg. This problem has a global character, and each country has its waxes contaminated at different levels with the acaricides used in the fight against varroa destructor. For example, in waxes in Switzerland and Germany, contamination levels between 0.5-5.2 mg / kg are found, the most frequent acaricides being Coumaphos, followed by Bromopropylate and Tau fl uvalinate. In France, the waxes are contaminated by Tau fl uvalinate, Coumaphos and Endosulfan, reaching Coumaphos concentrations of 4.1 mg / kg. Waxes in the United States report high levels of acaricide contamination reaching the Coumaphos maximum concentrations of 204 mg / kg. Other pesticides such as Chorpyrifos, Chorothalonil, Endosulfan or Dicofol are also found.

The presence of contaminating waste leads to serious problems worldwide such as the loss of bees and possible damage to public health. These inconveniences are resolved in a high percentage by means of the procedure proposed in this document. The novel features of the invention provide an advantageous and effective solution for the problem of the presence of harmful elements in the wax.

The patent object of this invention has its field of application in the beekeeping industry, specifically for the decontamination of beeswaxes.

Currently there is no known system or device that allows decontaminating the wax. The state of the art does not reflect in the databases, at least those that have been referred to, any document that proposes solutions in this regard.

The absence of methods has the following disadvantages:

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Loss of bees The young of bees are born in a polluted environment and die prematurely or are born with physiological taras. In addition to implying a negative impact on the ecosystem, it reduces an important source of resources.

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Decrease in economic benefits, due to the fall in production.

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Public health problem. Although there is no transfer of pollutants from wax to honey, a percentage of the honey that is marketed is presented as honey in honeycomb, where the consumer bites the wax to extract the honey. This can cause a deterioration of human health.

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Difficulty in marketing. Due to the lack of guarantees in the safety of the wax, the commercialization of the wax cannot be fully promoted.

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Impossibility of obtaining new wax derivatives due to the potential danger of contamination.

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The general lack of knowledge about the actions necessary to achieve decontamination also paralyzes cognitive growth within the beekeeping industry, and therefore, does not favor the state of the art in this sector or those dedicated to it.

However, the proposed invention based on a set of methods, materials and elements, presents novel and effective characteristics that bring significant benefits to the current state of the art, providing a series of advances in the elements already known with their corresponding advantages.

In particular:

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The loss of bees due to pollution is considerably reduced, thus favoring the environment and strengthening that source of natural resources.

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Increase in economic benefits due to improved production.

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Protection of human health.

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Growth of the marketing of beeswax.

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Obtaining new wax derivatives.

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Increased knowledge about decontamination techniques that favor professional industry.

Thus, the invention is constituted from the following steps:

In a first stage the beeswax is introduced into a tank under agitation at 90 ° C, keeping it in that state for about 30 minutes until the moisture is completely released, said double chamber tank or the like being so that by means of hot water or the temperature is maintained at 90 ° C, in a second stage the following reagents are added by means of a doser: diatolite-type non-bleaching diatomaceous earth in an amount equivalent to 4% of the wax weight, and special food grade active carbon for HPA in an equivalent to 0.04% of the weight of the wax, in a third stage the mixture is stirred at 250 rpm for 30 minutes at 90 ° C, in a fourth stage the wax is taken to the plate fi lters where it is fi ltered in heat at 70-80ºC for later decantation, in a fifth stage the blocks prior to the laminate are made for storage

or laminate directly and the land and coal retained therein are removed from the fi lters to be managed in accordance with the corresponding legislation.

In a different embodiment the temperature and the percentages vary slightly without altering the final result.

Alternatively, the procedure has several repetitions to achieve an optimal reduction.

For the best understanding of what is described herein, drawings are attached in which, by way of example, a practical case of non-limiting embodiment of the beeswax decontamination process is represented.

Figure 1: Graphical diagram of the elements of the procedure

In the fi gure the numbered elements correspond to the following:

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Tank

-

Dosi fi er

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Plate filters

The preferred embodiment given by way of non-limiting example is constituted from the following steps: in a first stage the beeswax is introduced into a tank (1) under stirring at 90 ° C, keeping it in that state for about 30 minutes until the complete release of moisture, said double chamber tank or the like being so that by means of hot water or steam the temperature is maintained at 90 ° C, in a second stage the following reagents are added by means of a doser (2): non-bleaching diatomaceous earth type diatolite in an amount equivalent to 4% of the weight of the wax, and special food grade active carbon for HPA in an equivalent to 0.04% of the weight of the wax, in a third stage the mixture at 250 rpm for 30 minutes at 90 ° C, in a fourth stage the wax is brought to the plate fi lters (3) where it is hot fi ltered at 70-80 ° C for subsequent decantation, in a fifth stage the pr blocks are made Evolutions to the laminate to store or laminate directly and the land and coal retained in them are removed from the fi lters to be managed according to the corresponding legislation.

Claims (9)

one.

Beeswax decontamination procedure, characterized by presenting the following stages: in a first stage the beeswax is introduced in a tank under stirring at 90 ° C, keeping it in that state for about 30 minutes until the moisture is completely released, being said double chamber tank or the like so that by means of hot water or steam the temperature is maintained at 90 ° C.

2.

Beeswax decontamination process, according to claim 1, characterized in that in a second stage the following reagents are added by means of a doser: diatolite type non-bleaching diatomaceous earth in an amount equivalent to 4% of the wax weight, and Special food grade active carbon for HPA equivalent to 0.04% of the wax weight.

3.

Beeswax decontamination process, according to claims 1 to 2, characterized in that in a third stage the mixture is stirred at 250 rpm for 30 minutes at 90 ° C.

4. Beeswax decontamination process, according to claims 1, 3, characterized in that in a fourth stage the wax is taken to the plate fi lters where it is hot fi ltered at about 70-80 ° C for subsequent decantation.

5.

Beeswax decontamination process, according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that in a fifth stage the blocks prior to rolling are made to store or laminate directly and the soil and coal retained therein are removed from the fi lters to be managed according to the legislation correspondent.

6.

Beeswax decontamination process, according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the temperature and the percentages vary slightly without altering the final result.

7.

Beeswax decontamination process, according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it has several repetitions to achieve an optimal reduction.

8.

Decontaminated beeswax, characterized in that it is obtained by means of the procedure described above.

SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 200900541 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 02.22.2009 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: C11B11 / 00 (01.01.2006) A01K59 / 06 (01.01.2006) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

Documents cited Claims Affected

X

US 2002174803 A1 (ULRICH DIETER) 28.11.2002, the whole document. 1-6.8

Y

7

Y

GB 671113 A (NICHOLAS WEISER) 30.04.1952, page 1. 7

X

US 1808755 A (BAYLIS WALTER S) 09.06.1931, pages 2.3. one

TO

US 2383629 A (TREACY CYRIL S) 28.08.1945, page 1. 1-8

TO

JP 2142897 A (KOGA NAOICHI et al.) 05/31/1990 (summary). Recovered from the database 1-8

EPODOC Recovered from EPOQUE. Accession number JP-29471488-A.

TO

RU 2220571 C1 (LUZHKOV, J.M. et al.) 10.01.2004 (summary). Recovered from the database 1-8

EPODOC Recovered from EPOQUE. Accession number RU-2002114086-A.

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 21.12.2010

Examiner E. Ulloa Calvo Page 1/5

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Minimum documentation searched (classification system followed by classification symbols) C11B, A01K Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC, WPI  WRITTEN OPINION Date of Completion of Written Opinion: 21.12.2010 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims Claims 1-8 IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986)

Claims Claims 1-8 IF NOT

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published.  WRITTEN OPINION 1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

US 2002 174803 A1 (ULRICH DIETER) 11.28.2002

D02

GB 671113 A (NICHOLAS WEISER) 04/30/1952

D03

US 1808755 A (BAYLIS WALTER S) 09.06.1931

D04

US 2383629 A (TREACY CYRIL S) 28.08.1945

D05

JP 2142897 A (KOGA NAOICHI et al.) 05/31/1990

D06

RU 2220571 C1 (LUZHKOV, J.M. et al.) 10.01.2004

The application describes a beeswax decontamination process in several stages (claims 1-7) as well as the wax obtainable by the process (claim 8). Document D01 describes a process for the elimination of beeswax acaricides. Document D02 anticipates the purification of beeswax with an adsorbent, and subsequent repetition of the process. Document D03 describes an installation and process of purification of beeswax. Document D04 describes a beeswax purification process that includes a pretreatment, passing it through a filter with diatomaceous earth or active carbon. Document D05 refers to a beeswax purification process. The previously liquefied beeswax is combined with active carbon (2-5%) for 1-3 hours, at 90-110 ° C and with stirring, and then filtered hot (65 ° C) to recover the active carbon. Document D06 describes a method and process of decontamination of beeswax by heating the wax in a tank and then filtering through a filter with adsorbents. In this way it manages to eliminate contaminants. 2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement  NEW (Art. 6.1 L.P.) Claims 1-8 meet the novelty requirement.  INVENTIVE ACTIVITY (Art. 8.1 L.P.) The application describes a procedure for decontamination of beeswax in several stages. His first five claims refer to five consecutive stages: . Heat the wax about 30 minutes in a tank, using hot water or steam at 90 ° C, and stirring. . Add reagents: non-bleaching diatomaceous earth (4%) and active carbon (0.04%). . Stir the mixture at 250 rpm for 30 minutes at 90 ° C. . Hot filter (70-80 ° C) by plate filter. . Make the blocks and clean the filters. Its sixth claim opens the option of slightly varying the percentages and temperatures used in the process, and the seventh reflects the possibility of performing several repetitions to it. Claim 8 refers to the wax obtainable by that method. The document closest to the request corresponds to D01. Document D01 describes a process of eliminating coumafos from beeswax, which includes the stages of heating, adding active carbon (20-50gr / l), filtering and cleaning the filters. Heating is carried out in a tank with stirring at 80 ° C. The contact time between the reagent and the wax, before filtering, is 30-90 minutes, and the mixture is kept warm (80 ° C) and under stirring. Pollutant-free wax is obtained in this way.  WRITTEN OPINION The small variations of the application, in its claims 1-6 and 8, with respect to D01, are mere particular executions that do not require the exercise of inventive activity. The applicant himself reflects this variability with respect to temperatures and percentages in his sixth claim. The choice of a mixture of reagents instead of one in particular does not confer any technical effect on the final result to be obtained, decontamination, so it is a mere particular execution that does not imply inventive activity. In addition, the use of different absorbents is known in the state of the art, and the choice of one or the other is considered a mere choice among the existing possibilities. In the indicated case, the capture of acaricide with active carbon is carried out, but the use of others is known, for example diatomaceous earth (see document D04). Therefore, and in view of D01, claims 1-6 and 8 do not meet the inventive activity requirement. Regarding the repetition of the process reflected in claim 7, document D01 does not speak of it, although there is a document D02 very close to the state of the art that speaks of this possibility. Document D02 anticipates the purification of beeswax with an adsorbent (fuller earth, activated carbon, silica gel or aluminum gel) at 5-15% by weight, by mixing with stirring and subsequent hot separation by means of solvents. The process is repeated as many times as deemed necessary, depending on the starting impurities of the wax and the degree of purity that is finally to be obtained. Thus, one skilled in the art would attempt to combine D01 with the specific characteristic of D02 with a reasonable expectation of success, so claim 7 does not meet the requirement of inventive activity in view of D01 in combination with D02. Document D03 describes an installation and purification process of beeswax, removing color and impurities from it. After an initial heating of the wax in a jacketed tank through which the heating medium circulates, the liquefied wax is mixed in a tank with sulfuric acid and water, in continuous and gentle stirring and with rising temperature. It is then allowed to stand, leaving the treating fluid, which is discarded. The partially purified wax is taken to a tank where it is mixed with a bleaching mineral (20% absorbent clay), stirring, and then passes to a bleaching tank where with stirring, heat and vacuum it is possible to discolor the wax and remove impurities from it . In a filter press the purified wax is separated from the absorbent. This last process (mixing with absorbent and filter-press) can be repeated again a second time. The first claim of the application refers to heating the wax about 30 minutes in a tank, by hot water or steam at 90 ° C, and with stirring. This first claim does not differ from D03 in any aspect that entails a technical effect, but simply specifies in more detail the time and temperature at which the wax remains in the heated and agitated tank. Therefore, and in view of this document, claim 1 does not meet the inventive activity requirement.