GB494449A - Improvements in and relating to the purification of wax obtained from peat - Google Patents

Abstract

Peat wax is purified by boiling the crude wax with an aqueous solution of borax and sodium acetate and removing the aqueous solution containing the dissolved resin. Tarry or pitch-like material in the resin-free wax is then removed or modified by either (a) treating with a differential solvent, e.g. a petroleum solvent in which the pitch is insoluble, or, butyl acetate, tetrahydronaphthalene or decahydronaphthalene in which the pitch is more soluble than the wax, (b) treating with acid followed by a mild alkali, e.g. hydrochloric followed by calcium or magnesium oxide or sulphuric acid followed by sodium carbonate, or (c) treating with phosphorus pentachloride or antimony pentachloride. The melting-point and hardness of the resin and pitch free wax may be increased by treating with sufficient caustic alkali to combine with the free acids, and then converting the alkali soap, in whole or in part, into a calcium or magnesium soap by the addition of a water-soluble calcium or magnesium salt. The melting-point of the resin and pitch free wax may be increased and the acid value decreased by treating with triethanolamine, ammonia, phenylhydrazine or a phenylhydrazine salt, or a -naphthylamine, or the acid value may be decreased by treating with alcoholic potash. The resin and pitch free wax may be bleached by treating with nitric acid or nitric acid dissolved in glacial acetic acid, or by dissolving the resin in a solvent stable to nitrogen peroxide, e.g. carbon tetrachloride, or trichlorethylene, and passing in nitrogen peroxide.