TH88932A - Processing Method for Preparing Bleached Shellac without Utilizing Bleaching Chemicals - Google Patents

Abstract

DC60 is a chemical-free shellac bleaching process. It involves dissolving shellac granules in ethyl alcohol, filtering to remove impurities, cooling to remove the vacuum, and further filtration. This is followed by adjusting the ethyl alcohol concentration, adding sodium chloride salts for conductivity, passing direct current through aluminum anodes and cathodes, and filtering to remove precipitate for subsequent erythrolaxin decolorization. The filtered solution is then passed through direct current again, repeating the decolorization process if necessary, until the desired color is achieved. The resulting shellac solution is then passed through cation and anion changing resins to remove sodium and chloride ions. Ethyl alcohol is evaporated until the desired shellac concentration is reached. Finally, all ethyl alcohol is evaporated, yielding dry shellac powder. This bleaching process, with or without vacuum, differs from the traditional chemical-free method. Bleaching agents such as sodium hypochlorite, oxidizing agents, chlorine gas, or activated carbon derived from animals can be used to absorb the dye, or other chemical bleaching agents can be employed. This production process does not create toxic waste, making it suitable for industrial-scale shellac production as a replacement for existing methods. The process of producing bleached shellac without chemical bleaching involves dissolving lac granules in ethyl alcohol, filtering to remove impurities, cooling to remove vacuum, and re-filtering. This is followed by adjusting the ethyl alcohol content, adding sodium chloride salts to improve conductivity, passing direct current through aluminum anodes and cathodes, filtering to remove precipitate (for subsequent erythrolaxin removal), repeating the direct current process if necessary to achieve the desired color, passing the resulting shellac solution through cation and anion changing resins to remove sodium and chloride ions, and evaporating the ethyl alcohol to obtain a concentrated shellac solution. The process involves evaporating all ethyl alcohol to obtain dry shellac powder. This bleached shellac production method, with or without wax, differs from older methods by eliminating the need for chemical bleaching agents such as sodium hypochlorite, oxidizing agents, chlorine gas, or activated carbon derived from animals to absorb dyes. This method produces minimal environmental pollution, making it suitable for industrial-scale shellac production as a replacement for traditional methods.

Claims (3)

1. The production process of bleached shellac can be done with or without wax, and does not require the use of bleaching chemicals. The manufacturing process consists of the following steps: - Dissolving seed lac in ethyl alcohol to obtain a shellac solution. - Filtration to remove impurities using centrifugal force or filtration to obtain the shellac solution. - Cooling to separate the vacuum from the shellac solution (this process is omitted if vacuum is desired). - Removal of the vacuum by scooping, centrifugal force, or filtration. - Adjusting the ethyl alcohol content in the shellac solution to approximately 70-90%, with 75% being ideal, resulting in a concentration of 10-13.3% W/V. - Adding a salt solution of 0.05-2.0% to improve electrical conductivity. - Passing a direct current of 1 to 3.0 amperes with a voltage of 0 to 100 volts. - Using aluminum metal electrodes in any shape, such as sheets, to maximize surface area. The time for the direct current to pass from the cathode to the anode can be adjusted from 0 to 3 hours, or depending on the desired clarity of the solution. Generally, this is 10-50 minutes. The process involves: - Filtration to remove the precipitate, either by force or centrifugation, for further use. - Repeating the direct current process to obtain a more diluted color solution and further filtration of the precipitate. - Passing the filtered solution through cation and anion exchange resin to remove sodium and chloride ions. - Evaporating the ethyl alcohol to obtain a shellac solution with the desired concentration. - Finally, completely evaporating the alcohol to obtain shellac powder. 2. The shellac manufacturing process under Patent 1, in which at least one selectable salt from sodium chloride, potassium or magnesium salts is added to the shellac solution to act as an electrical conductor. 3. The shellac production process under claim 1, in which the filtered precipitate, after being passed through an electric current, can be recovered to pure electrolaxin by a simple chemical process.