US2229976A

US2229976A - Art of treating leather

Info

Publication number: US2229976A
Application number: US354611A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kaplan Philip
Original assignee: RICHARDS CHEMICAL WORKS Inc
Current assignee: RICHARDS CHEMICAL WORKS Inc
Priority date: 1940-01-06
Filing date: 1940-08-28
Publication date: 1941-01-28
Anticipated expiration: 1958-01-28

Description

Patented a... 28, 1941 "PATENTLO Fries ear or :msama LEATHER Philip Kaplam'Teaneck, N. 1., assignor to The Richards Chemical Works, Incorporated, Jersey City, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Application August as, 1940,

Serial No. 354,611

. 7 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of treating leather and, more specifically, to a process involving the use of certain novel compositions in the treatment of leather. The present application isa continuation in part ofmy copending application Ser. No. 312,681.

.In manufacturing and treating leather materials of all kinds, it is the general practice to employ oils or oily compositions to facilitate the 10 manufacturing processes and to impart certain desirable characteristics to selves. The oil has a multiplicity of functions in the manufacture and treatment of leather. One-of its most important functions is that of lubrication, in that it enables the material being treated to withstand machine operations without injury and abrasion and to readily advance or otherwise I move in the course of manufacture. Another function is to impart desired softness and pliability to the material and to retard or prevent the evolution of electrostatic forces while the manufacturing procedure is in progress. Still another function' is to act as a protector for the as leather fiber and the product made therefrom,

in that the oil or finishing compositions containing the same will tend to obviate malodorousness, polymerization, gum formation, and other undesirable phenomena. i

' an A great variety of oils is available for poses above outlined, but so far as I am aware none has proven wholly satisfactory. Some are too expensive for generai use, others tend to oxidize readily while still others become sluggish 33 andheavy in aver-y short time. Asa consequence, there is an imperatlverneed for an oil which while reasonable in price will satisfactorily perform all the functions and fulfill all the requirementsexpected of such oils.

w The principal object of myinventionisto provide pliah these and other kindred objects by-the apso plication of an oil obtained from the seeds of grapefruit. Grapefruit seed 011 contains a bitter principle of an alkaloidal nature, which cannot be completely removed from the oil and which renders this oil unsuitable for human consump- 68 tion or animal feed. Owing to this characteristic,

the products themgrapefruit seed oil, heretofore, has not foun any practical commercial use. p

I have discovered that grapefruit seed oil has all the characteristics desirable in a leather treating oil and that the bitter principle, which is I present in this oil and rehders the same unsuitable for most other purposes, appears to have the power of delaying oxidation and rancidity of the grapefruit seed oil itself as well as of other saponiflable oils of vegetable, animal or mineral origin to which the grapefruit seed oil may be admixed. Thus, by applying to the leather a composition of matter comprising grapefruit seed oil, the deleterious effects of oxidation and rancidity manifesting themselves in brittleness and mal- 15 odorousness of the leather can be substantially reduced or even entirely eliminated.

For the purposes of the present invention, th grapefruit seed oil may be employed in unmodifled form or in sulfonated or sapon'ifled form, and m it may be used'alone or in combination with other oils or substances or compounds as more fully hereinafter set forth.

Any suitable procedure may be employed to ob tain the oil from the seeds. The desirable pro- 88 cedure is mechanical rather than chemical, in order to retain in the oil all "of the bitter principle mentioned above. If chemical procedure were used to recover the oil from the seed the permanent retention of part of this bitter prin so -cip1e might be endangered. A desirable mechanical method of recovering the oil from the seeds comprises soaking the seeds in water to effect decomposition of the cortex by fermentation, drying theseeds thus pulped, employing an as Anderson expeller to express the oil from. the pulp, filtering-the product, settling out the oil, decolorizing if necessary or desirable and sub- Jecting'the oil to whatever subsequent treat ment may be suitable for the purpose or use to w which the oil is to be put.

' As above intimated, the grapefruit seed oil of my invention may be sulfonated or saponifled and as both sulfonation and saponiflcation of oils are brocedureswell known in the art I deem it superfluous to describe such procedures in detall. Suillce it to say that sulfonation may be efle'cted by appropriately treatlng the oil with well known sulfonating agents, such as oleum, sulfuric acid, Ichlorsulfonicfacid and the so like, and saponlflcation may be effected by the use of any appropriate alkaline agent normally usedintheartforthispurpose.

Both the sulfonated and saponiiied grapefruit seed oils of my invention arewat'er-dispersible or B5 soluble products in which all the valuable properties present in the raw oil are fully retained.

While, as stated above, the grapefruit seed oil may be used alone or together with other waterimmiscible oils or substances as a textile treating agent, I find that such compositions may be made water dispersible and readily removable from fibres by mixing the compositions with appropriate emulsifiers or other dispersing agents. Emulsiflers adapted to the purpose are soaps or organic base salts of fatty acids, such as'the fatty acids of grapefruit seed oil, sperm oil, olive oil, coconut oil and other animal and vegetable oils, and other dispersing agents which I may use are mineral oil sulfonates.

The. foregoing compositions comprisingraw and/or sulfonated grapefruit seed oil may have included therein other animal, vegetable or mineral oils, as well as soaps, esters, amides, ketones and other suitable fatty derivatives thereof. Synthetic fatty acid esters, such as the methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, etc., alcoholic esters of lauric, capric, caprylic, oleic, stearic, palmitic, myristic, recinoleic, etc. acids, may be blended with raw and/or 'sulfonated grapefruit seed oil compositions. In general, esters of both-saturated or unsaturated fatty acids with monohydric alcohols having less than 10 carbon atoms may be used. Grapefruit seed oil may be further modified by subjecting the same to blowing according to known methods. A composition comprising blown grapefruit seed oil and a synthetic fatty acid ester of the aforementioned typeis particularly valuable in treating leather.

. Example I Grain leather either in a wet or dry condition is brushed on the grain side with grapefruit seed oil. The oil is very readily absorbed by the skin and the grain of the leather is rendered pliable and acquires a well nourished feel. Furthermore, due to the unique character of grapefruit seed oil in inhibiting oxidation the grain of the leather remains clear.

, fruit seed oil and sulfonated oil may be applied to the leather either as a dispersion or emulsion,

in the drum, paddle vat, or brushed on by hand.

' Example III In the event that it is desirable to include amine'ral oil, the following composition may be Per cent Mineral nil 50 Grapefruit seed oil 20 Sulfonated' oil 30 Example IV Grapefruit seed oil may beblended with 5-50% of a fatty acid ester such as methyl oleate, butyl stearate, ethyl ricinoleate, and the like, and applied as in Examples I and II.

Example V In the oiling or fat-'liquoring of leather and furs sulfonated grapefruit seed oil may be blended with raw grapefruit seed oil, sperm oil, olive oil or any other suitable oil.

\ Example VI I Blown grapefruit seed oil may be blended with glyceride oils, mineral oils, fatty acids, tallow. petrolatum, and the like to form products useful in the stufiing and currying of leather and furs. Alternatively, blown grapefruit seed oil may be treated with dispersing and emulsifying agents' such as soap, sulfonated oils, sulfonated fatty alcohols, and the like, to give dispersions and emulsions that may be applied to leather and furs as described in Example II.

Example VII Sulfonated grapefruit seed oil may be applied withother sulfonated oils commonly used in the oiling and fat-liquoring of leather and furs, such as sulfonated cod oil, sperm oil, neatsfoot oil and the like.

1 Example VIII In the fat liquoring of leather, the following composition has produced excellent results:

' Per cent Grapefruit seed oil 30 Sulfonated fish or other oil 60 Water 10 Irrespective of the particular uses for which the raw and/or sulfonated grapefruit seed oil compositions are to be put, the proportion of these and other constituents may be varied to suit conditions. The proportion of grapefruit seed oil or its chemical derivatives may be determined by the degree of oxidation permissible in the material under treatment and upon the degree of softness and other properties desired.

composition of matter comprising grapefruit seed oil.

4. In the treatment of leather, the step which comprises applying to leather a composition of matter comprising grapefruit seed oil and an esterof a higher fatty acid with a monohydric alcohol having less than 10 carbon atoms.

5. In the treatment of leather, the step which comprises applying to leather an emulsiflable composition of matter comprising grapefruit seed oil and an ester of a higher fatty acid with a monohydric alcohol having less than 10 carbon atoms.

'6. In the treatment of leather, the step which comprises applying to leather a composition compirilsing grapefruit seed oil and a sulfonated mate- "I. In the treatment of leather, the step which comprises applying to leather a, composition comprising sulfonated grapefruit seed oil and a product selected from the group consisting of ralvsv or sulfonated' animal, vegetable and mineral o PHILIP KAPLAN.