US2308355A

US2308355A - Lubricant for textiles and the like

Info

Publication number: US2308355A
Application number: US377401A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ivor M Colbeth
Original assignee: Baker Castor Oil Co
Current assignee: Baker Castor Oil Co
Priority date: 1940-07-17
Filing date: 1941-02-04
Publication date: 1943-01-12
Anticipated expiration: 1960-01-12

Description

Patented 1.... 12, 1943 LUBRICANT FOR TEXTILES THE LIKE Ivor M. Colbeth, Maplewood, N. .L, assignor to The Baker Castor Oil Company, Jersey. City, N. .L, a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Original application July 17., 1940, Serial No. 346,024. Divided and this application February 4, 1941, Serial No. 377,401

- Claims. (01. 252-843) This invention relates to the production of 11-12 or 12-13 oleic glycerides, or a mixture of them. The resulting product possesses a high degree of purity. It is particularly useful as a softening agent or lubricant for textile products, although its use is not limited to this particular purpose. Reference is made to my Patent 2,225,552, where a procedure is described by which a rather heterogeneous mixture of products is produced. By the present invention a synthetic glyceride is produced which is almost chemically pure and is particularly useful as a lubricant for textiles and'the like. This is a division of my application Serial No. 346,024, filed July 17, 1940.

Heretofore objections and difficulties have been encountered when different sorts of oils have been used as lubricants for textiles. Among the objections that have arisen havebeenfthe development of rancidity in the oils or discoloration of the textiles by the oil or both. Some of the oils that have-been used for this purpose are diflicult to remove, some are quite expensive and some do not possess the desired lubricating properties. 7

Olive oil has heretofore .proven to be one of the most satisfactory oils for lubricating textiles as it possesses great lubricating power which enables the fibers that are lubricated with it to slide over each other quite easily, and at the same time its viscosity, specific gravity and iodine value are such as to make it suitable for this purpose.

However, olive oil is not entirely satisfactory as a textile lubricant. Some of the objections to it are: it is not colorless as it contains iron and chlorphyl so that there is a tendency to stain the fabric, especially white fabrics; it possesses a noticeable odor that is not pleasing to everyone so that the use is objectionable where the odor is offensive; and the source of supply of olive oil is largely in foreign countries and the price thereof varies considerably from time to time.

Castor oil has also been used as a lubricant for textiles but is not entirely satisfactory for this, purpose because it will become rancid due to oxidation that forms by-products such as i oil, and at the same time it does not become rancid, it is light in color or practically water white and does not become yellow with age so that it will not stain fabrics, it is free from ingredients that form crystals or hard particles 5 at lowered temperatures, it does not become oxidized at temperatures considerably above room temperature even in the presence of moisture, and it can be cheaply manufactured.

The lubricating oil for textiles produced by the present invention is liquid at approximately 26 C. It gradually, solidifies below this temperature The specific gravity,

into a soft lard-like mass. and iodine value are approximately thoseof olive oil, and at the same time this oil does not 15 become rancid. It is light in color or practically oil for use in the oiling tr wool.

In carrying out this invention castor oil is first hydrogenated in the presence of a hydrogenating catalyst at such a temperature and pressure as to preserve intact the hydroxyl groups in the ricinoleic acid radicals of the oil.

This temperature is in the neighborhood of 285 C., and palladium has been found to be one of the best catalysts to effect this sort of hydrogenation. The temperature to be used can be easily determined by making tests and examining the hydroxyl value of the products. It is to be clearly understood that no stearic acid is desired as a result of the hydrogenation, and therefore every precaution should be taken to keep the reaction conditions such as. to avoid the conversion of ricinoleic acid radicals into stearic acid radicals. It has usually been found'that with temperatures above 285 C- hydrogenation takes place with the formation of stearic acid 40 radicals, and with lower temperatures very little hydrogenation takes place. Increased pressures speed up the reaction and may be as high as 1 5 or 20 atmospheres. Q After the hydrogenation step the resulting product is freed from the catalyst by filtering. -It

is a wax which melts at approximately 76 to 80 C. At this stage the product is colorless.

when molten and is pure white in solid form.

The next step in the process consists in removing the hydroxyl group that is present on each hydroxy stearic acid radical of the glyceride. Since this hydroxy group is located on the 12th carbon atom, its removal by dehydroxyl ation will result in an oleic acid radical having the double bond between the 11th and 12th carbon atoms or between the 12th and 13th carbon atoms. The hydroxyl connected to the 12th carbon atom and a hydrogen atom connected to an adjacent carbon atom are removed. Since 00 the reaction cannot be controlled to such a degree of accuracy that one form of the oleic acid glyceride is produced to the exclusion of the other, there is always present a mixture of the two sorts of oleic acid radical. The proportion of these two oleic acid radicals depends to some extent upon the catalyst used and the temperature or dehydroxylation as well as the pressure.

A convenient procedure to use in dehydrating the hydroxy stearic acid radicals by removing a hydroxyl group and a hydrogen atom is to melt hydrogenated castor oil and pump it into a stainless steel tank. The temperature is then raised very rapidly in about an hour by means of electrical heaters, for example, to about 260 C. A dehydroxylating catalyst such as sulphuric acid, sodium acid sulphate, phosphoric acid, or B203, for example, dissolved in water so as to form a clear solution is then slowly added as a catalyst to the molten material, preferably while a vacuum of from mm. to 4 mm. is maintained, although maintenance of a vacuum is not absolutely necessary. The higher the vacuum the better is the color of the resulting product, and

.the moi'imapidly the reaction is brought to com- Rifetiominiihe addition of the catalyst is continued lllitll the iodine value of the product-has reachedrapproximately 75 to 85, or about the same as the original castor oil. The batch is then cooled to about 100 C. and filtered with the aid of fuller's earth, absorbent charcoal, etc. It is desirable to eflfect the cooling of the finished batch in a reasonably short time, because better control of the color can be obtained thereby and polymerization and other side reactions are greatly decreased or avoided.

The product produced by this invention appears to be a nearly pure chemical compound due to the fact that dehydroxylation is effected with a compound that has only one double bond in each acid radical, so that uncertainty of what the dehydroxylated compound is is avoided as compared to the uncertainty of what the final compound is when compounds having more than one double bond are dehydroxylated.

The dehydrated hydrogenated product produced in accordance with this invention is oi a light color and contains only a small amount of stearic acid, if any, but due to the higher melting point oi 11-12 and 12-13 oleic acid glyceride it is liquid above 26 C. and will slowly set to a lard-like consistency at temperatures below 26 C. The mass, however, never solidifies into a hard wax-like solid, but can be easily liquefied, and may even be pumped at temperatures below 26 C. without great difllculty.

Due to the elimination of the hydroxyl in this product, oxidation products thereof do not have a strong rancid odor as it the case with castor oil. Even if this product should be come oxidized, the products of oxidation are stable and tree from odor due to the fact that a hydrocarbon, which is odorless, is split oil instead of an aldehyde, which has an unpleasant odor. This aproduct, therefore, makes possible the use of a castor oil product in the wool industry as it does not become rancid andis free from objectionable odors which wool would absorb.

Another one or the uses to which this product may be put is as the basic material for sulphonation to produce .sulpho-oleates or sodium salts of sulphonic acids. In this condition the product dissolves very readily in water and is stable to hard water without the precipitation of calcium soaps. In general, when it is sulphonated it possesses the properties of olive oil. The product may b dissolved in mineral oil as a means of improving the lubricating qualities of mineral oil. Due to its resistance to oxidation and polymerization it may then be used as a textile lubricant, as it will not cause gumming of metal parts through which yarn passes, or of any machinery on which the product is used.

Another use of this product is for the preparation of an emulsion in water. An emulsion can be made by mixing the product with water and adding enough borax to form an emulsion. The proportions of this product and borax will vary, depending upon the use to which it is put. The borax causes partial saponiflcation of the oil to take place, and the subsequent emulsification of the unsaponified oil is efiected by the soap that is present in the mixture. In this condition it can be used to oil wool in the usual manner without danger of spontaneous combustion occurring when the yarn .5 dry. It can be easily removed from fabric by washing in hot water, and acts in some measure as a detergent.

About percent of castor oil consists of the glyceride of ricinoleic acid which has one double bond between the 9th and 10th carbon atoms and a hydroxyl group connected to the 12th carbon atom. The hydrogenation step described above saturates the' double bond between the 9th and 10th carbon atoms, and, when the hydrogenation is properly carried out. very little ifjany of the hydroxy groups are removed; The "subsequent dehydratmnstep removes the hydroxy groups and an adjacent hydrogen atom attached either to the 11th or'l3th carbon atom in- -the chain. This enables aglyceride of rather uniform com position to be 4*prod1'1ced. Usually there is'not more than about 15;;to 17 percent of stearic acid formed which :is "not an :excessive famount. Whenever the presence of stearic acid is objectionable it can be removed by cold filtration and fractional crystallization. f 1

What is claimed is:

l. A lubricant for textiles and the like, comprising a synthetic oleic glyceride substantially free from hydroxyl groups and having substantially all double bonds connected to the 12th carbon atoms in the'oleic radicals.

2. A lubricant for'textiles and the like, comprising a synthetic oleic glyceride substantially free from hydroxyl groups and having substan. tially all double bonds connected to the 12th carbon atoms in the oleic radicals, said lubricant having a melting point of about 26 C. r

3. A lubricant for textiles and the like, comprising a synthetic oleic glyceride substantially free from hydroxyl groups and having substantially all double bonds connected to the 12th carbon atoms in the oleic radicals, said lubricant having a, melting point of about 26 C. and gradually solidifying below this temperature into a soft lard-like mass.

4. A lubricant for textiles and the like, comprising a synthetic oleic glyceride substantially free from hydroxyl groups and having substantially all double bonds connected to the 12th carbon atoms in the oleic radicals, said lubricant being soluble in mineral oil.

5. A lubricant for textiles and the like, comprising a synthetic oleic glyceride substantially free from hydroxyl groups and having substantially all double bonds connected to the 12th carbon atoms in the oleic radicals, said lubricant being resistant to oxidation and polymerization.