74 Kansas Academy of Science. 



CORN OIL. 



P.y L. E. Sayre. 



LAST year the writer had the opportunity of reading a 

 paper before the Academy on "Corn Oil as a By-product 

 from Cereal Manufacture." Emphasis was laid upon its com- 

 parative cheapness, and the paper showed that corn oil could 

 be used advantageously as a substitute for olive and cottonseed 

 oils in the making of medicinal preparations. A report was 

 made at that time on the physical properties of the oil, the 

 saponification number, iodine number, and certain other char- 

 acteristics as to solubility, congealing point, refractive index, 

 etc. The medicinal preparations resulting from its use in mak- 

 ing of liniments, plasters, cerates, oleates, etc., were mentioned. 

 In most every case where corn oil was substituted for either 

 cottonseed or olive oil a product resulted which was equal, if 

 not superior, in most particulars to those made from either 

 olive or cottonseed oil. 



During the past year an effort has been made to produce a 

 hardened product which would result by the process of hydro- 

 genation. This process consists of the use of a suitable catalyzer ; 

 for example, a freshly precipitated nickel oxide is reduced, 

 by passing a current of hydrogen through it, to a metallic 

 state. This is carried on at a temperature of 360° C. The 

 finely divided metallic nickel constitutes the catalyzer in ques- 

 tion. The nickel reduced as above is dried in an atmosphere of 

 hydrogen and is brought in contact with the oil to be hydro- 

 genated, care being taken that it shall not come in contact with 

 the action of the acid during the process. The mixture of oil 

 and nickel is then brought in close contact with hydrogen 

 through a tall cylindrical tank, and in still closer contact by 

 an adjustment to the apparatus which causes the mixture of 

 oil, catalyzer and hydrogen to flow through a narrow tube, 

 the whole being kept at a temperature of from 175° to 190° C. 

 The pressure is maintained in hydrogenation from one at- 

 mosphere, or less, to 25 pounds. Any excessive pressure is 

 liable to leakage of hydrogen, which is difficult to keep from 

 issuing through the tightest of vessels. The pressure used 

 is regulated for different oils, some requiring more than others 



