322 Professor Arthur W. Crossley [Feb. 5, 



Despite the lari^e amount of work which has been done on the 

 hardening of fats, the literature on the subject is very meagre,* and 

 almost the only information which is forthcoming is in numerous 

 patentst with which it is quite impossible to deal in detail on the 

 present occasion. A brief description of the processes and forms of 

 apparatus employed is to be found in a paper by Carleton Ellis 

 (J.S.C.I., 1912, xxxi. 1,155 ; Journ. Ind. Eng. Chem., 1913, v. 95). 



There is, however, one patent (Lessing,Eng. Pat. 18,988, 1912) not 

 mentioned in Carleton Ellis's paper which appears to differ materially 

 from others, more particularly in the novel method for bringing 

 catalyst and oil into contact. 



According to this process hydrogen containing 5-10 per cent of 

 carbon monoxide, such as may easily be prepared from water gas, or 

 the thermal decomposition of coal gas or hydrocarbons, is passed 

 over reduced nickel, with formation of nickel carbonyl. The nickel 

 need not be pure, but in the form of such complex mixtures as are 

 obtained in the treatment and reduction of nickel ores. The mixture 

 of hydrogen and any desired proportion of nickel carbonyl is then 

 passed into the substance to be hydrogenated at a temperature of 

 between 200° and 240°, when the nickel carbonyl is decomposed and 

 elementary nickel, in a very pure and particularly active form, is pro- 

 duced. The proportion of nickel carbonyl required is very small, 

 excellent results having been obtained with an amount equivalent to 

 0*1 part of nickel per 100 parts of oil. Fresh nickel carbonyl is 

 always passing into the substance to be hydrogenated, and the nickel 

 is believed to act in the nascent condition at the moment of decom- 

 position of the nickel carbonyl. This seems to be borne out by the 

 fact that if the same percentage of nickel be introduced into an oil as 

 nickel carbonyl, the latter decomposed and then hydrogen passed in, 

 there is practically no result from the commercial point of view. 

 (Compare Carleton Ellis, p. 1,160 ; Shukoff's Ger. Pat. 211,823, 

 1910.) 



The process of hydrogenation gives rise to fats of any desired 

 degree of hardness, which are used at the present time pruuarily for 

 soap-making. It is stated that the soaps produced are very hard and 

 do not lather well, but this objection would not appear to be of a 



* Since these lines were written, the following book has appeared : " The 

 Hydcogenation of Oils," by Carleton Ellis, Constable & Co., London, 1914. 



t English Patents.— 1,515, 1903: 2,520 and 13,042, 1907; 9,112, 1908; 7,726 

 8,752, 29,612, and 30,282, 1910; 5,188, 13,519, 15,439, 25,326, and 15,440,1911; 

 4,702, 5,773, 18,232, 18,310, 18,996, 18,998, 22,092, 23,377, 23,643, 24,084, 72, 

 and 28,754, 1912 ; 10,204, and 16,283, 1913. 



German Patents.— 211,669, 1909 ; 221,890, 1910 : 236,488, 1911 ; 260,885, 

 and 256,500, 1913. 



French Patents.— A50,10S, 1912 ; 458,445, 1913. 



U.S. Patents.— l,004:,OS4:, and 1,004,035, 1911 ; 1,040,531, 1,040,532, and 

 1,043,580, 1912 ; 1,059,720, 1,058,738, and 1,060,673, 1913. 



