708 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



whale oil acids; but the presence of higher alcohols rendered utilization of sperm 

 oil in this direction difficult, and hence unlikely to be practiced. 



(3) The fatty alcohols (higher monobasic alcohols) were principally cetyl (sat- 

 urated) and oleyl (unsaturated). 



(4) The head oil contained nearly 30 per cent fully saturated wax esters and 

 glycerides, while blubber oil had only 2 per cent. 



(5) Head oil showed a distinct tendency for fully saturated wax esters to be 

 formed from acids and alcohols of low molecular weight. Thus the chief constitu- 

 ents of spermaceti were cetyl myristate and cetyl laurate, rather than cetyl palmi- 

 tate as generally claimed. Twenty-six per cent mixed glycerides of component 

 fatty acids were also found. 



(6) The main esters of blubber oil were evidently oleyl oleate and cetyl 

 palmitoleate (hexadecenoate), together with 34 per cent mixed triglycerides. 



(7) Head and blubber oil were heterogeneous, a characteristic frequently ob- 

 served in animal oils. 



(8) Spermaceti and sperm oil hydrogenated readily, and with sufficient de- 

 mand for a spermaceti wax either spermaceti or sperm oil could be converted 

 into more solid waxes. In hydrogenation oleyl alcohol and other combined un- 

 saturated alcohols were converted into octadecyl or other saturated alcohols con- 

 currently with the saturation of the fatty acid residues. 



(9) Completely hydrogenated spermaceti yielded a white, close-grained, more 

 solid spermaceti wax, which melted at 109° F (43° C) and had very little apparent 

 greasiness. It may have a useful outlet in industry. 



(10) Completely hydrogenated sperm oil (blubber oil) was a hard, lustrous, 

 pure white spermaceti wax melting at about 129° F (54° C). This higher melting 

 point over hydrogenated spermaceti was due to the larger amounts of octadecyl 

 alcohol and palmitic and stearic acids present. 



Spermaceti wax, when crude, is a soft, white wax, soon becoming crystalline. 

 Pure spermaceti is used for cosmetics and medicinals. 



Liver and Liver Oil. The hver of cetaceans is large: 500 to 1000 kg for the 

 larger species. It contains little oil (averaging from 2 to 5 per cent), but this oil 

 may be high in vitamin A. Vitamin D is absent or present in minute quantities only. 

 Bailey (1942) got extremely low oil amounts (1 per cent or less) from finback, 

 sperm, and beluga livers. The liver oil of all species, including sperm, is glyceridic. 



The whaling indlistry ordinarily delivers only the chopped and frozen or salted 

 livers in bulk; but some factory ships have their own equipment to extract the oil, 

 thus saving much space in transportation and storage. Ash (1947) wrote that 

 there was a loss of vitamin A on the surface of salted and frozen livers; that dry- 

 ing liver was difficult because of its sticky nature; and that the best way to pre- 

 pare liver in bulk was to mince and press it between steam heated rollers. The 

 latter process removed about 40 per cent of the 75 per cent moisture, producing 

 flakes which were sealed in drums with air removed hermetically to prevent mold 

 growth and oxidation of the vitamin A on the surface of the flakes. Processing 

 liver for oil was done on board ship by the solvent method, using trichlorethylene. 

 However, despite the greatest precautions there occurred in the processing unex- 

 plicable losses of vitamin A potency. 



The Japanese factory ships mince the liver, mix it with fresh water, cook it 



