152 PHILIPPINE RESINS, GUMS, AND OILS 



kapok oil in Marseilles for soap making, the American Per- 

 fumer * states : 



* * * The seed is treated in two mills, both of which are chiefly 

 devoted to the crushing of other seeds. Only one pressing is the rule, 

 although in some cases hot water is poured over the residue, which is then 

 pressed again. The oil is then filtered, but it requires neither bleaching, 

 deodorizing, nor any other treatment. In the Marseilles mills the average 

 yield in oil from this seed is about 15 per cent. The price of the oil 

 follows closely that of industrial peanut oil. It takes about 16^ pounds 

 of kapok to make a gallon of oil. 



Lewkowitsch f says the seeds have the following average 

 composition : 



Per cent. 



Oil 24.20 



Water 11.85 



Ash 5.22 



Crude fiber 23.91 



Albuminoids 18.92 



Carbohydrates, etc - 15.90 



Experiments carried out by the Philippine Bureau of Agricul- 

 ture indicate that the fresh cake is valuable as stock food. Ac- 

 cording to Richmond and del Rosario % the product much resem- 

 bles ground linseed in food value. 



Kapok oil has the following constants (Lewkowitsch) : f 



Specific gravity at 15° C 0.9235 



Solidifying point 29.6° 



Saponification value (Mgrms KOH) 181-205 



Iodine value 117.9 



Maumene test 95 



Refractive index 51.3 



The oil consists of a mixture of fatty acids, about 70 per cent 

 of which is liquid, while 30 per cent is palmitic acid, which is 

 a solid. 



Ceiba pentandra is a slender tree 15 meters or less in height. 

 The trunk is armed with large, scattered spines. The branches 

 are borne in horizontal whorls which are very characteristic. 

 The capsules are about 15 centimeters long, and 5 centimeters 

 thick. They contain black seeds imbedded in fine, silky hairs. 



* The American Perfumer, Volvmie 10 (1915-1916), page 298. 

 t Lewkowitsch, J., Oils, fats, and waxes (1915). 



t Richmond, G. F. and Rosario, M. V. del. Commercial utilization of 

 some Philippine oil-bearing seeds: preliminary paper. Philippine Journal 

 of Science, Volume 2 (1907), page 445. 



