23.3 West and Gonzaga: Hydrogenation of Philippine Oils 279 



pletely some Philippine oils with a nickel catalyst and compare 

 the results obtained by experiment with the theoretical results 

 estimated from the composition of the oils. As the results 

 obtained were satisfactory, it may be of interest to describe in 

 detail the hydrogenation apparatus and the experimental pro- 

 cedure we used. In these experiments on the catalytic hydro- 

 genation of Philippine oils we varied both the interval of time 

 and the concentration of the catalyst. 



METHOD AND APPARATUS 



Although a large amount of experimental work has been done 

 on the catalytic hydrogenation of oils, much of the literature on 

 this subject is in the form of technical patents which give only 

 a very brief and inadequate description of the hydrogenation 

 process. Not a great deal has been written concerning the ex- 

 perimental details of simple laboratory methods of catalytic 

 hydrogenation which would enable us to ascertain readily the 

 comparative absorption of hydrogen by different kinds of oils. 



The method employed in this investigation was similar to 

 that generally used in hydrogenating nonvolatile oils. The oil 

 containing the catalyst was stirred thoroughly, while hydrogen 

 gas was passed into the agitated mixture, which was heated to 

 a temperature of 180°. 



The hydrogen gas was prepared by treating chemically pure 

 zinc with dilute sulphuric acid. The gas was purified by passing 

 through a Drechsel wash bottle containing dilute potassium 

 hydroxide solution, and through another containing fairly con- 

 centrated potassium permanganate solution, after which it was 

 passed through four cylinders containing anhydrous, granular 

 calcium chloride, and finally into the vessel containing the mix- 

 ture of oil and catalyst. 



Before reduction, the catalyst consisted of a mixture of pre- 

 cipitated nickel carbonate and infusorial earth. It was prepared 

 by dissolving 400 grams of recrystallized nickel nitrate in water 

 and adding 90 grams of infusorial earth, after which a solution 

 containing 180 grams of powdered sodium carbonate was added. 

 The mixture was stirred thoroughly, and filtered. The residue 

 was washed thoroughly until free from carbonate, spread out 

 on a porous plate, and heated in an electric oven at a tempera- 

 ture of 80° until dry, after which the dried material was pow- 

 dered and kept in a glass-stoppered bottle until ready for use. 

 Since the composition of precipitated nickel carbonate varies 

 somewjiat according to the method of preparation, and usually 



