21. The Purification of Indian Sesame (Til) Oil. 
By THE LATE HasHmat Rat anp H. B. Duwnniczirr. 
INTRODUCTION. 
‘Til’ oil is used as an adulterant for ‘ ghee’ and in many 
cooking operations is used alone, especially in Burma, as a 
‘ghee’ substitute. It is used for making soap, anointing 
the body and for burning in lamps. It finds application in 
the process of dyeing silk, in painting, and in brightening 
tinctorial results. It is also used for medicinal purposes and 
substi i is e3 i 
as a lubricant. In Germany, Austria and Belgium it has, for 
some time, been a ¢ compulsory constituent of margarine 
Constituents of ‘ Til’ Oil.— Til’ (Sesame) oil consists of the 
glycerides of stearic, palmitic, oleic, and linolic acids, 78% of 
the acids being liquid. It also contains special su ubstances 
as ‘sesamol,’ ‘sesamin,’ etc. It is slightly optically active 
(d-rotatory 3° to 2°4° 
objects of the experiments undertaken were :— 
(1) to attempt to bleach the oil by methods capable 
of commercial application, 
(2) to deodorise the oil, 
(3) to harden the oil. 
udy of the available literature on the subject gives 
no scecial method which has been applied to the bleaching of 
this oil. 
Wor s been done on the hydrogenisation of the oil 
showin that sesame oil, by reduction with hydrogen in 
presence of a catalyst, can be converted into a hard tallow 
e cor of any desired iodine value according to the 
treatment. The successful method was an application of that 
due to Saiie and Senderens using finely divided nickel as a 
catalyst (Lewkowitsch). 
EXPERIMENTAL. 
Before the cog tare of this problem was suggested to 
us by a Chemical ooh r to the Indian Munitions Board, 
Hashmat Rai had co ler a research on the subject in- 
Frere sedlr and the scpiniinenste described under “ Til Oil A”’ 
were conducted by him. The samples prepared in this way 
were examined after some four months. The value of this 
