f — 125 — 



Safrol. We continue to manufacture safrol upon the largest imaginable 

 scale, and as we are consequently in a position to utilise to the full all the 

 advantages of an extensive plant, we are able to make very advantageous 

 offers of this article, which not only forms the raw material of a whole 

 series of synthetic perfumes, but also occupies a prominent position in 

 soap-manufacture and in the preparation of numerous technical products. 

 If we maintain our prices, the reason is that in spite of our enormous 

 output we are scarcely ever able to accumulate stock, the demand generally 

 exceeding the capacity of our plant. 



Storax. To test the purity cf storax, C. Ahrens 1 ) makes use of its 

 property of being partly soluble in light petroleum. After freeing the 

 balsam under examination as far as possible from its adherent water by 

 means of filtering paper, Ahrens levigates from 4 to 5 g. (exactly weighed) 

 with about the same quantity of washed-out sand. The mixture is then 

 kneaded in a triturating-dish with light petroleum (b. p. 70°; di 5 o 0,65), 

 constantly renewed, until the light petroleum ceases to absorb any soluble 

 matter. Owing to the toughness of the mass this kneading-process is a 

 little troublesome at first, but when the mass has been worked up several 

 times with benzine it gradually begins to crumble and finally to powder 

 and then is readily levigable. The entire extract of light petroleum 

 (totalling from 350 to 400 cc.) is filtered in two separate portions into 

 a tared wide-necked flask of about 250 cc. capacity, the light petroleum 

 being distilled off on the water bath as far as possible. The flask is then 

 placed on a heated oven for the purpose of removing the last traces of 

 the light petroleum, a manipulation which can be hastened by spreading 

 the contents at the walls of the flask. The drying is continued until 

 constancy of weight is attained; this detail being checked every quarter 

 of an hour. 



When the storax is pure the residue thus obtained is pale yellow, 

 extremely viscous, possessing an agreeable odour and strongly refractive 

 of light. A pronounced adulteration with colophony is indicated by a dark 

 colour and by the fact that the residue has ceased to be fluent. 



For further examination of the storax the determination of the acid 

 and saponification values of the light petroleum extract is recommended. 

 The residue is dissolved in about 30 cc. of cold, neutral 95 p. c. alcohol, 

 and the solution is first neutralised with alcoholic seminormal potash 

 liquor to determine the acid value. The ester value is estimated by adding 

 a further 25 cc. of potash liquor, leaving the well-closed flask to stand 

 for 24 hours and titrating back the unconsumed liquor with seminormal 

 sulphuric acid. 



In the course of testing a series of storax samples, Ahrens obtained 

 a light petroleum extract varying from 37,6 to 47,7 p. c. of the original 



!) Ztitschr. /. off. Chem. 18 (1912), 267. Quoted from Apotheker Ztg. 27 (1912), 651. 



