THE CHEMIST AND DEUGGIST OF AUSTEALASIA. May 1, 1887. 
NAME OF DRUG, CHEMICAL, 
PREPARATION, &c. 
(AH proprietary articles are italicised.) 
Victorian City. 
Melbourne ^ 
Suburb. 9 3 
Victorian ® g* 
Watering-place 
)f th 
ousa 
3 « 
o o 
25 
Queensland 5 S 
; Towns. 1 
Brisbane. ^ 
1 Number of times in 
10,000. 
Vinum Pepsin® 
6 
3 
6 
25 
„ Rhei 
1 
1.6 
„ Xericum . . 
12 
20 
Zinci Acetas 
2 
8 
„ Arsenias 
1 
1.6 
„ Chloridum 
1 
1 
6 
6 
23 
„ Oleas 
4 
7 
„ Oxidnm . . 
4 
5 
20 
3 
3 
8 
72 
„ Sulphas 
16 
21 
10 
22 
9 
8 
143 
„ Sulphocarbolas 
12 
20 
„ Valerianas 
3 
5 
3 
Zingiberis Pulvis 
2 
2 
4 
SI 
We must reserve our comments on these figures for a later issue. 
(To be Continued.) 
THE PREPAEATION OF LANOLIN. 
This article is the subject of two patents; one, No. 4,992, 
filed on October 20, 1882, for Dr. Otto Braun and Dr. Oscar 
Liebreich — “A new or improved manufacture of fatty matter 
from Wool-fat and a second, No. 326, dated January 8, 
1887, filed by Abel and Imrie, patent agents, on behalf of the 
inventor. Apparently it is not patented in Australia, but the 
name, Lanolin, has been registered as a trade mark in the 
United Kingdom by Burroughs, Wellcome & Co., and so 
cannot be used. 
We now give the text of the patents. 
(1882. No. 4992.) 
Lanolin is a combination of pure wool-fat with water, 
forming an opaque white pasty mass which is insoluble in 
water, and, when heated, separates into water and wool-fat. 
At ordinary temperatures, the wool-fat, being stirred, will 
again absorb the water, again forming “ Lanolin.” This same 
property of separating into water and wool-fat is also possessed 
by Lanolin when-heated in water. Under the microscope it 
shows itself to be a homogeneous mass. 
Many attempts have already been made to obtain as pure a 
fat as possible from the raw wool-fat or from the wool-washing 
water. The methods used until now are, however, insufficient, 
as, in the best case, the end product obtained was a sour, 
unpleasant smelling fat, which, when Benzine, Petroleum, 
Ether, or the like were used for its extraetion, retained, in 
addition, the smell of the extracting medium. 
The cause of this bad result is partly from the carbonic 
acid which is always given off by the decomposition of the 
alkaline liquids, and attaches itself in small bubbles to the little 
particles of dirt which adhere to the fat, and carries up a great 
portion of heavy earthy admixtures of the fat, so that there is 
formed upon the sour liquid, a dirty, muddy mass, from which 
fat can only be obtained by pressing under heat. Added to 
this, lyes, during the operation, pass over into putrid fermen- 
tation, causing not only annoyance to the neighbourhood of 
the factory, but also imparting, to the fat obtained, an obnox- 
ious smell which cannot be removed. This method of working, 
moreover, requires considerable space and a considerable 
quantity of acid, because the earthy portions containing 
always lime or silicates that are decomposible, require to be 
saturated with the acids necessary for the separating of the 
fats. Besides this, there is a loss of material due to the 
portion of the fat which remains in the press-cakes. 
By the following methods, are obtained : — 
1st. Means for the separation of the dirt and unsaponified 
fat from each other, and from the soapy water before the 
latter has been decomposed by acid. 
2nd. Means of obtaining “ Lanolin,” a hitherto unknown 
compound, which is a combination of purified wool-fat and 
water, whose properties are described above. 
The special method is as follows : — 
The still fresh undecomposd lye passes through a depositing 
centrifugal machine, in which the dirt and the fat are 
separated from each other while the cleansed soap liquor is 
continually drawn off by means of a pipe, and led direct into 
the vat which serves for acidifioationl 
The raw ‘ Lanolin ” thus obtained, is thoroughly kneaded 
by suitable machinery with cold flowing water, until the. 
water which fiows away is as clear as the inflowing water. 
The raw “Lanolin” is then heated with water, whereby it is 
decomposed into the elements, water and fat. The latter is 
skimmed off from the surface and cooled, and can then be again 
operated upon in the centrifugal machine in ^ a melted' 
condition for further purification, or it can be dissolved in 
ether, ethjd, or methylated spirits, or other solvent, and the 
solution can be separated from the residue by filtration or 
other means. 
The solvents can afterwards be recovered by treatment in 
suitable stills ; the fat so cleansed is thoroughly kneaded for 
a long time with water, with which it combines to make a 
perfectly white, neutral, inodourous unguent. This product, 
which in no way discloses its origin, is termed Lanolin. 
From the mud deposited in the lowest part of the centri- 
fugal machine, a still further portion of Lanolin can ba 
obtained, by stirring the same up with clean or salt water, 
and again working it in the centrifugal machine, or extracting 
it either in a wet or dry condition by means of a solvent, after 
which it is treated as above. 
Instead of utilising the wool-washing water for the produc- 
tion of Lanolin, raw or cleansed commercial wool-fat may be 
directly treated for this purpose. 
In this case the wool-fat is stirred with water, NaOCO* 
NaOHO, soap or any alkali, or a mixture of these or other 
substances to form a thin milk, and is then subjected to the 
above-described treatment. 
(1886. No. 321.) 
The present improvements upon the said process have for 
their object, on the one hand, to effect the purification of the 
raw Lanolin, obtained in a new manner, and to render possible 
the manufacture of Lanolin or anhydrous lanolin direct from 
the commercial wool-fat. For the purification of the raw 
lanolin, the following method may be employed in place of 
that described in patent 4992 ; — In order to obtain the lanolin 
or the intermediate product, the anhydrous lanolin, which is 
converted into lanolin by the so-called “ ianolising,” that is 
to say by the addition of water, the precipitate obtained by 
the above mentioned means, from the wool-washing waters or 
the artificial emulsion liquid, is separated from the liquid, 
partly or entirely dried, and then either (a) treated with such 
solvents as will dissolve the entire precipitate or with such 
solvents as will only dissolve the fat and will leave the soaps 
undissolved. As instances of the solvents of the category a, 
may be mentioned benzine, benzole, xylol, toluol, isobutyl, 
alcohol, amyl alcohol, sulphide of carbon ; these dissolve the 
fat and the existing soaps and leave the impurities undis- 
solved. In order to obtain wool-fat in pure condition from 
these solutions, it is only necessary to add thereto acetone. 
By this means the existing soaps are separated out while the 
fat remains in solution. From these solutions the fat 
is obtained by distilling off the solvent thus obtaining free 
lanolin (lanolinum anhydricum). Instead of completely 
carrying out the distillation, it may be stopped at any desired 
point, when, on cooling, a larger or smaller portion of the fat 
will separate out. This separation may also be effected in a 
greater or smaller degree without any distillation by means of 
a corresponding reduction of temperature of the solutions. 
The principal examples of the category b of solvents are ether 
and, principally, acetone. In particular, the latter possesses 
the property of completely dissolving the wool-fat, and leaving 
undissolved the soaps. Already in the cold a certain portion 
of the wool-fat is dissolved, but this is more effectually carried 
out under heating, and this process has the particular advan- 
tage that all other dirt or impurities existing in the wool-fat 
remain directly in the soap residue. By distilling off the 
solvents, the anhydrous lanolin is then obtained, which is 
then either directly brought into commerce as such, or ia 
treated with water, as described in the patent 4992, in order 
to obtain the end product, lanolin. In place of the natural 
emulsioned wool-washing waters or of the artificial emulsion 
prepared from wool-fat, the commercial wool-fat may also be 
directly submitted to the above-described methods of extrac- 
tion by means of the solvents mentioned under a and b so 
long as, in the first place, the fatty acids, contained in the 
commercial wool-fats, are converted into the corresponding 
soaps of the alkalies, alkaline earths, or heavy metallic oxides. 
This latter is effected by heating the commercial wool-fat to 
the melting point, and then, treating it wiih alkalies, alkaline 
earths, or their hydrates, 'or the oxides of the heavy metals, 
