THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
OCTOBER,  1879. 
THE  PREPARATION  OF  CASTOR  OIL. 
By  Ernest   P.  Raab,  Ph.  G. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay. 
Castor  oil  is  obtained  in  the  United  States  by  the  following  method, 
as  witnessed  at  the  "  Belleville  Oil  Works,"  owned  by  Messrs.  Brosius 
&  Son.  The  seeds  having  been  thoroughly  cleansed  from  the  dust  and 
particles  of  the  pod,  with  which  they  are  more  or  less  contaminated, 
are  placed  in  an  iron  reservoir  and  slightly  heated.  Great  care  is  taken 
to  prevent  them  from  being  scorched,  the  object  being  only  to  make 
the  oil  more  fluid  for  expression.  The  pressing  is  now  proceeded  with 
by  means  of  hydraulic  presses,  which  are  preferred  on  account  of  the 
great  force  exerted  by  them.  Each  piece  has  a  series  of  movable 
plates  and  cylinders,  of  which  each  cylinder  is  filled,  the  plate  pushed 
in,  and  then  the  power  applied.  The  first  quality  oil  is  thus  expressed, 
and  runs  into  a  large  tank  below.  The  pressed  seeds  are  now  heaped 
into  a  pile  and  allowed  to  remain  for  a  day.  Next  day  they  are  again 
heated  in  another  iron  reservoir,  put  into  a  series  of  cylinders,  power 
is  applied,  and  the  second  quality,  or  lubricating  oil,  is  obtained.  Messrs. 
Brosius  &  Son  use  a  portion  of  their  oil  cake  for  fuel,  and  send  the 
remainder  to  the  East,  where  it  is  utilized  in  combination  with  other 
matter  to  produce  artificial  guano.  A  Philadelphia  firm,  Messrs.  Baeder, 
Adamson  &  Co.,  have  resorted  to  bisulphide  of  carbon  as  a  solvent 
from  the  press-cake,  thereby  obtaining  a  dark  thick  liquid.  The  pro- 
cess is  similar  to  that  carried  on  in  France  with  alcohol,  the  product, 
however,  being  a  very  common  lubricating  oil,  but  without  smell  of 
bisulphide  of  carbon.    The  firm  does  now  not  manufacture  any  more. 
The  oil  made  by  the  process  in  use  at  the  "  Belleville  Oil  Works" 
is  called  cold  pressed,  to  distinguish  it  from  any  of  the  other  methods 
in  which  more  heat  is  employed.  The  cold-pressed  oil  without  doubt 
deserves  the  preference,  and  is  now  extensively  used.    The  yield  per 
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