[Ansteorra-textiles] Lanolin

[Reihla at aol.com]

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If I remember correctly, the oil skimmed off the top of your wool-wash is
actually woolgrease.  It would need to be refined into lanolin.  The trouble
with that is lanolin is a pretty complex organic compound and I can't find
any one single process by which it is extracted from woolgrease.

The best explanation I've found is that modern commercial lanolin is made by
centrifuging the woolgrease out of the wool-wash.  The woolgrease is then
distilled (I haven't found anything telling me exactly *what* chemical they
use as a solvent) then run through a series of other processes (another brick
wall so far) to yield the finished lanolin.  It must be a highly guarded
industrial secret in the cosmetic industry because I've found NOTHING
specific on it anywhere.  I *know* I learned  about this process, but I've
long since sold all my textbooks that might shed some light :(

I believe that lanolin is chemically classified as a complex "Ester".  Maybe
someone with a better chemistry background - or at least better resources
than I have at my disposal - can remember how you separate or distill an
ester so you end up with a pure product.  Or at least maybe this little bit
of information will point someone in a different direction that might
actually yield useable information :)

Kat  >^.,.^<