The Making of Lanoline.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 37, 15 May 1917, Page 2

The Making of Lanoline.

The Australian Minister for Customs recently called attention to the waste of millions of pounds of lanoiine from the numerous wool scouring establishments in the Commonwealth. The subject had previously been dealt with by Mr. J. Brownlee Henderson, Government Analyst of Queensland, ! who pointed out that lanoiine existed in wool to the extent of 14 per cent. The German wholesale price for lanoiine at that time —not the mixture of lanoiine, vaseline and water sold in collapsible tubes—was lid. per pound, so that from this source a very large quantity of material must have been thrown away in Australian wool scours. “Personally,” said Mr. Henderson, “I think there is certainly a fair margin of profit showing here. It is not at all likely that a process which is worked successfully and well known in Germany would cost a great deal more to work here with such a store of raw material to hand.” Mr. Henderson also called at-* tention to the presence of water soluble potash salts in wool. From raw wool he showed that from 7 per cent, to 10 per cent, was obtainable without damaging the wool. In some Continental countries it paid handsomely to extract the salts before washing the wool, and evaporating the solution, but he thought that the evaporation could be much more cheaply accomplished by the dry air of Western Queensland than by artificial means in Europe. These statements have caused considerable interest in Australia, where the possibility of establishing a new industry In the making of lanoiine is being seriously discussed.