Glycerin

“ Manufacture.—The simplest modes of preparing pure glycerin are based on the saponification of fats, either by alkalis or by superheated steam, and on the circumstance that, although glycerin cannot be distilled by itself under the ordinary pressure without decomposition, it can be readily volatilized in a current of superheated steam. ”

“ During the fermentation it is necessary to neutralize the acetic acid formed with sodium or calcium carbonate. It was estimated that glycerin could be made from waste sugars at about a quarter of its war-time cost, but it is doubtful whether the process would be profitable at normal prices.
We can, if we like, dispense with either yeast or bacteria in the production of glycerin. Glucose syrup suspended in oil under steam pressure with finely divided nickel as a catalyst and treated with nascent hydrogen [Pg 195] will take up the hydrogen and be converted into glycerin. ”

“ Moreover, glycerin prevents the decomposition of the preparations and keeps them unchanged for a long time. This quality has a value which should not be underestimated; for all emulsions are very apt to decompose and become rancid owing to the finely divided fat they contain. Under ordinary conditions, only complete protection against light and air can retard rancidity, which is accompanied by a disagreeable odor not to be masked by any perfume; an addition of glycerin, which we incorporate in all emulsions, makes them more permanent owing to the antiseptic property of this substance. ”

“ Upon being allowed to settle, the mixture separates into two layers. The denser glycerin separates rapidly, and if the essence has been mixed with alcohol, this is dissolved in the glycerin, the augmentation in the volume of glycerin showing the proportion of alcohol present.
This species of adulteration is very common, as it is a general practice of the druggists to add a little of the strongest rectified spirit to their oils, to render them transparent, especially in cold weather. Oil of cassia is nearly always treated in this way. ”

“ In the manufacture glycerin is dropped in a very thin stream into a mixture of 3 parts of nitric (sp. gr. 1.5) and 5 parts of sulphuric acid (sp. gr. 1.84) , the containing vessel being cooled by a water jacket and the acid mixture agitated by a stream of cooled air, the temperature being kept at about 15° C. A considerable excess of acids is necessary for the completion and safety of the reaction, usually about 8 parts of the acid mixture to 1 of glycerin. The higher the strength of the acids the higher the yield of nitroglycerin and the smaller the loss by solution in the waste acids. ”

“ Every hour he must let in some seven hundred pounds of glycerin upon the deadly acid, and every hour he must draw off some fifteen hundred pounds of nitroglycerin and let it go splashing away in a yellowish stream down the long, uncovered trough that leads to the separating-house yonder. From this separating-house runs another trough to the freezing-house, and a third to the distant mixing-house. These three troughs inclose an oblong space, at the corners of which stand the nitrating-house, the separating-house, and the freezing-house. ”

“ Crude glycerin is produced by about 200 soap makers and by about 12 producers of fatty acids. Soap factories are located in more than half the States, the principal ones being in Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, California, and Pennsylvania; the fatty acid plants are located in five or six States, Ohio being of chief importance. Most of the smaller producers sell their output of crude glycerin. Refiners of glycerin are few in number compared to the producers of crude. ”

“ In such a case, by pushing back a little wooden peg in the glass jar, the flow of glycerin is lessened, and by stirring with the glass tube the nitrous vapors dispelled. Should the engine also stop working by any unforseen circumstance, the current of air will of course be stopped, when the mixture will take fire. In this case, it is necessary to stir the mixture, and at once stop the flow of glycerin. When the glycerin and acid is all mixed, and the nitrous fumes cease to appear, the Nitro-Glycerin from each pitcher is dumped into a large tank of water, at a temperature of 70°, about 450 lbs. ”

“ Glycerin is soluble in water, and, of course, the less water that can be used the better. When the water and fat are put in a single vessel there is only a single surface of contact. By the use of a series of trays, such as the patent of 1860 provided for, and the establishment of opposite currents of fat and water, the contact of the water and fat is greatly extended, and hence less water suffices. ”

“ One draws the acid, another weighs it, and a third carries it to the troughs. After an interval during which the acids cool, three men attend closely to the converting of glycerin into Tri-Nitro-Glycerin, knowing that their safety, and the safety of every man on the works, depends on themselves alone, during this process. ”

“ If a small fragment of tuberculous tissue be pounded in a sterile mortar and smeared over the surface of inspissated blood-serum solidified at a comparatively low temperature, and if evaporation be prevented, dry scaly growths make their appearance at the end of some fourteen days. If these be reinoculated through several generations, they ultimately assume a more saprophytic character, and will grow in broth containing 5% of glycerin, or on a peptone beef-agar to which a similar quantity of glycerin has been added. ”

“ It is also employed for the preservation of anatomical preparations, and for mounting microscopic specimens; as well as for rendering wooden casks impervious to petroleum or other oils; as well as for the preparation of artificial oil of mustard, or sulpho-cyan-allyl, which is made by treating glycerin with iodide of phosphorus, whereby iodide of allyl is formed, which on being dissolved in alcohol, and next distilled with sulpho-cyanide of potassium, yields sulpho-cyan-allyl. When treated with concentrated nitric acid, glycerin yields nitro-glycerin. ”

“ Dynamite glycerine should be free from arsenic, lime, chlorides, and fatty acids, the inorganic matter should not amount to more than 0.1 per cent., and a portion diluted and treated with nitrate of silver solution should give no turbidity or discoloration in ten minutes. The specific gravity should be 1.262 at 15° C. (59° F.) and the colour somewhat yellow.
Chemically pure glycerine or double distilled glycerine is produced by redistilling "once distilled" glycerine. Every care is taken to avoid all fractions which do not withstand the nitrate of silver test. ”

“ According to the label on a trade package, Glycozone is “prepared only by Charles Marchand, chemist,” and is {“}an absolute cure for dyspepsia, catarrh of the stomach, ulcer of the stomach, heart-burn,” etc. The label further reads: “This remedy is positively harmless. By destroying the microbian element in the stomach it prevents the fermentation of food and stimulates digestion.” An examination of medical literature fails to reveal any basis for these claims. While glycerin possesses some antiseptic properties, it is evident that the glycerin which constitutes 90 per cent. ”

“ When you are using glycerine, this should have been well worked up and added when a portion of the flour has been worked in, although if your butter is strong enough it is better to work the glycerine in when sugar is being mixed, but if your butter is any way soft this should not be done. In using glycerine too large quantities should not be used. The same is true of glucose, which if used in small quantities is an advantage, but when too large quantities are used most disastrous results are obtained. ”

“ The writer has not mounted a preparation in glycerine or a medium containing it for many years, nor, with proper staining, does he think it can ever be necessary to do so, except in the case of dissections in which the glycerine can be slowly run in without disturbing the arrangement, as spirit would be pretty sure to do. The harder portions of plants, woody stems, shells of fruit, or the like, require different treatment, and must, as a rule, be allowed to dry thoroughly before being cut.
Starch granules are somewhat troublesome to mount satisfactorily. ”

“ Hæmatoxylin and carmine preparations may be mounted either in glycerine or balsam. (Canada balsam dissolved in chloroform is the ordinary mounting medium.) In using glycerine it is sometimes necessary to add the glycerine gradually, allowing the water to slowly evaporate, as otherwise the specimens will sometimes collapse owing to the too rapid extraction of the water from the cells. Aniline colors, as a rule, will not keep in glycerine, the color spreading and finally fading entirely, so that with most of them the specimens must be mounted in balsam. ”

“ Expose mixture to air and light for 3-4 days; filter; then add 100 cc. of glycerin and 100 cc. of 95 per cent alcohol, and filter. Expose to light until solution is dark enough, then keep in tightly-stoppered bottle. It is a strong stain, and may be diluted with distilled water when desired. The solution keeps well.
d. Ehrlich’s Acid-haematoxylin.
Dissolve 2 grms. of hæmatoxylin in 100 cc. of absolute alcohol. Add this to a saturated solution of potassium alum in water 100 cc., glycerin 100 cc., and glacial acetic acid 10 cc. Allow mixture to stand for a week exposed to air and light ”

“ When he directs that a small proportion of glycerine shall be added, it is obvious that the quantity of the glycerine is to vary with the amount of cotton and boracic acid used, but that the merits of the invention will not depend on whether, in a given case, a little more or less glycerine is used. Such general directions are common in the arts, as appears in some of the very publications introduced by the defendant to show anticipation. ”

“ The tissue builder has a distinct advantage over glycerin or water, inasmuch as the builder hardens after a short time and is not lost, whereas glycerin and water sometimes seep out when pressure is applied in printing. ”

“ It being apparent that Sanatogen consists almost entirely of casein and sodium glycerophosphate, the former well-known ingredient making up nine-tenths of its weight, the question naturally arises how a mixture of these two common substances can acquire, simply by that admixture, unusually valuable properties not possessed by the two components. Leading physiologists quite generally agree that phosphorus in the form of glycero­phos­phates influences metabolism very little. Furthermore, it is obvious that the food value of the small amount of glycerin present must be slight. ”

“ Colorless crystals or white crystalline masses, sometimes becoming reddish, with a characteristic odor. Soluble in water (1:15) , and very soluble in alcohol, glycerin or the fixed or volatile oils.
Action and Uses: Standard antiseptic and germicide; also local anesthetic and caustic.
Aqua Phenolata (Aq. Phenol.) , Phenolated Water, N.F. (Carbolic Acid Water) .—Phenol (2%) in water.
Glyceritum Phenolis (Glycer. Phenol.) , Glycerite of Phenol, U.S.P. (Glycerite of Carbolic Acid) .—Liquefied phenol (20%) in glycerin.
Dosage: 0.3 Cc. or 5 minims (U.S.P.) . ”

“ To prevent their drying too rapidly a little glycerine may be added to the water and the lint covered with gutta-percha tissue or oiled silk. Moore recommends covering the face with a light mask of lint and oiled silk, having holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth. The lint is wet with a mixture of glycerin and iced water (fʒi-f℥i) . If preferred, a cold solution of boric acid may be used in place of plain water, and when there is an excessive and unpleasant odor present, thymol may be added to the solution. ”

“ Good glycerine can be made from dogs or horse fat, sugar from rags; sea water or the most impure lake or river water can be changed to azua pura by distillation; good suet or tallow can be so treated as to make a nutritious and harmless article of diet. Now, if old grease can be so manipulated and modified as to give a pure and edible result, cheaper than old-fashioned butter, the latter will have to go out of fashion. ”

“ As previously mentioned, the fats were urgently needed to furnish glycerine for the manufacture of munitions. One ton of crude fat yields 10 per cent. of glycerine, so that 1,300 tons of this indispensable article were derived from this one source of supply. The fat was sold to the bone-degreasers and the soap manufacturers, who effected the recovery of the glycerine, selling the product to the Ministry of Munitions at the agreed price of £59 10s. ”

“ The production of a substance known as fat or oil, composed of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon in the form of a fatty acid and combined with glycerine, is a function of almost every plant. The fat acids are usually in combination with glycerine, which plays the part of a base and in so far as its proportion by weight is concerned is much less important than the fatty acid itself. In round numbers it may be said that nine-tenths of all glycerids or fats are composed of a fatty acid and one-tenth of glycerine. ”

“ A modification of this apparatus may be used to insure the thorough mixing of the acids and glycerine by the use, instead of the conical mixing-tube c, of a tube which is put into rapid motion by a wheel or other contrivance, into the upper end of which the acids and glycerine are separately introduced, which will combine, as they flow through it, so instantaneously that the product (nitro-glycerine) is formed as quickly as they can pass through the tube. ”