Recovery of wax from wool : Wool wax is a greasy substance secreted by fatty glands of the skin. Wool grease is recovered by centrifuging aqueous scouring liquors from the washing of greasy wool with detergents, often called centrifugal woolgrease. Chemically speaking, it is a complex mixture of wax esters of long chain fatty acids and alcohols, the latter including cholesterol, lanosterol and dihydrolanosterol. Centrifugal woolgrease is often considered by buyers to be of the best quality, especially if it is passed through 2 or more centrifuging steps. Industrial uses include fuel, lubricating greases, concrete mould lubricants, rust preventatives. Woolgrease is also an important component in many leather softeners.
Lanolin : In its refined form, wool grease is called “Lanolin”, and is widely used in cosmetics for its emollient properties (virtually all cosmetics and beauty aids, such as lipsticks, mascara, lotions, shampoos, and hair conditioners contain lanolin.), in pharmaceutical products as carrier bases and for various industrial applications (eg, rust preventatives, leather dressings, fur dressings, putty, cutting oils, and insulating tapes). Lanolin is graded based upon its colour and presence of impurities, with the highest grades being white or very pale yellow in colour. It is produced by reducing the level of impurities in wool grease, by neutralising free fatty acids, bleaching and deodourising.
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