Fw. Jones, THE REMOVAL OF PESTICIDE-RESIDUES FROM WOOL WAX BY SOLVENT-EXTRACTION, Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 74(10), 1997, pp. 1241-1245
A range of suitable solvents for the removal of dieldrin and diazinon
residues from wool wax by solvent-solvent extraction was evaluated. Ex
traction of a 10% solution of wool wax in hexane with N,N-dimethylform
amide was shown to be the most effective. These solvents were then use
d to measure the partition coefficients of 36 organochlorine, organoph
osphorus, and pyrethroid pesticides that have the potential to be foun
d in wool wax. Repeated batchwise extraction of a raw wool wax, which
had been spiked to produce typical pesticide residue levels, yielded a
high-quality wax in which all pesticide residues had been reduced to
below detectable levels. The treated wool wax was lighter in color wit
h a lowe: acid number and a lower free alcohol content and had excelle
nt water absorption characteristics. All detergents associated with th
e recovery of wool wax from an aqueous scour were also removed.