JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS lubricants, for carriers for drugs, for skin applications either directly or in the form of ointments. Nasal drops and nasal sprays call for oils of light viscosity, and so does the manufacture of anti-biotics such as penicillin. Here, of course, the oil is used as a de-frothing agent. The pharmaceutical industry lays down its quality standards in the British Pharmacopoeia, but in addition some individual firms also stipulate special gravities, viscosities, cold and acid tests, etc. These are among the more conventional uses but there are many others covering a wide range of industries such as foodstuffs, insecticides, veterinary medicines, cattle sprays, electrical equipment (e.g., X-ray instruments and television lenses), refrigerators, textile machinery and yarn processing. A brief description of some of these will illustrate the variety and skill involved in the applications. In food manufacture, every piece of machinery handling food is an example of the use of white oils. Automatic baking ovens are usually lubricated with white oils and so are dough dividers, sweet pans for confec- tionery receive a thin coating of white oil to prevent the sweets sticking to the pans, moulds for bottle caps, both the metallic and plastic caps, are lubricated by white oils. Egg preserving by dipping in white oils is in regular use in some overseas countries such as Denmark, but here, although it has received the approval of the Ministry of Food, only a small quantity of eggs is preserved in this way. Impregnation of apple wrappers, lubricating machinery for macaroni and spaghetti manufacture, the polishing of rice, the treatment of dried fruit to prevent sugar-crystallisation, the maturing of wine are some of the other uses coming under the category of food manufacture. In the field of agriculture and horticulture, where it is essential not to injure delicate plant life, special types of insecticidal sprays also use highly refined white oils. In cattle and animal husbandry the oils are used as in the pharmaceutical industry, as carriers for drugs and medicaments, as well as direct internal lubricants. Fluke disease in sheep gives trouble in countries like Australia, where artificial irrigation is prevalent, and here white oils are used as a carrier for a drug to eject the actual fluke from the liver of the sheep. The hide of pigs, both dead and alive, is dressed with white oils for show purposes for the dead meat and as a skin medicament for live pigs. X-ray instrument filling calls for a highly refined white oil of low refrac- tive index and specially dehydrated. Because of the diversity of usage in the manufacture of textiles, it deserves some special mention. It is not only used for lubricating the yarns and cut staple man-made fibres to assist winding and weaving, but also as a direct aid to processing of cotton and these other fibres. It is probably safe to say 248

WHITE OILS that 95 per cent of the continuous-filament fibre produced in this country is lubricated by a high grade white oil. To give some idea of the importance of this application, statistics are available showing total production in this country is 37.3 million lb. per month of filament and cut staple fibre combined during 1954. That is, about 200,000 tons per year. Last year, in July, it became compulsory for mule spinning mills to use white oils for the lubrication of the mule spindles. The Ministry of Labour published data showing a big reduction of dust in mill card rooms where the cotton is impregnated with white oil, and in fact such methods, amongst others, are officially recommended for the prevention of byssinosis in the cotton industry. Mule spindle lubrication by white oil is urged to obviate the possibility of mule spinners' cancer. These mule spindles are running at 9,000 to 12,000 revs. per minute, and so it will be appreciated that white oils are capable of lubricating just as well as the more conventional types of mineral oils. Both byssinosis and mule spinners' cancer are notifiable and compensatable diseases. Much more could be said on the uses of white oils, but it is time to return to the question of quality control. Practically all uses have their individual purity standards or specifications. Some are considered as very high, particularly those from the cosmetic and textile industries, so that a complex technique and much care are required to produce satisfactory white oils. Firstly, the crude oil is checked on arrival at destination dining distilla- tion hourly samples are drawn by the operato• • of the distillation plant and submitted for laboratory test and approval. At the next stage of refining, the raffinate is again hourly controlled until it arrives at that condition ready for processing into white oils. From that time to its finished state several days may have elapsed, and during the processing samples are drawn for checking by the control laboratory. At its final stage comes the critical examination by the men specialised in white oils and, no matter how urgent a delivery, these are the men on'whom an organised refinery must rely for the maintenance of quality standards. To anyone not versed in the needs for strict control, it must be exasperat- ing to have a delivery held up because, say, the viscosity is up or down two points on the specification, but nevertheless it has to be done. That is quite apart from other characteristics that are required in the various industries. The oil is at this stage only in storage or run-down tanks. It has yet to be transferred into drums, small or large, road or rail-tankers, and here it passes to staff experienced in filling into containers. No package is filled until it has been individually examined by the operator, who has a special lamp which he inserts into the drum. For tanker loading the same procedure 249