WOOLGREASE FACTS

Woolgrease:

• Recovered by centrifuging aqueous scouring liquors from the washing of greasy wool with detergents, often called centrifugal woolgrease.
• Chemically speaking is a complex mixture of wax esters of long chain fatty acids and alcohols, the latter including cholesterol, lanosterol and dihydrolanosterol.
• Centrifugal woolgrease often considered by buyers to be of the best quality, especially if it is passed through 2 or more centrifuging steps.
• New Zealand woolgrease is all centrifugal woolgrease and is purified in secondary centrifuging.
• Most of New Zealand's woolgrease is exported to overseas users.
• Industrial uses include fuel, lubricating greases, concrete mould lubricants, rust preventatives.
• Woolgrease is also an important component in many leather softeners.
• Manufacturing uses include:
  • Lanolin
  • Wool wax alcohols (lanolin alcohols)
  • Wool wax acids (lanolin acids)
  • Lanolin derivatives
  • Wool wax alcohol derivatives
  • Wool wax acid derivatives

   

Properties of New Zealand Woolgrease
Woolgrease is produced as a co-product of woolscouring or cleaning of the wool. State of the art technology is used in woolscouring plants throughout New Zealand to achieve the quality finished product recognised around the world. The quality of the woolgrease produced is influenced by the types of wool being scoured, with the majority coming from crossbred sheep, predominant in New Zealand. However, a modest quantity of premium merino woolgrease is available annually. New Zealand Woolgrease is supplied to customers for the manufacture of the following products:

• This is refined woolgrease.
• Produced by reducing the level of impurities in woolgrease, by neutralising free fatty acids, bleaching and deodourising.
• Different grades based on colour and particular impurities (eg, pesticide residues, free alcohols).
• Highest quality grades are white or very pale yellow.
• Used in cosmetics for emollient properties, in pharmaceutical products as carrier bases and for various industrial applications (eg, rust preventatives, leather dressings, fur dressings, putty, cutting oils, and insulating tapes).

Wool Wax Alcohols:

• A complex mixture of fatty alcohols produced from woolgrease, including significant quantities of cholesterol, lanosterol and dihydrolanosterol.
• About 50% by mass in woolgrease.
• Produced by the chemical splitting of the wool wax esters in woolgrease (process called saponification) and separation of the alcohol fraction from the fatty acid soaps also produced.
• Also known as lanolin alcohols.
• Very powerful oil-in-water emulsifier used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
• Main derivative produced from woolgrease.
• Starting material for manufacture of wool wax alcohols derivatives and cholesterol.

Lanolin Derivatives:

• Products made by the chemical or physical modification of lanolin or woolgrease (excluding saponification).
• Modifications carried out to impart desirable properties to products particularly for products used in cosmetics and also some industrial applications.
• Variety of chemical transformations carried out including hydrogenation, ethoxylation, hydroxylation, transesterification, acetylation, and condensation.
• Products may be water soluble, harder, more easily emulsified, and less easily emulsified.
• Fractionation to produce liquid lanolin and waxy lanolin.

Wool Wax Alcohol Derivatives:

• Products made by the chemical or physical modification of wool wax alcohols.
• Modifications carried out to impart desirable properties to products, particularly for products used in cosmetics and industrial applications.
• Variety of chemical transformations carried out including ethoxylation, propoxylation, and acetylation (esterification).
• Fractionation to produce cholesterol.

Cholesterol:

• Major derivative produced by chemical fractionation or chromatography from wool wax alcohols.
• New Zealand woolgrease contains 12-15% by mass of cholesterol (largely in the form of esters).
• Various grades produced, depends on purity.
• Used in cosmetic products, industrial products (liquid crystals from cholesterol esters), for production of Vitamin D and as a shrimp feed additive.

Wool Wax Acid Derivatives:

• Products made by the chemical or physical modification of wool wax acids.
• Wool wax acids obtained by the acidification of the soaps separated from the wool wax alcohols (produced after the saponification of woolgrease).
• The wool wax acids constitute about 50% of woolgrease by mass and are also known as lanolin acids.
• Variety of chemical transformations and waterproofing agents.