Ozokerite
OZOKERITE, or Ozocerite (Gr. oleiv, to emit odour, and KTjpos, wax), mineral wax, a combustible mineral, which may be designated as crude native paraffin (q.v.), found in many localities in varying degrees of purity. Specimens have been obtained from Scotland, Northumberland and Wales, as well as from about thirty different countries. Of these occurrences the ozokerite of the island of Tcheleken, near Baku, and the deposits of Utah, U.S.A., deserve mention, though the last-named have been largely worked out. The sole sources of commercial supply are in Galicia, at Boryslaw, Dzwiniacz and Starunia, though the mineral is found at other points on both flanks of the Carpathians. Ozokerite-deposits are believed to have originated in much the same way as mineral veins, the slow evaporation and oxidation of petroleum having resulted in the deposition of its dissolved paraffin in the fissures and crevices previously occupied by the liquid. As found native, ozokerite varies from a very soft wax to a black mass as hard as gypsum. Its specific gravity ranges from -85 to -95, and its melting point from 58° to 100° C. It is soluble in ether, petroleum, benzene, turpentine, chloroform, carbon bisulphide, etc. Galician ozokerite varies in colour from light yellow to dark brown, and frequently appears green owing to dichroism. It usually melts at 62° C. Chemically, ozokerite consists of a mixture of various hydrocarbons, containing 85-7% by weight of carbon and 14-3% of hydrogen.
The mining of ozokerite was formerly carried on in Galicia by means of hand-labour, but in the modern ozokerite mines owned by the Boryslaw Actien Gesellschaft and the Galizische Kreditbank, the workings of which extend to a depth of 200 metres, and 225 metres respectively, electrical power is employed for hauUng, pumping and ventilating. In these mines there are the usual main shafts and galleries, the ozokerite being reached by levels driven along the strike of the deposit. The wax, as it reaches the surface, varies in purity, and, in new workings especially, only hand-picking is needed to separate the pure material. In other cases much earthy matter is nii.xed with the material, and then the rock or shale having been eliminated by hand-picking, the " wax-stone " is boiled with water in large coppers, when the pure wax rises to the surface. This is again melted without water, and the impurities are skimmed off, the material being then run into slightly conical cylindrical moulds and thus made into blocks for the market. The crude ozokerite is refined by treatment first with Nordhausen oil of vitriol, and subsequently with charcoal, when the ceresine or cerasin of commerce is obtained. The refined ozokerite or ceresine, which usually has a melting-point of 6i° to 78° C, is largely used as an adulterant of beeswax, and is frequently coloured artificially to resemble that product in appearance.
On distillation in a current of superheated steam, ozokerite yields a candle-making material resembling the paraffin obtained from petroleum and shale-oil but of higher melting-point, and therefore of greater value if the candles made from it are to be used in hot climates. There are also obtained in the distillation light oils and a product resembling vaseKne (q.v.). The residue in the stills consists of a hard, black, waxy substance, which in admixture with india-rubber is employed under the name of okonite as anelectrical insulator. From theresidue a form of the material known as heel-ball, used to impart a polished surface to the heels and soles of boots, is also manufactured.
According to published statistics, the output of crude ozokerite in Galicia in 1906 and 1907 was as follows :
1906. 1907.
District. Metric Tons. Metric Tons.
Boryslaw . . 2,205 2,240 Dzwiniacz . 260 270 Starunia . , 210 135 (B. R.)
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
