Isolation of an hydroxy acid concentrate from wool wax acids

Summary The fractionation of the methyl esters of wool wax acids by partitioning between two immiscible solvent layers has been described. Three fractions were obtained: a fraction rich in hydroxyl content, a fraction low in hydroxyl content, and a small amount of hard, transparent, highly colored material. The same procedure when applied to the free wool wax acids did not yield a satisfactory hydroxy acid concentrate. The preparation of wool wax acids with an essentially zero ester number, that is, in a form free of estolides, lactides, and lactones has also been described.