Hydrogenated Castor Oil (Castor Wax)
INCI Hydrogenated Castor Oil. CAS 8001-78-3; EC 232-292-2, as CosIng gives them. Also: Castor wax, Castor oil, hydrogenated, Hardened castor oil, HCO.
Published values
| Saponification value | 176–182 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 179.0 mg KOH/g (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1276 g/g |
| Iodine value | ≤ 5 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 174 |
| Melting point | 83–88 °C |
| Unsaponifiable matter | — |
A bar made of 100 % Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.
How much lye
| Oil | NaOH | KOH |
|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 60.6 g(59.6–61.6) | 85.0 g(83.6–86.5) |
| 1 kg | 121.2 g(119.2–123.3) | 170.1 g(167.2–172.9) |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 55.0 g(54.1–55.9) | 77.1 g(75.8–78.4) |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 110.0 g(108.1–111.8) | 154.3 g(151.7–156.9) |
For this oil alone at 5 % superfat, with pure sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or pure potassium hydroxide (KOH); in brackets, across the published range of its saponification value. KOH is usually sold at 90 %: divide by 0.9. For a whole recipe, open the calculator.
Fatty-acid profile
Saturated : unsaturated 100 : 0
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | ≤ 2 | 2.0 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 7–14 | 10.5 |
| Arachidic acid | C20:0 · saturated | ≤ 1 | 1.0 |
Where these numbers come from
Text between the "Ph Eur" markers is the Ph. Eur. monograph. Identification A melting point (2.2.14) 83-88 C; Tests: acid value max. 4.0, hydroxyl value 145-165, iodine value max. 5.0, composition of the fatty-acid fraction (2.4.22, Method A; 12-hydroxystearate peak corrected with a relative correction factor). No saponification value and no unsaponifiable test. The BP 2013 text of the same monograph prints the same limits.
Melting range (Class II <741>) 85-88 C; free fatty acids NMT 11.0 mL of 0.1 N NaOH for 20 g; hydroxyl value 154-162; iodine value NMT 5; saponification value 176-182 (used for the saponification value). No fatty-acid composition. The page scan of the same monograph on the same mirror prints "Official from May 1, 2012" and the same values (its text layer carries any limit signs as U+2264, which pdftotext keeps only with -enc UTF-8).
Melting range (Class II <741>) 85-88 C, iodine value NMT 5, saponification value 176-182, hydroxyl value 154-162, free fatty acids NMT 11.0 mL of 0.1 N NaOH - unchanged from USP 35-NF 30; the page marks the deletion of the heavy-metals test "(Official 1-Dec-2015)".
Chemical properties table: melting point (USP 741) 85-89 C; acid value (USP 401) 3 maximum mg KOH/g; saponification value (USP 401) 174 minimum mg KOH/g; iodine value (USP 401) 3 maximum g/100g. INCI, CAS and EINECS printed in the regulatory block.
Linked from the producer page https://www.itoh-oilchem.co.jp/product-series/products02/. Table columns: colour (Gardner), melting point (C), acid value, saponification value (mg KOH/g), iodine value (g I2/100g), hydroxyl value (mg KOH/g). No composition.
Ph. Eur. monograph 1497, printed in BP 2024 (Ph. Eur. 11.3 update) as 'Hydrogenated Castor Oil': fatty oil obtained by hydrogenation of Virgin castor oil or Refined castor oil or a mixture of both, consisting mainly of the triglyceride of 12-hydroxystearic (12-hydroxyoctadecanoic) acid. Melting point (2.2.14): 83 C to 88 C; acid value max. 4.0; hydroxyl value 145 to 165; iodine value max. 5.0. Composition of the fatty-acid fraction (GC, 2.4.22 Method A, per cent m/m): palmitic acid max. 2.0 %; stearic acid 7.0-14.0 %; arachidic acid max. 1.0 %; 12-oxostearic acid max. 5.0 %; 12-hydroxystearic acid 78.0-91.0 %; any other fatty acid max. 3.0 % each. Not mapped (not recorded here): 12-hydroxystearic acid 78.0-91.0 %, which is ricinoleic acid with its double bond hydrogenated and so is not filed under ricinoleic (C18:1-OH); 12-oxostearic acid max. 5.0 %; any other fatty acid. The mapped keys therefore cover only 13.5 % of the fatty acids (representative values), and soap-quality figures computed from them describe that minor fraction, not the wax. With 12-hydroxystearic acid at its midpoint (84.5 %, M 300.48) and 12-oxostearic acid at its maximum (5.0 %, M 298.46) added, the composition implies about 180.6 mg KOH/g, inside the published 176-182; the mapped keys alone imply 190.1. The Ph. Eur. prints no saponification value. The saponification value is from the USP 35-NF 30 NF monograph 'Hydrogenated Castor Oil' (refined, bleached, hydrogenated and deodorized Castor Oil, consisting mainly of the triglyceride of hydroxystearic acid): saponification value between 176 and 182; the same monograph gives melting range (Class II <741>) between 85 and 88 C, iodine value not more than 5, hydroxyl value between 154 and 162 and free fatty acids not more than 11.0 mL of 0.1 N sodium hydroxide for 20 g, and no fatty-acid composition. USP 38-NF 33 prints the same values. Producers: Koster Keunen Castor Wax (INCI Hydrogenated Castor Oil, CAS 8001-78-3, EINECS 232-292-2): melting point (USP 741) 85-89 C, acid value 3 maximum, saponification value 174 minimum, iodine value 3 maximum. ITOH Oil Chemicals castor-oil-derivatives catalogue (Japanese), hydrogenated castor oil: melting point 80-90 C, acid value <=3, saponification value 175-185, iodine value <=5, hydroxyl value 150-165; grade A: melting point 84-87 C, acid value <=2, saponification value 175-185, iodine value <=3, hydroxyl value 155-165 (rows paired from pdftotext -raw; -layout offsets the product names by one row). Degree of hydrogenation: fully hydrogenated (iodine value max. 5.0). The unsaponifiable share is blank: neither pharmacopoeia nor either producer prints an unsaponifiable limit. The melting point is the Ph. Eur. 2.2.14 (capillary) melting point; the USP <741> Class II range is 85-88 C. CosIng lists no saponified name for hydrogenated castor oil.
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