Ozokerite

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Ozokerite from Colton, Utah County , USA (Glossy sample at top right is 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) wide)

Ozokerite , also known as earth wax , mountain wax or mountain tallow, is, in terms of its chemical composition, just like petroleum and paraffin, a mixture of different hydrocarbons .

Ozokerite consists on average of 15% hydrogen and 85% carbon , has a density of about 0.94 to 0.96 g / cm 3 and melts at 58 to 98  ° C , very rarely also at higher temperatures. Variants are on the one hand Kenderbal with a melting point of 58 to 60 ° C and on the other hand the very similar, but different in consistency, Neftgil or Kir from Swätoi-Ostrow.

Mining and varieties

Ozokerite is mined from seams close to the surface and in deeper layers, some of which are under high pressure . Larger deposits are found near Boryslaw and Dzwieniasz in Eastern Galicia ; others in Gaming in Lower Austria , West Galicia, Hungary , Croatia , Wallachia and Moldova , near Newcastle in England , Svyatoi Ostrow Island (Azerbaijan) as well as on the Cheleken Peninsula in the Caspian Sea , in Turkmenistan (south of the Balkan Abath ), in Transcaucasia , Iran , Egypt , Algeria , Canada and Mexico .

In Galicia , ozokerite is extracted manually and only in one of the mines (at a depth of 200 meters and a width of 225 meters) is assisted for transport and ventilation by mechanical machines. In mining processes in which conventional shafts are used, ozokerite is extracted with the help of drilling machines and then sorted by hand. In rare cases where the ozokerite cannot be cleaned, the mixture is heated in large, specially made kettles until the ozokerite rises to the surface and is thus separated from the rock. For a final cleaning, the ozokerite is reheated and poured into a cone shape in which it comes on the market. Raw, unprocessed ozokerite is u. a. cleaned with sulfuric acid and finally with charcoal.

According to the extraction methods , its raw products were designated as step wax , washing wax , chopping wax and, after a cleaning step , as melting wax .

The following types were distinguished in trade:

  • Pure ozokerite obtained by refining is called ceresin (also called ceresin ).
  • As Kenderbal one called a mixed with oil and earth product of greasy consistency.
  • Lep is a clay soaked in ozokerite.

Ozokerite has been and is a wide range of uses, such as wax candle production , furniture polish , shoe and leather cream, in the cobbler's shop , as cable wax , for impregnation and in electroplating , formerly in large quantities for the production of Vaseline .

Use in medicine

Ozokerite is a valuable product for medicinal purposes. Its use in the medical context is mainly in physiotherapy - ozokerite therapy. Thanks to its high melting point and low heat conduction, ozokerite is widely used in medical goals of rehabilitation from inflammatory diseases, dystrophic disorders of the musculoskeletal system (joint inflammation, arthrosis, osteochondrosis, myositis, traumatic disorders) and disabilities in the nervous system (neuritis, radiculitis). Ozokeritic treatments are considered to be one of the most widespread methods of thermotherapy in medical treatments (rehabilitation centers, clinics, sanatoriums) in Ukraine and other countries of the CIS , as this is preferred over paraffin therapy.

See also

literature

  • Alison Fleig Frank: Oil Empire: Visions of Prosperity in Austrian Galicia. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA 2005, ISBN 0-674-01887-7 .
  • H. Gintl: Galician petroleum and ozokerite. Vienna 1873, OCLC 315852000 .
  • Josef Muck: The earth wax mining in Boryslaw . Julius Springer Verlag, Berlin 1903, DNB 1019637145 .
  • EK Lasarenko: About the pale ores. In: Mineral. sb. L'vov. geol. obsc. 10, 1956, pp. 171-211. (soot.)
  • Carl Maria Paul : The petroleum and ozokerite occurrences of Eastern Galicia. 1881.
  • H. Perutz: The industry of mineral oils, petroleum etc 2 volumes. Vienna 1868–1880, Nabu Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1-271-35345-3 (reprint).
  • Adolf Pichler: About earth wax, petroleum etc. 1879.
  • Edward Windakiewicz: Oil and earth wax in Galicia. A. Hölder, Vienna 1875, OCLC 63549316 .

Web links

Commons : Ozokerite  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Victor Grafe (ed.): Moritz Dolch, Leopold Singer: Grafes Handbuch der organic merchandise knowledge. Volume IV, 2nd half volume: Conservation. Coal and petroleum . CE Poeschel, Stuttgart 1928, DNB 366093177 , pp. 310-311.