Title; REMOVING AND SUBSTITUTING WATER FROM WATER CONTAINING BODIES
FIELD OF INVENTION:
This invention relates to methods and compositions used to eliminate water from water-bearing bodies such as parts of vegetals, animals, microorganisms, hydrophilic colloids and gels, . . . with the choice of whether or not substituting the removed water with nonvolatile substances.
PRIOR ARTS:
Different methods and compositions have been used for the purpose of eliminating water from water-bearing bodies . with a proportion of water up to 50-90% of weight, such as flowers, leaves, animal and human organs, microorganic tissues, hydrophilic gels, hydrophilic colloids, etc, for the purpose of preserving these bodies for a prolonged period, or for other purposes. Examples of such methods are: drying by high temperature, drying by low pressure, by refracted ray, by microwave, by the use of desicating substances, by lyophylization, boiling the water of water-bearing bodies in hot oil, directly boiling the water of water-bearing bodies in hot oil with low pressure, dehydrating the water-bearing body using an alcoholic solution then drying it in dry air in high temparature or drying it in low temperature and low pressure, dehydrating the water-bearing body using an alcoholic solution then washing the newly-absorbed alcohols with low-solubility substances (e.g. toluen, xylen) then finally drying it in dry air in high temparature or drying it in low temperature and low pressure. But apart from biophylization and dehydrating the water-bearing body using an alcoholic solution then washing the newly-absorbed alcohols with low-solubility substances (e.g. toluen, xylen) then finally drying it in dry air in high temparature or drying it in low temperature and low pressure, the above methods all yield shrunk and deformed
products. Lyophylization, although capable to bring about products that retain their shapes after the water removing process, requires expensive equipment and time-consumning operations. Dehydration using an alcoholic solution then by washing these alcohols with less soluble substances (e.g. toluene, xylene) requires prolonged treatments and is hardly applicable to bodies having a thick section. This method is mostly used with mocroorganic tissues.
The new invention provides a new method and compositions capable of overcoming the above-mentioned failings with the following features: the water eliminating process takes little time; the product retains its initial form after the process. This method is consequently applicable to all types of bodies with a high proportion of water, especially the ones with thick section. Besides this method also allows substituting or not the space left by the lost water in the product with nonvolatile substances, this way, the product will retain its form and fresh appearance and be preserved for a long period of time in ordinary atmospheric conditions. American Patent No. 4,272,571 with the treatment of flowers by immersion in a solution which contains at least one dehydrating alcohol and color-fixing substances and preservatives, then drying the flower impregnated with dehydrating alcohol in dry air at high temperature.
American Patent No. 4,808,447 with a process of treating natural predominantly carbohydrate products comprising the dehydrating of the natural product by immersion in a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and tertiary buthyl alcohol, and next in a second mixture containing at least one polyisocyanate, one polymer and a solution like methyl ethyl ketone and xylene for the purpose of forming high molecular weight three dimensional cross-linked polymeric networks so as to prevent the product from being deformed after all the volatile componants have been evaporated in hot dry air.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The new invention provides a method and compositions for eliminating water from water-bearing bodies such as parts of vegetals, animals, microorganisms, hydrophilic colloids and gels, etc., by immersing these bodies in a dehydrating solution which contains at least ketone or an alcohol until the water content in the treated body is reduced to under 25% (preferably under 5%); then by removing the newly-absorbed ketone or alcohol and the remaining water through the process of boiling them in an oil solution (the preferred oils are oils with boiling points above 70 °C, having the solubility of water in them under 30% at room conditions), keeping the oil solution at high temperature and atmospheric pressure or at low temperature and low pressure until all the ketone or alcohol mentioned and the remaining water have completely evaporated. The product is not deformed or shrunk after the process. And if such nonvolatile substances as paraffin with high boiling point, polymer, resin, high molecular fatty alcohol, bee wax, etc. are added to the oil solution, the treated object will keep for a very long period of time in ordinary atmospheric conditions without suffering any noticeable changes.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT INVENTION:
Bodies or products containing a high proportion of water such as parts of vegetals, organs or parts of animals, microorganic tissues, hydrophilic colloids or gels, etc., are immersed in a solution of dehydrating elements comprising at least one of the following:
• acetone
• methyl ethyl ketone
• dimethyl diketone
• isopropyl alcohol • ethyl alcohol
• propyl alcohol
The time of immersion depends on the thickness of the body's section and varies from a few minutes to a few days, lasting until the water content left in the treated body is
preferably less than 10%, the most part being replaced by the dehydrating substances. The next step is to remove these dehydrating substances (ketone or alcohol) and the remaining water by boiling them in an oil solution having the following characteristics: boiling point above 70 °C; solubility of water in this oil solution under 30% as to the volume of the oil solution. The preferred types of oil for this use are:
• petroleum fractions with boiling points under 70 °C like gasoline, kerosene, gas oil, lubricating oil; paraffins with carbon numbers over 6; chloroparaffins with carbon numbers over 6; • napthenes with carvon numbers over 6; aromatic hydrocarbons with carbon numbers over 6; saturated vegetal or animal oil; saturated monoglycerides, saturated diglycerides, saturated triglycerides from plants or animals; • saturated fatty acids with carbon numbers over 2; saturated fatty alcohols with carbon numbers over 4; cac rufcm beo no cό so' carbon trong phan tu" lόn hdn 4; silicon oils with silic numbers over 4; natural esters or artificial esters (bee wax, D.O.P., etc.) • PEG derivatives from fatty acids, fatty alcohols, fatty amines, fatty amides, fatty mercaptans;
• fatty sulfonate derivatives or fatty sulfate derivatives;
The preferred temperature and pressure for boiling the newly-absorbed ketone or alcohol in the treated body are respectively 20 °C - 110°C and 20 mmHg - 760 mmHg.
The time needed to boil all the ketone or alcohol absorbed by the treated body varies from a few seconds to a few hours depending on the thickness of the body's section.
Nonvolatile substances with boiling points over 180°C and having the solubility of water in them under 20% can be mixed to the oil solution for the purpose of replacing the removed water from the water-bearing bodies. The preferred nonvolatile for this use are: hydrocarbons with carbon numbers over 11 ; paraffins with carbon numbers over 12; saturated oils of vegetal or animal origin; monoglycerides, diglycerides from plants or animals; saturated fatty acids with carbon numbers over 8 or their salts; saturated fatty alcohols with carbon numbers over 8; • silicons with silic number over 8; natural esters or artificial esters;
PEG derivatives from fatty acids, fatty alcohos, fatty amins, fatty amides, fatty mercaptans; derivatives from sulfonates, fatty sulfates, or their salts; • derivatives from alcohol ethoxylates; derivatives from nonyl phenol ethoxylates; derivatives from alkylpolyglucosides; derivatives from alkylglucosamides; derivatives from alkanolamides; • derivatives from alkylbenzene.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF THE INVENTION:
EXAMPLE 1 Treatment on vegetals:
A fresh rose complete with stem and leaves is immersed in a mixture composed of 30% isopropyl alcohol, 20% acetone and 50% methyl ethyl ketone, at room temperature for 8 hours. Next the flower is taken out and immersed in an oil solution with 30% paraffin
(with carbon number 14 - 25) and 70 % xylene; the temperature of the oil solution is 50 °C and the pressure 90 mmHg; the time of immersion is 10 minutes; the purpose is to remove all the isopropyl alcohol, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone and the remaining water by boiling them. Then the flower is removed from the oil solution and dried at temperature of 50 °C, atmospheric pressure, for 3 hours. The dried flower with its stem and leaves retains its fresh appearance and colours for a long period of time because the flower's colours have been partly preserved from contact with air by paraffin.
EXAMPLE 2 Treatment on animals:
A sea worm (polychaete, nereis viren) is taken alive and put in water at 2°C for 5 minutes. The then dead worm is taken out and put in a solution of 60% acetone and 40% methyl ethyl ketone for 12 hours at room temperature. Next the worm is taken out and put in another solution composed of 30% cethyl alcohol, 20% branched paraffin with carbon number 12 - 25, and 50% xylene; the temperature and pressure of the solution are respectively 55 °C and 150 mmHg; the time of immersing and boiling is 10 minutes. Then the worm is kept in the same solution for 5 other minutes at the same temperature of 55 °C but the pressure is raised to 760 mmHg. Finally the sea worm is removed from the solution and dried at temprature of 60 °C, room pressure, for 5 hours. The dried worm retains its fresh living-looking appearance and can be preserved in normal conditions for a very long time.
EXAMPLE 3 Treament of hydrophilic gel Dissolve gelatin with hot water at the proportion of 1 to 2 then allow it to set. Then cut a cube of gelatin wih the side length of 1 cm. Immerse the cube of gelatin in a solution composed of 50% acetone and 50% methyl ethyl ketone in a vessel with a 25 KHz frequency ultrasound emittor for 3 hours at room temperature. Then take the cube of
gelatine from the solution and put it in xylene at temperature of 55 °C and pressure of 100 mmHg for 30 minutes in order to boil all the acetone absorbed by the gelatine. Finally take the cube of gelatine out and dry it at temperature of 55 °C , pressure of 100 mmHg for 6 hours. The final product is a cube of open cell foam that still keeps its initial shape.