Potassium Carbonate → Potassium Oleate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To demonstrate the ability to obtain useful aqueous compositions wherein the anionic surface active agent is formed in situ, an aqueous dispersion containing 1.86 percent kerosene, 0.14 percent commercial oleic acid, and 2 percent potassium carbonate was prepared. The amount of oleic acid was calculated to provide approximately 0.16 weight percent potassium oleate. Alfalfa treated with the resulting dispersion dried to a 25 percent moisture content in 22.4 hours whereas the control (alfalfa treated with water only) required 47.25 hours to reach the same moisture level. This represents a 53 percent reduction in drying time.

Provenance & Evidence