Satyagyan Lac

 

 

In Satyagyan Lac processing Unit there goes a chain of processes, Here they are one by one.

 

We odinarily buy sticklac for further processing. Our yearly requirement of sticklac is about 300 tons, but that requirement is rarely fulfilled. We have both tobuy lac from market as well as cultivate our own for processing. This problem arises due to middlemen or commonly ( kochias) these middlemen buy huge amounts of lac from farmers and store that thus createing deficiency of lac and that is why the international market price arises, but for saving our company from such disadvantages we cultivate our own stick lac.

 

 

 

 

then starts the processing 

 

1) CRUSHING- The sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove sand and dust. This crude lack consists of resin,encrusted insect body, lac dye, sand and twig debris The stick lac can not be stored for longer duration, as the lac has tendency to form lump,and there is loss in quality of lac. If stick lac is converted into seed lac, it can be stored for longer duration like food grains. That is why crushing is a major step in lac processing through it the crude lac gets fully eliminated out of stick.

                                    

                                 

 

 

                                 Lac crushing going on.

 

 

 

 

  

 2) WASHING- The lac is crushed and sieved to remove sand and dust. It is then washed in large vats again and again to break open the encrusted insect bodies, to wash out the lac dye and twig debris. Decaying bug bodies turn the water a deep red that is processed further to get the byproduct lac dye. The seed lac is in form of grain of 10 mesh or smaller and yellow or reddish brown in colour in general appearance. 
   Following grades of hand made seed lac are commonly available in the market:- 
• Ordinary/ Genuine bysakhi 
• Fine bysakhi                                                                                                                                     LAC IS BEING WASHED
• Golden bysakhi 
• Golden kusumi 
• Golden bysakhi – bold grain 
• Goden kusumi – bold grain 
• Golden kusumi seedlac – Medium 
• Manbhum fine seedlac

 

 

3) CLEANING LAC- Washed lac is firstly dried in bright sunligh or buy machiene drier then buy various lac cleaners or commonly (chalni) unwanted sand and wood is being removed.

                                                                                         

 

 

                                                                                        Lac is being cleaned by cleaner(chalni).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) Further processing takes various huge machienes to produce products other then seed lac.

 

                                                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                   Lac cycle going on after then minimal processing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heat process

• 5 Seedlac is melted onto steam-heated grids. The molten lac is forced by hydraulic pressure through a sieve or screen, either of cloth or fine mesh. The filtered shellac is collected and transferred to a steam-heated kettle, which then drops the molten liquid onto rollers. The liquid is squeezed through the rollers and forced into large, thin sheets of shellac. When dry, this shellac sheet is broken into flakes and transported to another area in which the flakes are combined with denatured alcohol to produce the consumer's shellac.

 

Solvent process

• 6 In this process, the seedlac and solvent, usually ethyl alcohol, are mixed in a dissolving tank, refluxed for about an hour and then filtered to remove impurities. The filtered resin is sent through evaporators that remove the alcohol solvent, rendering it a viscous liquid. This liquid is then dropped onto rollers, which force it into sheets. The sheets are then are dried and flaked apart.

The mod� a�SO@Ked by hydraulic pressure through a sieve or screen, either of cloth or fine mesh. The filtered shellac is collected and transferred to a steam-heated kettle, which then drops the molten liquid onto rollers. The liquid is squeezed through the rollers and forced into large, thin sheets of shellac. When dry, this shellac sheet is broken into flakes and transported to another area in which the flakes are combined with denatured alcohol to produce the consumer's shellac.

 

 

Bleached shellac

Despite the removal of much of the red dye from the lac seeds in the refining process, shellac remains an orangish solution after processing is complete. Some consumers prefer a clear shellac finish, so manufacturers have developed a way to bleach the color from the shellac.

• 7 Bleaching begins with dissolving seedlac, which is alkali-soluble, in an aqueous solution of sodium carbonate. The solution is then passed through a fine screen to remove insoluble lac, dirt, twigs, etc. The resin is then bleached with a dilute solution of sodium hypochlorite to the desired color. The shellac is then precipitated from the solution by the addition of dilute sulfuric acid, filtered, and washed with water. It is dried in vacuum driers and ground into a white powder ready for shipment to a plant that will add liquid to the flakes.

 

 

Mixing shellac for the consumer

• 8 Large shellac manufacturers are shipped the dry shellac flakes. They then remoisturize the flakes by adding denatured ethyl alcohol. Shellac is offered to the consumer in flake form or suspended in denatured alcohol. It is the latter than is most popular with the consumer. Manufacturers of shellac refer to the concentration of shellac flakes to denatured alcohol in terms of pounds of cuts—the number of pounds of shellac flakes dissolved into a single gallon of denatured alcohol. Thus, a one pound cut of shellac contains one pound of shellac flakes dissolved in a gallon of alcohol—very dilute shellac. The manufacturers' standard cut offered to the consumer pre-mixed is termed a three pound cut. Some consumers then dilute it further with denatured alcohol if they so desire.

The most popular shade of shellac sold premixed is the orange shellac although clear or white shellac is also offered pre-mixed to the consumer. Manufacturers always stamp the date of mixing of the shellac into the can. Each manufacturer has a recommended shelf life for the product and the consumer should heed that the product is not used after the period suggested by the manufacturer. If used after the time span recommended, the shellac may never dry completely.

For woodworkers who prefer the deep rich colors of garnet shellac or buttonlac, the dried flakes of these shellacs may be purchased from the manufacturer and mixed with denatured alcohol by the consumer.

 

 

 

 

Byproducts/Waste

The denatured ethyl alcohol used in the process of manufacturing shellac is a strictly regulated byproduct and is known as a volatile organic substance (VOC). The most dangerous or hazardous part, perhaps the most polluting, are the insolubles that are refined out of the sticklac and grainlac such as twigs, cocoons, leaves, bug bodies, etc. saturated with alcohol. The shellac industry is working on building huge evaporators, which will suck all the alcohol out of these insolubles so the volatility will not be an issue. Shellac flakes are all natural and non-toxic. It is the alcohol solvents that are regulated.

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Quality Control

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Chemical analysis does not assist in determining the quality of shellac. More important are empirical tests such as flow and shelf life that most customers have articulated as of great concern. In addition, carefully examining the purity of the shellac by removing as many of the natural impurities found within the sticklac is of utmost importance (insolubles are defined by the undissolved matter remaining when the resinous compound is mixed with hot alcohol). All refining processes are monitored for their effectiveness in removing these undesirables.

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Mixing shellac for the consumer