Dippel's oil

Dippel's oil (sometimes referred to as bone oil) is a nitrogenous by-product of the destructive distillation of bones[1] and other parts of animal carcasses.

The oil is named after its inventor, Johann Konrad Dippel. It is derived by multiple destillations from raw animal oil ("oleum animale foetidum crudum"), a dark, viscous, tar-like liquid with an unpleasant smell, consisting of aliphatic chains, with nitrogen functional groups including pyrroles, pyridines and nitriles, as well as other nitrogenous compounds.[1]

Oleum animale foetidum crudum had a number of uses, which are mostly obsolete. Its primary use was as an animal and insect repellent. It saw limited use as a chemical warfare harassing agent during the desert campaign of World War II. The oil was used to render wells undrinkable and thus deny their use to the enemy.[2][3] By not being lethal, the oil was claimed to not be in breach of the Geneva Protocol.

See also

  • Neatsfoot oil, another bone-derived oil
  • Bone char, what remains after the distillation of the bones

References

  1. ^ a b Purevsuren, B; Avid, B; Gerelmaa, T; Davaajav, Ya; Morgan, T.J; Herod, A.A; Kandiyoti, R (May 2004). "The characterisation of tar from the pyrolysis of animal bones". Fuel. 83 (7–8): 799–805. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2003.10.011.
  2. ^ UK War Cabinet (22 August 1940). "Note on Method of Dealing with Drinking Water" (PDF). THE MIDDLE EAST : DIRECTIVE TO THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. Annex 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  3. ^ "War diary of New Zealand Engineers, Western Desert Railway". 26 May 1942. Drew sterilising powder and other assorted poisons to adulterate our drinking water and took some to wells.


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