The Deresination of Guayule: A Physical Model. Part II: A Two-Component Analog for Deresination

Abstract

Abstract Based on GPC, the worm resin can be separated into two distinct groups, large and small. To obtain the overall diffusion coefficients for the two groups that could be useful as commercial design parameters, the worms were converted into wet worm crepe. Diffusion studies with model compounds, abietic acid, and trilinolein, reveal that: (a) their diffusion coefficients for desorption into acetone are inversely proportional to their respective molecular size, (b) the diffusion behavior of the two model compounds in a mixture can be fitted to a simple additive model, and (c) their diffusion coefficients are quite similar to those of the two groups of resin constituents (large and small). It is, therefore, possible to model and optimize a commercial deresination process for guayule worms on the basis of the diffusion behavior of two model compounds linolein and abietic acid and the physical geometry.