WCO Explanatory Notes reproduced for reference. © World Customs Organization. Verify against official WCO publication.
38.23 - Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids; acid oils from refining; industrial fatty alcohols. 3823.1 1 3823.12 3823.13 3823.19 3823.70 - Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids; acid oils fiom refining : - - Stearic acid - - Oleic acid - - Tall oil fatty acids - - Other - Industrial fatty alcohols (A) INDUSTRIAL MONOCARBOXYLIC FATTY ACIDS; ACID OILS PROM REFINING Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids are generally manufactured by the saponification or hydrolysis of natural fats or oils. Separation of solid (saturated) and liquid (unsaturated) fatty acids is usual1 done by crystallisation either with or without solvent. The liquid (commercially &own as oleic acid or olein) consists of oleic acid and other unsaturated atty acids (e. ., linoleic and linolenic acids) together with small amounts of saturated fatty acids. The soli%{art (commercially known as stearic acid or stearin) consists mainly of palmitic and stearic aci s with a small proportion of unsamated fatty acids. P" This heading includes, inter alia : (1) Commercial stearic acid (stearin which is a white solid material with a characteristic odour. It is relatively hard and ra a brittle and is usually marketed in the form of beads, flakes or powder. It is also marketed in liquid form when transported hot in isothermal tanks. (2) Commercial oleic acid (olein) which is a colourless to brown oily liquid with a characteristic odour. \ (3) Tall oil fatty acids TOFA) which consist primarily of oleic and linoleic acid. They are obtained by the distil ation of crude tall oil and contain by weight 90 % or more (calculated on the weight of the dry product) of fatty acids. (4) Distilled fatty acids which are obtained after hydro1 ic splitting of various fats and oils (e.g., coconut oil, palm oil, tallow) followed by a puri ication process (distillation). tY' (5) Fat acid distillate, obtained from fats and oils which have been subjected to vacuum disti lation in the resence of steam as art of a refining process. Fatty acid distillate is characterised by a igh free fatty acid (f a) content. i P (6) Fatty acids obtained by catalytic oxidation of synthetic hydrocarbons of a high molecular weight. (7) Acid oils from refinin with a relatively high free fatty acid content, pre ared by decomposing with minerapiacid the soap-stock obtained during the refining of cru e oils. B The heading excludes : (a) Oleic acid, of a purity of 85 % or more (calculated on the weight of the dry product) (heading 29.16). @) Other fa acids of a puri of 90 % or more (calculated on the weight of the dry product) (generally heading 9.15,29.16 or ZtdI18). '? (B) INDUSTRIAL FATTY ALCOHOLS The fatty alcohols classified here are mixtures of ac clic alcohols obtained by catalytic reduction of the mixed fatty acids of this heading (see $art (A) above) or of their esters, by saponification of sperm 011, b catalytic reaction between olefins, carbon monoxide and hydrogen (" 0x0 " process), by ydration of olefins, by oxidation of hydrocarbons or by other means. K Fatty alcohols are usually liquid but some are solid. The principal fatty alcohols of this heading are : (1) Lauryl alcohol which is a mixture of saturated fatty alcohols obtained by catalytic reduction of the fatty acids from coconut oil. It is liquid at normal temperatures, but is semi-solid in cold weather. 'r (2) Ce 1 alcohol which is a mixture of cet 1 and stearyl alcohols, the former greatly pre ominating, obtained from spermaceti an sperm oil. It is a crystalline, translucent solid at room temperature. (3) Stearyl alcohol which is a mixture of stearyl and cetyl alcohols obtained by reduction of stearin or oils rich in stearic acid, or from sperm oil by hydrogenation and hydrolysis followed by distillation. It is a white crystalline solid at room temperature. (4) OIeyl alcohol which is obtained by reduction of olein, or fiom alcohols derived from sperm oil by hydraulic pressure. It is liquid at room temperature. (5) Mixtures of primary aliphatic alcohols commonly comprising alcohols in the range from six to thirteen carbon atoms. They are liquids generally produced by the " 0x0 " process. The fatty alcohols referred to in para a hs (1) to (4) are mainly used for the preparation of their sulphonated derivatives whose aka I salts are the organic surface-act~ve a ents of heading 34.02. The fatty alcohols of paragraph (5) are principally used for the manu acture of plasticisers for poly(viny1 chloride). Pf P This heading also covers industrial fatty alcohols which have a waxy character. The heading does not include chemically defined fatty alcohols, of a purity of 90 % or more (calculated on the weight of the dry product) (generally heading 29.05).
1.- This Chapter does not cover : (a) Separate chemically defined elements or compounds with the exception of the following : (1) Artificial graphite (heading 38.01); (2) Insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators, disinfectants and similar products, put up as described in heading 38.08; (3) Products put up as charges for fire-extinguishers or put up in fire-extinguishing grenades (heading 38.13); (4) Certified reference materials specified in Note 2 below; (5) Products specified in Note 3 (a) or 3 (c) below; (b) Mixtures of chemicals with foodstuffs or other substances with nutritive value, of a kind used in the preparation of human foodstuffs (generally heading 21.06); (c) Products of heading 24.04; (d) Slag, ash and residues (including sludges, other than sewage sludge), containing metals, arsenic or their mixtures and meeting the requirements of Note 3 (a) or 3 (b) to Chapter 26 (heading 26.20); (e) Medicaments (heading 30.03 or 30.04); or (f) Spent catalysts of a kind used for the extraction of base metals or for the manufacture of chemical compounds of base metals (heading 26.20), spent catalysts of a kind used principally for the recovery of precious metal (heading 71.12) or catalysts consisting of metals or metal alloys in the form of, for example, finely divided powder or woven gauze (Section XIV or XV). 2.- (A) For the purpose of heading 38.22, the expression “certified reference materials” means reference materials which are accompanied by a certificate which indicates the values of the certified properties, the methods used to determine these values and the degree of certainty associated with each value and which are suitable for analytical, calibrating or referencing purposes. (B) With the exception of the products of Chapter 28 or 29, for the classification of certified reference materials, heading 38.22 shall take precedence over any other heading in the Nomenclature. 3.- Heading 38.24 includes the following goods which are not to be classified in any other heading of the Nomenclature : (a) Cultured crystals (other than optical elements) weighing not less than 2.5 g each, of magnesium oxide or of the halides of the alkali or alkaline-earth metals; (b) Fusel oil; Dippel's oil; (c) Ink removers put up in packings for retail sale; (d) Stencil correctors, other correcting fluids and correction tapes (other than those of heading 96.12), put up in packings for retail sale; and (e) Ceramic firing testers, fusible (for example, Seger cones). 4.- Throughout the Nomenclature, “municipal waste” means waste of a kind collected from households, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, shops, offices, etc., road and pavement sweepings, as well as construction and demolition waste. Municipal waste generally contains a large variety of materials such as plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass, metals, food materials, broken furniture and other damaged or discarded articles. The term “municipal waste”, however, does not cover : (a) Individual materials or articles segregated from the waste, for example wastes of plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass or metals, electrical and electronic waste and scrap (including spent batteries) which fall in their appropriate headings of the Nomenclature; (b) Industrial waste;