Shellac

Basics

• A Non-Timber Forest Product Resin Produced on Trees (Not By Them, Unlike Rosin ) by Lac Bugs
• The Females essentially produce a protective tube around the branches that consists of this material
  • These branches are then Pruned off during harvest time
  • The Processing Varies (And is Further Documented in a Sub-Section of this Page), but it typically entails
    • Crude Removal of the Shellac Deposits from the Pruned Branches
    • Removal of Dirt and Other Debris from the Removed Crude Shellac
    • Refining of this "Seed Shellac"
• Given that it is nearly all produced there, Much of the Literature Comes Out of India, and Much of the Terminology is also in Hindi
• The material can be used as:
  • A Hot Glue of sorts
  • A Bio-Plastic of sorts
  • A Common Wood Finish (Re French Polish (Woodworking)
  • For Food Waxing
  • Use in Confectionary
  • As a Dye
  • As a Feedstock in Bio-Refineries
  • As a Wire Coating for things like Magnet Wire although this has been largely supplanted by synthetic alternatives

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Shellac [{Category: Food and Agriculture]]