The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1906-08-16
Denatured Alcohol.
How Made nndIls Uses

that Germany is dependent on outside
sources for its supply of petroleum and
petroleum products. When the explo-
sive motor came into general use for
governmental and military purposes, the
German government realized that in
case of war 1t might be shut off from
these sources of supply, and that, there
fore it was advisable TO procure SUBJ
stitute for the mineral hydrocaT bon
fuel. With the active cooperation of
the German emperor, the growth of the
alcohol industry for commercial pur-
poses was both rapid and widespread.
The government encouraged the inven-
ton and manufacture of alcohol motors
for stationary and automobile purposes,
of Illuminating devices, cooking utensils
and other apparatus employing alcohol
as a fuel. Extensive laws regulate the
production and use of denatured alec
hol, and for several years 1t could be OBJ
tanned in large quantities and at low
cost. Unfortunately, the alcohol In
dustry in Germany today has gradually
come under the control of trust and,
in consequence, tue prices have risen 80
rapidly that many of the benefits arising
from the untaxed alcohol system have
]
Belgium and other countries, the use of
denaturized alcohol is extensive and it
is employed In thriving and valuable in
dustrles, regulated by wise laws to safe
guard the public and to prevent fraud.
| The passage of the free alcohol bill in
this country promises much good, and
as very little is known regarding the
subject on this side of the Atlantic, we
must draw from the knowledge of the
European manufacturers and users for
information upon the product
During the height of the interest
aroused among the public in the earlier
phases of the denaturzed alcohol pro-
paganda in Germany, the press of many
countries was full of accounts concern
ing the sources from which alcohol might
be derived, and an apparently authentic
account was at one time circulated, in
which it was stated that large quantities
were produced from substances as peat
and garbage 1t appears, however, that
alcohol is not made on an industrial
scale in Germany from peat or from
garbage of any kind. Aside from the
small amount that is produced for drink
ing and medicinal purposes from prunes
grapes, cherries, and other fruits, the
great sources of alcohol for industrial
and other uses are potatoes, grain, and
the molasses derived as secondary
product from the manufacture of beet
sugar. The crude molasses left as a
refuse product of the raw beet sugar
manufacture contains from 40 to so per
cent. of sugar which cannot be crystal
lied and this can also be utilized as a
material for the production of alcohol
The spirits distilled from grain and mo-
lasses and the small quantities made
from cherries grape-must, plums, etc +,
are used mainly for drinking and the
manufacture of medicines, perfumes
vinegar, and various other food prepa
rations The great source of industrial
alcohol is from potatoes, and it is used
for heating, lighting and motor pur-
poses. and for vast number of sppica-
tons in chemical and industrial manu-.
features. An interesting consular report
from Maracaibo states that successful
attempts have recently been made to
produce alcho from the hitherto use
less bulb or husk enclosing the coffee
bean Should this report prove true the
alcohol industry will have received a
new and vast source of supply, which
will prove of great value, especially in
cOffee-growing countries
How IT MAY BE PRODUCED
Alcohol may be produced from sub
stances containing sugar or from those
containing starch which may be con-
verified into sugar. 1t may be similarly
derived from celiulose. for instance, in
the destructive distillation of wood
which results In the production of wood
alcohol and various other substances
l. l.
fermentation, but usually results from a
combination of both. In making spirit
from beets, sulphuric acid ia used during
the Preventative process, which is effect
ed by adding yeast to the wort The
latter is the result of a process of sac
clarifying the starch in the substance
undergoing distiliation, The alcohol re
suits from the decomposition of sugar,
hich by the process of fermentation Is
resolved into carbonic acid and alcohol
Sugar is, therefore, the direct source Of
alcohol, and for this reason sweet vege-
tables and fruits may be converted into
spirits The starch is readily converted
into sugar by means of the substance
called dastase, which is found in malt
and In terminating seeds generally. 1t
is for this reason that starchy We eta
| bles, such as potatoes as we'll as sweet
/ vegetables, may be used in the manufac-
ture of spirits. In using starchy vege-
| tables, however, the intermediate process
mentioned above of saccharifying the
starch technically known as MASKING,
il necessary. This consists in mixing
the raw grain or other substance, prop
erly ground. with malt and with water
at a temperature of about $50 deg. +,
In using potatoes these are usually
steamed before the malt is applied, for
! they contain a much smaller proportion
of starch than the cereals, and by
| steaming the starch cells are thoroughly
! broken and the starch is reduced to a
coalition in which it is easily acted up
on The saccharine infusion resulting
! from the MASKING is that technically
/ known "a the wort.
The fermentation is effected by adding
either brewers or compressed yeast to
the wort, or to a saccharine liquid OBJ
tanned from molasses. beets, or other
! suRar-pTOducing fruits or vegetables
| The fermentation process is carried to its
| furthest limit in order TO produce the
greatest amount of alcohol, and the
liquid thus prepared for distillation is
technically known as the wash The
still is the apparatus in which the wash
is reduced to yapor and then condensed.
Essentially and in its oldest form, the
still consists of copper vessel provided
with a closed head and connected with
a spiral tube called the worm The lat
ter is cooled by means of circulating