The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1906-11-16
DENATURED ALCOHOL.

Process Of Manufacture-Poss
ON the Farm.
Denatu tured alcohol is simply the com.
mercial grade of pure alcohol to which
q added wood alcohol or some other
material that makes it entirely unfit
Tor beverage or for medicinal pur-
poses. Alcohol is product Of the de-
composition Of sugar or, more properly,
glucose by the action of ferments, such
- yeast. Any substance which con-
(Ains sugar or substances such as
starch, vegetable fiber, ETC., which can
b converted into sugar can be used
- a source Of alcohol. The most i'm
portant sources used commercially are
grapes, potatoes, beets and other root
crops and grains, especially rye, bar
)ey, corn and rice. Many other fruits
besides grapes are used-for example,
apples, peaches and cherries. Fibers
Duch as cotton, linen and hemp, after
Ihemical treatment to change the
woody fiber into glucose, have also
boen used successfully.
How Made In Comanerce.
In commerce the process il simply an
Improvement on the home process of
making wine from grapes, eurrants or
Dther fruit juices. A vat is nlled with
hquid properly warmed, and yeast 10
added and stirred. Soon bubbles OE
sarbonic acid gas appear and gradually
Increase until the liquid locks as Il tt
were boiling. In about twenty-four
Aours the bubbling gradually ceases,
Ire liquid becomes clear, and ab01t
forty eight hours from the start it =
ready for distillation. This distf1latfo0
depends upon the difference h temper
sture at which alcohol and water bell,
he former requiring considerably less
beat to turn into vapor. Et also de-
pends upon the condensation Of vapoe
int liquid when the temperature falls.
PuriAcatioa Processes.
h practice. with the Simple ferns Of
st1ll there are always more O. less wa
tor and volatile substances. such as -
sential oils and acetic acid present In
~ condensed product. which must
therefore be purified by other processes.
The most common Of these processes
b successive disdllati0R. the liquid re-
Sulting from the htst distillation being
again and again distilled untt the prod
zee is pure. Thus, to give theoretical
example, starting with an original
crude liquid containing 8 per cent alco-
Aol, its condensed wapor may contain
- per cent Of alcohol This second
liquid redistilled may yield 4 liquor
containing 80 per cent alcohol; third
distillation may produce . solution 80
per cent pure, and 50 on. The necessity
for this Redistribution and the remov-
u Of undesirable impurities has given
rise to vast variety Of complicated
apparatus.
Mal<tng It In . Snail Way.
The foregoing outline, from Amszt-
can Agriculturist, Of the process Of
manufacturing alcohol, especially the
mention Of much and complicated ap.
paratus, indicates that for q farmer to
make alcohol from the refuse Of his
farm is not SO simple matter al may
at first be thought. As good authority
- DR.. Wiley, chief chemist Of the de-
partment Of agriculture, has found It
advisable to warn farmers that it
would hardly prove profitable to un-
dertake the manufacture Of alcohol In
small way on the farm. His idea is
that, as central factories are necessary
In the beet sugar industry, 50 will CEN
t5al distilleries be In making alcohol.
A Curious Will.
BY the terms of the will Of one DR..
Wilde Of st. Ives parish, Huntingdon
shire, England. his trustees were di-
rected to spend ESQ in the purchase Of
Z piece Of land in st. Ives, the annual
rent Of which was to be set aside for
the purchase Of six Bibles at cost Of
I shillings each. To decide who shall
have them he requested his trustees
t. prepare . saucer with three dice
upon the altar table Of the parish