The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-07-24

applied. for they contain much
Smaller proportion Of starch tlian the
3cereais ina ~ stealrtn THE starch
cans are tlloton ghig bEolzen aud the
starch reduced to condition in
which it IS easily acted upon. The
isacchartne infusion resulting from the
rnashfng IS that technical1y known as
the wort
The fermentation is effected by adj
ding either brewers OF compressed
yeast to the wort. or to saccharine
liquid obtained from molasses, beets.
or other sugar.prod nctng fruits or veg
etables. The fermentation process is
carried to its Funniest limit in order
to produce the greatest amount Of al
cohol, and the liquid thus prepared
for distillation is technically known
as the wash. The still is the appara-
tus in which the wash is reduced to
yapor and then condensed Essentt
ally and In its Oldest form, the still
consists of a copper vessel provided
with closed head and connected with
a spiral tube called the worm: The
latter is cooled by means of circnlat-
ing water or refrigeration, and when
the heat is applied at the still the
spirit begins to rise in yapor along
with more or less steam, and passes
through the worm, where 1t becomes
condensed by the cold, and trickles
down into the receiver. The product
Of the first distillaion is impure. ana
Redistribution at a lower Temperature
is necessary to deprive it of the water
and of the oils which have passed
with the alcohol To-day. by means
OF fractional stills the process has
been greatly improved, and the alco-
hol may be obtained cheaply and of;n
high grade.
The industrial uses of alcohol are
many and varied, as was demonstrate
ed by an exhibition in Germany few
years ago, which was devoted exclu-
sively to alcohol, its production and
it's uses for industrial purposes. While
the general use of alcohol for indus
trial purposes, heating, lighting and q
vast range of chemical and other man.
ufacturing purposes has steadily in
creased in Germany. the percentage
of the whole product that IS use1 fol
motor purposes is relatively small and.
SO far from increasing, is said to be
rather diminishing, though to Just what
extent it would be difficult to prove.
A few Germans. from patriotic mo
tives, use alcohol for driving automo'
biles, freight wagons, motor boath.
and forming machinery. 1t has been
found by elaborate tests that the econ
omy of alcohol as fuel for gas motors
is largely increased by its being car
bureted through admixture with Ger.
tain percentage of benzole or other
product of mineral oil. For time ii
was believed that this admixture OF
benzoIe could not be safely carried
beyond copper cent. but more recent
experience has shown that a mixture
of equal parts of alcohol and benzole
can be used, especially in large mo
tors, with entire safety and economi,
cal results. For automobile purposes
the usual proportion is now about 80
per cent of benzole or gasoline, but at
the previous cost of alcohol it could
not compete on the score of economy
with mineral hydrocarbons in coun-
try where they were either produced
or imported free Of duty.
The industrial applications of alco-
hol are numerous; the chemical in
dustries lead. OF these, the manu-
facture of vinegar from alcohol and
acettc acid is one of the most impor-
tant. This industry is mainly the
growth of the period since 1887, and
its extent may be estimated from the
fact that there is consumed in Ger
many annually for the manufacture OF
vinegar 100000 liters (4,224.O00 gal
lons) of alcohol. The Oldest applica,
tion is in cooking. In the new alcohol
cooking lamps, some of which arc
regulatable, the alcohol Is gasified be,
fore burning passing through tube
where it .entrains with it the necessary
quantity of air. For cooking purposes
alcohol mas great advantages
cleanly in application and Instantly
at disposal. There are also alcohol
heating stoves, but they are as yet
too dear to come into general use. For
lighting, alcohol has only recently
been used. The first incandescent al
cohoi lamp dates from 1895. but was
not successful. The Auer lamp is bet,
ter. 1t gives so to 60 candle -power and
burns per hour about 10 quarts of al
cohol, but has the disadvantage of re
quiring permanent Classifying flame.
The Helft lamps do their Classifying
without a special flame, and If kept
clean and in good condition give no
trouble. The cost Of light is 80 per
cent cheaper than with petroleum.