Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1916-11-16
SaWmill Waste.

There are more than $4,000 s<wmills
IN the United States, n their output
in waste in the form Of sawdust, shay
lngs, slabs n other wood refuse is
at 100000 cords a year.
This is equal to over $500, 600. 600 cubic
feet of waste, which is the capacity of
a bin one-half mile high with q base
covering a 40-acre lot. Or, considering
each cord to contain so cubic feet of
solid wood with all the cracks and air
spaces taken out, these $4,000, Oo0 cords
would make a block of wood more than
a quarter Of a mile on each edge.
Perhaps one-half of this so-called
waste product is not strictly speaking
wasted, but serves a useful purpose as
fuel under the boilers. Much of the re-
naming 5000. 900 cords not only serves
no useful purpose, but in most cases is
a source of inconvenience and danger,
and costs the mill time and money.
SaWmill waste is disposed of in var
lous rays. Some goes to the local fuel
market. some to pulp mills or TO good
distillation plants. Shavings and long
cuttings, as we'll as other mill waste,
are sometimes used to fill low places
IN he yards. However, the most COM
mon method Of getting rid of waste is
by burning either in a fire Dit having
an open fire which sometimes has a
protecting wall On the side toward the
mill, or in a burner inclosed on all sides
~ANA ~ Ai5 :" oPtkl n GIL NON MS l. Z dl
the top and a fire CRATE near the bot
tom. In both cases some kind of a con-
veyer is necessary to bear the waste
from the mill to the fire. This is usually
a sort Of trough with a metal bottom
along with a slowly moving chain or
carries the waste to the fire.
A closed burner and conveyer costs
about $4,000 for a mill of 10O,u 900 feet
daily capacity. Forty per cent of the
larger mills, cutting more than SO, 600
board feet daily. are equipped with
have fire pits. The remainder have
neither, and dispose Of their waste in
some other way.
1t is estimated hat for a mill of 1OO.-
900 feet capacity, the cost of conveying
the waste from the machine where it is
made, and destroying it in a closed
burner, is AZ cents a cord, OF $1O.05 a
day. Burner seldom bring in any
revenue, although in a few cases ashes
are sold for fertilizer, n in a number
Of others the burner furnishes hot feed
water for the boilers.
Both burners and fire pits add to the
Insurance rates on lumber, md in the
case of the pit or the mill itself. In
order to reduce the fire hazard to zero.
in the case of the burners, 1t Is neces-
sary to keep all lumber piles at least
Is feet away from the burner. The mat
Ter IS mucn Wof:e IN the case of the
pits, especially the open ones, which
must be kept 500 feet away from the
mill n 500 feet away from the lumber
piles. When nearer thar these distances
from the mill and yard respectively, the
insurance rates mount up rapidly with
closer proximity, until they become
practically prohioitive when the fire
pit is nearer than 100 feet.
No we'll manage mill would produce
waste If it could 81 avoided. This. how
ever, is not possible, so the next best
thing Is to seek out some method Of
utilization of the waste so 1t will pay
for its disposition. The forest service is
working on this problem. but has not
yet found a satisfactory solution.