Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-12-07
USING SAWDUST AND OTHER
DUST TOLD OF
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7:-Savants
have shown that If the atmosphere
were not impregnated with dust
| there would be no cloud effects, no
radiant sunsets, no soft afterglow
of harmonious colorings which lend
a halo to the quiet of eventide. Also.
there could be no condensation of
moisture as in rain, mist or fog
without nuclei such as dust part.-
Giles.
That is one phase of the story OF
the usefulness of dust, but govern
ment scientists and others are more
interested just now in determining
what can be done with dusts of
specific kinds that have long con-
stituted big items of waste in vari-
Gus industries.
Perhaps the most interesting de-
! velopment of the experimental
! work that has been going on is in
connection with the problem of
what to do with sawdust. Ever
since the first saw bit its way
through a piece of timber the nor
nous waste in sawdust has been a
matter to worry over. In time it
was found that this debris could be
made commercially valuable as the
basis of various manufactures. Ok
alic acid is produced on a large
scale from sawdust, and sawdust is
also used in the carbonating stage
of the process for the manufacture
of soda ash.
But now it has been discovered
that sawdust can be coverted into
a food and by carrying the process
a step further alcohol may be, pro-
duced-not wood alcohol. but the
kind that was the basis for gloom
eradicators in pre-Volstead days.
The sawdust food is n for beast
and not for man, but nevertheless it
is useful and may become a factor
In farm economics. Sawdust alco-
hol will not be used for beverage
purposes, but there is a great need
for a new motor fuel to take the
place of gasoline or to supplement
the supply of that article which is
not keeping pace with the demand,
and alcohol seems to hold out the
| greatest possibilities in that direc-
ton.
White pine saWdust is used in this
| process. 1t is treated with dilute
sulfuric acid and cooked under
| pressure with steam. This brings
about a chemical change in which
the sawdust is partially converted
into glucose, a simple sugar which
is both digestible and of food value.
There is from IA to Is per cen of
| glucose in this mixture, which is
then n~eutralized with lime, the
sugar dissolved, and the solution
filtered off and boiled down under
reduced pressure until it is of the
consistency of molasses. This mol
asses Is then mixed with the partial
ly dried sawdust residue, and the
,N-,,IE T. ~~AIa1aA a1noA1u rngn-1h-
ling bran.
Farmer Had Right idea
Thus it would appear that the
tightfisted farmer who tried feed
ing his mules excelsior and sawdust
as substitutes for grass and bran
mash had the right idea, or at least
a feasible idea. His trouble was
that he did not prepare the stuff
properly.
In producing alcohol from the
bran mixture the essential step is TO
let the sugar in it ferment. 1t is
estimated that three to four hun
dred million gallons of alcohol
Gould in this way be derived from
sawdust, shaving and bits of lumber
that are wasted each year in the
mills of the country.
The debris of the lumber industry
is by no means the only dust thai
is being conserved and put to useful
purposes. Coal dust is another not
able example, and in view of the
present shortage in the coal supply
as a result of the strikes its utillia-
ton is especially important.
For years the culm or dust pro
duced in sizing anthracite for the
market was regarded as practicall,
worthless, although 1t was for tn
most part perfectly good coal. j
could not be handled or shipped
economically, however, and thu
consumer did not know how to US
it, so it was permitted to go a.
waste. Smaller and smaller size
of anthracite were found useful un
til now the dust itself is being burn
ed, either through a powdered-coa
burner which sprays the ~pulverizet
fuel into the furnace or fire-box, o
in the form of briquettes.
A corporation recently forme'
has an establishment at Alexandria
Virginia, where a new process o
$ preparing a fuel that is an amalgan
of coal lust and crude oil Is beini
exploited. It is claimed that
WHOLLY satisfactory substitute 70
anthracite for domestic purposes |
being produced. and It is also sal