The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-06-27

Washington, d. C., June 20
Corn cobs have their uses other
than as hog-fodder and as raw ma
terial for the pipes known as the
barnyard meerschaums, so dear to
the hearts of smokers who pride
themselves on being connoisseurs.
Scientists in the bureau of chemis-
try in the Department OF Agricul-
ture who have been experiment
ing, announce that they have pro-
dueed several valuable by-pro-
ducts from the humble cob. and it
is expected that their discoveries
will be concentrated in the near
future. One of the possibilities of
the new industry is a motor fuel
supply-one of the things that the
world needs almost as much as it
needs the machines which the mo
tors run.
Among the products which are
now to be extracted from corn cobs
are furfural, cob adhesive. acetate
of lime and cellulose. The first
named seems to have more uses
than any of the others. Up to the
present time, furfural has been a
comparatively rare product and has
been sold principally in small GUAM
titles for scientific purposes. The
price is now about SIT per pound.
Specialists of the bureau of chem
istry say It can be manufactured
from corn cobs at a cost of posi-
bly, Is to 20 cents per pound. To
produce something that ie neces-
sary or useful at one-eighty-fifth
OF its former cost may be set down
as a real scientific achievement.
Scarcity and high costs have
heretofore initiated against the
commercial use of furfural to any
great extent, and the uses to which
it can be put as yet are imper-
fectly known However, it is a
substance from which can be made
a great many kinds of -dyes, sew
eral paints and 1acauers and sub
stitute for hard rubber, and the
experimental work has progressed
sufficientlysfar to indicate the pos
sibility of developing fuel for mo-
tors.
Perhaps it's most important use
is, in chemical nomenclature, as an
intermediate for dyes. A whole
series Of dyes may be prepared by
interaction with various coal-tar
products. Shades covering a very
wide range have already been
made and tested by the govern
ment experts.
As Il Substitute for Hard Rubber.
Of its uses as a substitute for
hard rubber. DR.. W. W. Skinner.
assistant chief of the bureau of
chemistry, says: The import
ance of furfural production on a
large scale is apparent when it is
realized that such widely used ar
ticles as printing plates-light,
durable substitutes for electro
types-phonograph records, var
nishes, pipestems, cigaret holders,
electrical instrument parts for
merly made of hard rubber, but
tons. binders for brushes, glue. and
a hundred other kindred articles
are now being manufactured from
synthetic resin compounds. These
compounds are made with furfur-
al"
Since scientists discovered the
secret of making synthetic roSins
about Is years ago this industry
has had a remarkable growth.
The raw materials used are chief
ly formaIdehyde and phcnol, or
carbolic acid. These two COM
pounds. chemically combined. con-
dense as a solid which is highly
valuable as the basis for making
such articles as those enumerated
by DR.. Skinner. Thorough tests
have demonstrated furfural to be
an excellent substitute for formal
dehyde in this work.
Formaldehyde has its source in
methanol, or wood alcohol, which
is produced largely from the de-
structive distillation of hard woods,
such as birch, beech. oak. maple
and elm. Hence it is seen that the
use of furfural becomes a measure
of conservation.
DR.. Frederick r. La Forge, who,
with Gerald H. Main, has been con-
Quoting the experiments in the bu-
reau of chemistry, reports that he
was able TO run an automobile en-
CINE with furfural. However. be-
cause of its high boiling point it
cannot be used with the type of
carburetor suited to gasoline and
there are some difficulties in the
way of its development as a motor
fuel that will be commercially
valuable.
Two grades of adhesive are re-