The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-02-26
ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE LONG
LIST OF PENSACOLA INDUSTRIES
Will Manufacture Countless
Products Derived From
the Southern Pine.

The latest addition to the ever In
creasing list OF Pensacola industries Is
the Southern Pine EXTRACTS company
The plant is located on what is known
as the old Frater mill site near the
intersection OF Gregory and Fifteenth
street, overlooking the beautiful Pen
sacola bay.
The plant is not yet fully completed
but has been operating on a limited
scele for the past two weeks. 1t is
hoped that it viii be ready for full
operation within the next week or ten
days.
This is a concern financed and OPP
eratec. by Pensacola people and Is en-
gagged in manufacturing the countless
products obtained through the de-
structive distillation of pine wood
The plant is easily accessible by both
water and rail. The company has
constructed a long wharf extending
several hundred feet out over the bay,
and small schooners are daily unload
ing cargoes of pine wood which is
brought from the limit1ess pine for
ests that border Pensacola bay and
Its tributaries.
Inc TRICKS OIL Ln6 1OulSNllAC q LNooi-
willie railway company are adjacent to
the plant, and there cars of wood coli
lected at the various stations of West
FLORIDA and South Alabama are I'M
loaded within a few feet of the re-
torts. This also makes easy the load
ing OF the products of the plant for
shipment 10 foreign points.
The president OF the company is
Jas. W. Eley, who also acts as general
manager of the concern. G. A. Born
IS vice president and L. L. F'abinsinski
is secretary and treasurer; the stock
holders number some of Pensacola's
mos. progressive business men. The
company Is capitalized at $4,000.
]. i. Wilkerson is general superin-
&endent OF the plant, and j. I'll. Clende-
non. for twelve years connected with
other such concerns in this section,
has charge OF the chemical depart
ment.
The process by which the properties
pS southern pine is extracted at this
plant, and others OF it's kind, Is one of
the most interesting that The Journal
representative, who had occasion 20
visit it yesterday afternoon, has ever
seen demonstrated. The wood itself
IS loaded directly from the schooner
moored alongside the wharf to spe-
cially built trucks on narrow gauge
track atop OF the runway. The load
ed trucks are drawn up the runway
TO the retorts by means of long wire
cable attached to a cylindrical drum,
which is propelled by an upright steam
engine.
The wood is next placed in the re-
forts and the doors closed. These are
now alright. A fire is built under
the retorts. and tho properties of the
wood passes off in a vapor, or gas,
which Is partly liquified as it goes
through a specially designed water
cooled condenser. There is still an
other condenser which the vapor has
to pass through. This Is the last at
tempt to utilize the gas before the re-
naming portion goes to furnish fuel
TO boiler supplying steam to the dis
tillery.
AS the condensed vapor comes out
and empties into pipe leading to the
main tanks. which by the way are be-
low the surface OF the ground, 1t is
q. dark colored fluid of about so per
cent crude pine oil and so per cent
pyroligeneous acid--water and other
invaluable properties.
1t passes into the main tanks and
there the oil proper rises to the sur
face and the water is drawn off
through valve at the bottom Of the
tank. 1t is then pumped into storage
tanks, or direct to the distillery.
In the distillery, or refining plant,
the crude pine oil is put through sew
eral tanks, each step extracting some
particular oil. and robblng those oils
of impurities. In some instances
chemicals are used to aid the process.
After all is extracted from the crude
oil that is possible under ordinary
temperature, the residue is then taken
and submitted to an increased tenn
perature which results in more oil be-
ing extracted, leaving just plain star"
The uses for this are many, but it is
used extensively at shipbuilding and
repairing plants to calk the cracks and
seams In vessels
When one visits plant Of this kind
and has the different steps in the pro-
cess explained, he is sure to be inn
pressed by the manner in which every
thing is utilized. There is nothing
thrown away. There is no waste un-
less It is through inadequate or
wrongly placed machinery.
The wood is allowed to remain in
the retorts from 10 to 40 hours, this,
of course. depending on how rich the
pine II in OIL or how fiat" 1t Is, to
use the common expression. Then the
alright doors are opened. the char
coal is taken out, placed in air-tisht
cans to cool and later placed on the
market as fuel.
The ultimate aim OF the Southern
Pine Extracts company is to manu-
6acture oils, paint disinfectants. insec-
ticides and charcoal They are also
wholesale and retail wood dealers.
This latest addition 20 the numerous
industries here viii be looked upon
with interest.