Evening star., 1923-09-09
U.S.. BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY
ELIMINATES FOOD WASTE
Experiments i'm All Lines of Produce
Industry Resulting in Vast Saving
to Nation Generally, Is Shown.

south and market for the waste
of one Of its most important farm
products is being developed in an
governmental plant at Fitzgerald, Ga.
for the manufacture of sweet potato
sirup. The process for the manufac-
ture of sirup from sweet potatoes had
already been worked out on labOra-
tory scale. The sirup is rich in sugar
OF fine brown color and of excel
lent palatability. 1t has been found
valuable for baking, candy making
and table purposes. While the proc
ess is success from a laboratory
standpoint, the bureau of chemistry
has refrained from recommending il
to manufacturers until questions OF
! cost of commercial production and
| the market value of the product, com
pared with cane, corn and other
sirups, are determined.
Even Cobs Are Saved.
About 2O00O,000 tons of corncobs
are produced annually in the United
| States, and this has heretofore been
/ practically a waste product. Somc
cobs are now being used for home
or Industrial fuel, for which purpose
| they have about one-third the Valu-
| of coal. More often they are burned
| to get rid Of them or they are dumped
| into rivers or swamps. The chemists
] of the bureau have now worked out
L
| obtaining from them many valuable
| substances. II is estimated that there
| can be obtained from the use of 100
| tons of corncObS as q base fOrty-fi,r
! tons of the firSt-clasS adhesive AMI
| thirty tons of a secopd-class adhesive.
/ both of which can be used in the manu-
! facture of paper boxes and the like:
| thirtyfive tons of cellulose. which ca;
be used for the manufacture of pape.
/ and other products; three tons of
| and Onp-half
! OF furfural All Of these products "a.
! used in the various technical arts AMI
! can be marketed al profitable prices.
| Larger quantities OF furfuraI can be
! obtained by converting part of the adj
! hesive into this product the forty
| five tons OF the firSt-cIaSs adhesive Will
; make approximately eight tons OF fur
! fural. One commercial concern is now
| preparing to erect plant for the pUr-
pose of producing furfural from corn
| cobS.
! In addition to the work on the
| utilization of agricultural products,
the bureau of chemistry has under
| way many projects which are aimed
| to aid various industries. One OF the
most successful and beneficial efforts
! which the bureau has made in this
! direction resulted in the development
| of d method for the manufacture o.
| cane sirup by which the serious COM
fnercial difficulties due to fermenta
| ton and crystaliZation are obviatch.
/ This method was employed success
fully by siruD manufacturers in the
south last year.
! How the bureau Of chemistry win
zeal aroused TO meet wartime need
has showed Amer can manufacturers
! how to manufacture dyes and thus
| win economic freedom from the
| monopoly which Germany had pre-
| viously main;a med is story quit"
! familiar to American business men.
1
Here it should be mentioned that
the bureau OF chemistry works on
the policy that It's services can be
directed moro properly to the soiu-
tiou of questions which are of basic
importance to TIE industry as 4
whole. and which because Of their
| cha racter cannot or may not nc
handled satisfactorily by individual
concerns. Thus the bureau does not
| in the slightest degree enter the field
! as any mans competitor and its find
! ing are for the use of an entire in
dustry-
In the prevention Of dust explosions
the bureau OF chemistry has rem
| dered valuable aid 70 the induStTic
of the country. I'lant dusts arc
highly explosive. When such dustS
become mixed with air in certain def
mite proportions. al that is necessary
to produce a violent explosion is Tor
the dust 10 hr r-.-;a i-nited by contact
with sparks ~. Violent and
| disastrous e. rs have occurred
| in thrcshcTS. mills. elevators.
sta-cs factori,. .. -" like, resulting
not only in ga los OF propertl ,
but also in extensive loss OF life.
As result % - WO;k OF the lu
reau of her, e=. 'oak!ng towa! Il
the prcyentinr % explosions in
threshers. Ia :gjacr % such eN-
pIosions in -, - IL northwest haS
been reduce -, more than son
1914 to les an sixty. with a
property loss - l. ihan $4,000 in
1920. Prartit#... H. explosions have
| occurred n thTrshtIS equipped with
the safety devices worked out AMI
recommended by III. federal depart
| ment.
Another line Of work in which the
| bureau of che misIry * interested i;
j that pertaining; 10 ne production and
uses of rosin and turpentinc- I'm
proved methods for the production o.
! both these necessary materials have
beer worked out.
Because it is important not only to
work out Psychological processes in
the labOratory- hut Is equally impOr-
tant that those processes be trans
J ferred from the laboratory to the in
Observation-Disclosures engineers have
been placed in charge of the office
of development to take the processes
worked out in the laboratory and
adapt them TO commercial coEdi-
tions and TO assist in their utiliza :
! be the lOng-misSiug link in the in
dustrial chain between the scientist
| and the manufactures, and il has
| brought business men into more in
innate acquaintance and aDBreCiatiVe
cooperation with the bureau ot
, ! ichemiStry