Evening star., 1939-08-19
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henri.

BY Thomas r. Henry.
Long . useless nuisance In the paper
and rayon industries, lignin Is coming
into It's own.
1t is the "soot" Of . plants life hres
lining the walls Of wood cells In the
past 1t has been almost entirely q waste
product.
Now chemists Of the United States
Forest Service laboratory at Madison,
Wis, have learned how to convert 1t into
at least four substances of commercial
value. One is methanol, or wood alcohol
Four others had not been previously
discovered, although one Of the group
was described as theoretically possible
by a German chemist.
The discoverers, Drs. E. c. sherrard
and Z. E. Harris, describe the first Of
these new substances As paraprophyl-
cycloheanal, valuable as = solvent for
organic gums and resins and oils used
in lacquers. 1t also acts as wood pre-
servative. The second and third SUBJ
stances are thick liquids which will be-
come solid after standing a long time.
Both may be made into plastic mate
rials The fourth new substance is as
yet unnamed, because its structure has
not yet been determined. 1t has prop
critics that make it valuable as lacquer
ingredient and, because Of its water
resistance, as cement or adhesive for
wood or paper. 1t also may be used as
a plastic material.
As a by-product Of paper and indus
trial cellulose mills, about / 800 900 tons
Of lignin now are dumped into streams
each year, making 1t pollution prob
lem. The cellulose, OF wood cells, is used
in making the paper and rayon and
now is the most important wood con-
stituent from a chemical conversion
standpoint The cementing substance
in and around the cells is lignin. 1t
composes about one-fourth of the struc-
ture OF all flbrous plants.
Because of its complex chemical ma
ture, lignin in its natural form has baf-
fled scientists. The Forest Service
chemists were able to form combina
tions between it and hydrogen, thus
changing its chemical nature so that 1t
would be broken down into its constitu-
ent parts. The hydrogenation process
already is in use commercially in max
ing hard fats from vegetable oils, petro-
leum from oils and Goals, and getting
gasoline out of natural petroleum
In the laboratory tests the hydrogen
atoms were added to a solution of puri-
fed lignin by means OF heat and pres
sure and the use of a catalyst, which in
duced rapid reaction but took no part
in it. Under this treatment the dirty,
brown lignin solution changed to a
thick, sticky, colorless fluid. The catalyst
then was removed by means of centri-
fuge, working on the principle Of
distilled. to create the wood alcohol and
the four new substances.
The process has been patented and the
patent assigned to the Secretary Of Agri-
culture.
A 2000-pound meteorite, probably q
fragment Of one of the largest shooting
stars which have struck the earth, has
just been added to the geological collec-
ton of the Smithsonian Institution.
The specimen was found about six
miles from the town Of Cranbourne near
Melbourne, Australia-the general area
of the Crsnbourne meteorite which was
piece, weighing more than three tons,
now is in the British museum. The Sec
ond, with weight of about ton and q
half is in Melbourne museum. Small
er fragments are scattered in museums
over the world.
1t is not certain that the large frag-
ment just brought to Washington was
actually from the same fall, which prob
ably occurred before Australia was
known to white men and perhaps before
the island was populated. That there
should have been two large falls in the
immediate vicinity, however, is consid-
cred quite unlikely.
Inc prOOaDluty is, says T.. r. I1eHueT-
son, in charge of the Smithsonians
meteorite collection, that this shooting
star" exploded in midair and in such
cases fragments may be found some dis
tance apart. This is the way meteors
frequently behave.
This particular fragment will be
placed on exhibit at the National Mu-
seum but it also is planned to subject
some of it to chemical tests to determine
its structure and its mineralogical rela-
tionships. While the fall of the Gram
bourne meteorite must be considered one
of the major collisions between the earth
and body from outer space, Mr.. Hen
derson says, it is known to have been
exceeded on several occasions. Nothing
has yet been found approaching the 30
ton Cape York meteorite discovered in
Northern Greenland by Admiral Robert
E. Peary. The Willamette meteorite in
Oregon and the object believed to have
formed the great Arizona crater were
larger bodies and this particular fall
was probably exceeded in size by one
which struck in Northern Siberia during
the World War, the shock Of whose col
nsion was observed on seismographs all
over the world but which never has been
located
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