Evening star., 1942-05-03
u. :. Seeks Alcohol
For War From Other
Sources Than Sugar
Explosives Base Easily
Made, but Equipment
Presents Problem
Wide World News.

No one ever heard of a bag of
sugar exploding because a house
wife stubbed her toe on the way
home from the grocery. Yet sugar
cane can become highly explosive
stuff
1t becomes explosive by becoming
molasses, which becomes alcohol,
which becomes gunpowder.
If the housewives bag of sugar
were explosive, people in general
might be better informed about in
dustrial alcohol and less indignant
about having a little less sugar for
their coffee.
At present American industry Is
turning sugar cane into explosives
as rapidly as possible to supply the
Army and Navy with the greatest
possible firepower.
Sugar Not Only Source.
II explosives could be made only
from sugar came, one Of two things
would happen. Either the soldiers
shells and bombs and torpedoes to
fight the enemy, or the rest of the
people would not have sugar for
their tables.
Fortunately, alcohol also can be
obtained from natural gas and from
corn and wheat and probably a
number OF vegetables.
The question worrying the Eco
nomic War Board and Congress is:
How much Is to be made from
what?"
1T we need more alcohol for ex-
plosives," say the farmers. don't
give all the work to the sugar cane
refiners. Build new factories In the
farm belt and use more Of our sur
plus corn and wheat"
Can't Spare Copper.
That would give the people at
home q lot more sugar. But the
War Production Board says no"
To build new farmland factories,
the board says. would require cop
per for the rectifying tubes in which
the final process of making the ex-
plosive kind of alcohol dt is called
industrial alcohol or "190-proof)
takes place.
The copper stockpile we have on
hand is too small, and the short
age of ships running to South Amer
lean copper mines is too acute, to
risk using copper for anything ex-
cept weapons.
That's not fair" the farmers say.
"The w. p. B. lets other folks have
copper What's more important than
using 1t to make alcohol to make
explosives? Copper shells are no
good unless they explode"
w. p. B. agrees that II 1t were a
question of needing copper for al
cohol as opposed to needing it for
other things, the farmers might
have a case. But w. P. B. says
copper is not needed for alcohol: 1t
says alcohol-making plants now in
existence can make enough for all
requirements.
Several Types Of Plant.
The controversy boils down to the
fact that there are several kinds OF
alcohol making plants.
One kind Is the ordinary liquor
distillery. 1t speciaizes in favored
products. and. to keep in the flavor.
1t distills only as far as 100 to 140
proof alcohol.
Another kind is the industrial al
cohol distillery. Unconcerned about
flavor, 1t keeps evap0ratlng fer
mented liquid up to the point where
it is nothing but alcohol. the 190-
proof stuff.
The copper rectifying tube is high
er in the 190-proof plant, enabling
it to carry the vapor farther and
make it purer before the final prod
uct condenses.
Problem No. Is that there are
many more distilleries than indus
trial alcohol factories.
If copper weren't so scarce, this
could be remedied easily by adding
a little more copper to the distill-
cries rectifying tubes. But copper
is scarce.
Trying Two Processes.
II sugar cane is scarce, why not
use corn and wheat to make 190-
proof alcohol?
The industrial alcohol plants are
accustomed to using the molasses
from sugar cane and have no ma
chinery to grind grain.
The War Production Board Is try
ing this answer:
Let the distilleries distill alcohol
to 120 and 140 proof. Then let them
ship it to the industrial alcohol
plants to be boosted to 190-proof
stuff.
That way every one will be busy.
the distilleries will be using more
than their usual share Of corn and