Alcohol sis Fuel Featured In Chemurgists A STAFF REPORT
A
CARBURETOR for a n
alcohol-burning
tractor, advances in t h e fermentation field, a n d the isolation of a biologically active chlorophyll were among t h e n e w developments featured a t the thirteenth a n nual meeting of t h e N a t i o n a l F a r m C h e m urgic Council, in O m a h a , M a r c h 3 t o 6. R a l p h E. Davis, J o s . Seagram & Sons, reported that t h r o u g h modification of the carburetion system and a slight in crease i n compression r a t i o , t r a c t o r en gine performance equal to that from gaso line h a d been achieved using 95% ethyl alcohol. Using a dual chambered carburetor t o increase the fuel-air r a t i o , returning a por tion of t h e engine exhaust into t h e i n t a k e system for improved vaporization a n d preheating of t h e alcohol-air *nixturc, a n d planing the cylinder h e a d t o increase t h e compression ratio to a b o u t 7.35, Air. D a v i s and A. J . Meyer, University of K e n t u c k y , found good performance in t h e tractor engine operating entirely on alcohol fuel. In more than 5 0 0 hours of tests there was no evidence of corrosion or carbon deposit in the combustion chamber, nor was there oil dilution or a b n o r m a l wear a s a result. B o t h power output a n d performance of t h e engine were reported equal to t h a t from gasoline. Alcohol as a Supplement G. E . Hubert, Northern Regional R e search Laboratory, i n discussing i m proved motor fuels as a n outlet for poten tial farm surpluses, pointed o u t t h a t t h e blending of 1 gallon of ethyl alcohol, t h e octane rating of which approaches 100, with 9 gallons of low grade gasoline will yield 10 gallons of p r e m i u m grade a n t i knock motor fuel. T h i s he emphasized a s m p o r t a n t in v i e w of t h e t r e n d toward bighcr compression engines requiring uighcr octane r a t i n g s at the same time a s i>ur petroleum reserves are decreasing. Under present a n d future conditions, D r . Eilbert indicated, we should n o t t r y t o phink of alcohol as a competitor for gasoine, b u t consider it as a supplement. Already, said Dr. H u b e r t , it has been hown t h a t by the use of alcohol-water njection an automobile engine supplied vith a low grade gasoline will perform, mder stress, as if it were being fed a good ;rade regular gasoline. This, he said, j u l d m a k e it possible for a car t o perform t constant speed on a level road with lowj a d e fuel, then, aided by alcohol-water rjection, perform u n d e r stress a s well a s it were burning high grade fuel. The use of fungal amylase instead of talt in alcohol production was one of t h e Ivances in t h e fermentation field d e •,rtbed b y C. T . Langford, N o r t h e r n R e ional Research Laboratory. T h i s m a *rial produced in thin stillagc, b y AsperOLUME
20,
NO.
12
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gillus niger, was reported to produce alco hol from grain more economically t h a n the present s t a n d a r d m e t h o d s using malt. Successful pilot p l a n t work done a t N R R L was described. Another new fermentation process de scribed b}' D r . Langford wras the produc tion of riboflavin, using Ashbya gossypii, by aerobic fermentation. T h e isolation of chlorophyll in a bio logically active, unaltered, stable form was reported b y Boris a n d Sophia Berkman. While no details of t h e "physicochemical m e t h o d " used to isolate t h i s product were revealed, i t was stated t h a t carotene and lycopene were also isolated in intact, undenatured states. Unusual biological a c t i v i t y w a s reported for all of these com pounds. D r . Berkman credited t h i s re sult t o the isolation of more than t h e mere organic pigment. T h e l a t t e r , he says, has been the product previously obtained r a t h e r t h a n all of t h e components of the biologically active materials. Trace Element Deficiencies T h e importance of trace materials in growth of p l a n t s a n d a n i m a l s was one of t h e features of t h e paper on new horizons in animal nutrition by H . J . Prebluda, U. S. Industrial Chemicals. Copper defi ciencies, h e said, h a v e been reported t o cause a n u t r i t i o n a l disease of o a t s in E u r o p e a n d Australia a n d h a s even been reported in Florida. T h e s a m e deficiency has been found to cause " s t e e l y " wool in certain sheep raising areas. D r . Prebluda also reported t h a t there seems t o be a n interaction of micronutrients, such as copper and molybdenum. A high intake of molybdenum brings a b o u t a copper deficiency i n r u m i n a n t s w h i c h can b e pre v e n t e d b y feeding additional copper.
Work abroad, h e s t a t e d , has shown t h a t as little as one ounce of molybdenum t r i oxide per acre promoted normal forage growth of legumes, molybdenum being necessary for nitrogen fixation, whereas in the absence of t h i s material poor produc tion resulted i n spite of liberal applica tions of superphosphate. Toxaphene, a chlorinated camphene, was discussed b y L. P . Killilea, Hercules Powder Co., w h o said that it is the first agricultural insecticide to be developed for t h e control of all major cotton insect pests, as well a s grasshoppers. Louis B . Howard, chief of the Bureau of Agricultural a n d Industrial Chemistry of the U S D A , reviewed the history and d e velopment of chemurgy a n d cited some current developments in t h e regional re search laboratories, including improved cotton tire cord, rutin from buckwheat, which gives promise of being beneficial in treating high blood pressure associated with capillary fragility, and keratin fiber from chicken feathers. In a paper o n the farmer's stake in in dustrial research, R a l p h Manley, director of research of General Mills, I n c . , cited as the p r i m a r y w a y s in which research serves the farmer: waste utilization, building of new value into products of t h e soil, a n d shifting the d e m a n d for basic foods through new processing techniques. H e emphasized t h e importance of t h e continuous development of new techniques t o convert basic materials into m a n y com modities t h a t d i d not exist before. A. L. Elder, Corn P r o d u c t s Refining Co., presented an extensive discussion of new uses for coproducts a n d by-products of t h e wet milling i n d u s t r y and indicated a belief t h a t t h e production of industrial chemicals from corn will increase.
W. Ώ. McFarlane (left), Victory Mills, Toronto, extended greetings from the National Chemurgic Committee of the Chamber of Commerce of Canada. With him are Paul Kolachov of Jos. Seagram & Sons, Inc., and Louis Howard, chief of the Bureau of Agricultural and Industrial Chemistry, USDA
M A R C H
22,
1948
861
