Chemical Industry

Chemical Industry Needs Reproducible Creps

994

I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G CHEMISTRY

VOl. 40, No. 6

I I I I I ~ I M T , p u p costiiigla, \\.:itc~r-t~liinric~tl It:tiiits, Ilk wll :IH wlit)lr (syntlietic) alI ~ u r i i c ~ :t i i d rtniiiio iicitln. I ’ r i t i v i p i l IISCS of ~ ~ o oitre c l r.el:itctl to its pliynicttl rather tlitrn diiwii(*:iI pt~iipcrtic~s.Many nwotitl:wy UMS CxiNt, however, rtrttl tlhcsr :ire grnndly base11on rlic~nrirrrlimpeih. The une of trees is :i ri*l:ttivcly ineff ivient process. Anriuul depletion of forcst,s :iniounts to ribout 188.5 iiiillion tons (6.7 billion c*ulticfect), of whirti :ilmit 70% in wti~tetlin lurnbering and prii~*essiiig o1iw:itioiiw. A sni:ill I i i i i t i o i i of n i i ( 4 wiiste niakrisl is utilizeil tih f u d . About 17 niillion toris of wood were prorcwrtl i n 1944 an11Iinlf of this w i s ritlicr wiHtw1 or convert4 t o c1icniii~:tlI)rritliwts. Ihring ahout 6.8 niillion wrtls of wood were uwtl i n tlte sulftite puljiing proresib. Apprositnately 47%) of this, h i i t 4.5 niillioii tons, iv:ts t~ri*overedas pulp, lotiving 4.7 COMPETlTlVE CMEMURClC CROPS inillion tons of clissolvccl sii1)st:inres i n the sprnt liquor. Much of titis n:ts lignin, utilized to wnie extent :is a f w l , The use of corn for the production of starch, clcstrow, gluand in sinal1 qu:intitirs for the ~)rodurtionof vnnilliii, Iittsr cose sirups, dextrins, oil, zein, gluten feed, and 1avcr:tjie :ilroesr1i:ingc mitrritils, ro:rtl bindcis, ctc. Allout 80,OOCI tom of hot can be ronsidered as :t typical cheniurgic ojwr:ttion that tall oil and l!#,(K)O toils of siilf:ite tiirlwntine, representing thrives in a strictly competitive environment. In quantity 60% of c~:iIc~ul:itrcIwiiI:iMe, were also rerovrred. The use uncl value of tirrived products, Corn leads all chemurgic crops. of tall oil in tlic ni:inuf:irture of siirf:iw cwitings and linoleuni In 1943 the wet milling industry used 111,940,OOO i)ushels of is growing r:ipitlly. corn (about 4 5 of rrop) and produced produrts vuluetl at Ahout 4.S niillioii tons of ~ v o o dww used in the sirlfitr $223 million. This conipares with the 1935 grind of 58,319,pulping prowsh. of whic4i 52% w t s lost N S solulile by-produvts. OOO bushels hiving a prorluct value of $103 million. Processes for thc use of this hy-proiiiirt liquor for thr miinuThe quantity of siveeteners made from corn in 194T was fwture of rtligl :ilcohol and tlir ~-rcovrryof sulfur tliosidc about 380,000 tons of destrorjo and 1 million tons of sirup. have laen tlevelc ipetl. One such : t l i d i o l plttnt is operttting The normal consumption of sugar is about 7 million tons. in the Viiited St:ttcs and two ( o i i r i i i i ( l n cwnstrurtioii) :irc Thus:. out of n total of h,3S0,000tons of sweeteners, .tbout in Can:itl:i. 16% is contributed by rorn. Most of the tlestrose and gliiThe soch pulping ~)rovessroiisiinicil alwut 1 Inillion tons col-e sirups now go to industry where their peculiar advnntageof wood, from which 413,000 tons of pulp were olhiined. oua properties are rerognized and employed. The industry An adtlitional I .2 ridlion tons wcre wxl to piwdure 1 niillioii is not riiiniintlful of the enortiinus possihilities for espansion tons of seniii~heniicslpulps. into the institutional and household fields. Espansion could Formerly linrtlwoods were used to p r o t l ~ ~rnethanol, e also he arrelerttted I Jresearch ~ on co-protlurt antl t)y-procluct avetir acid, :ind r1i:trro:d tiy dcstrurtive tlistil1:ition. Tlie tuluti1iz:ttion. Steep liquors play itti important role in the provent of syntlirtiinietlirinol and :iretic acid has, I i oww~r, iliwtion of jwnidlin and might very \vel1 Serve as a source of relcg:itcd w o c i t l tlistill:ition to riinrginni opertitions. I n tlir lactic wid. Froin gluten feed niay stem tlir protlurtion of p s t , siiftwio~l~ \\’err :itso tlistilletl to mskc r1i:irco:tl :iiitl pinr amino acids. font1 supplenients, and rlicniical coinl)ouncls. t:w. (‘urrrntly \wad tiirpontinr and rosin nntl pinr oil tire I n m:iny rrsperts the story of Jack rind the 1ie:inst:ilk is not nr:irly so esriting n.s the story of the coylw:in. After 1914, pro~lureilI iy t l t c i nioi’c effiricnt stenrn-nntl-solvent i)rowss. Otlirr c 4 i r i i i i c d piwluets clrrivril from wootl :we rtliiinol, when IOOO :irrcs of soylmns w r r gron I: for h w l , the riiltiywst,, ttiiiiiiiib, Iil:isticBs, iiiitl tostilc filars. Etliyl tiliwhol v:itril :ire:i clortl)lecI each yenr for n::iny yc:irc. I n I922 nn citn lie proihiiwl by fermenting sugars obttiined by tlir :tc+itl oil mill wts erevtrtl to :tc.c.oiiiiiio~l:itef:trnirr* N lin \ v i w tlircshliy(1roIysis of \ s o o i l , hut t i s yet this process tins not lwcri iny coyIw:inb foi tx!:tn< inrte:ul of growing tlir i * i * i i p for h:iy oprr:iteil siiri~wsftillyin the United St~titm. There is l i t t l ~ or p h i n g it I w k into tlic qwunil to rnrirli tltc soil. cloul)t, hnwvrr, th:it wood sugar nntl yeasts could l i r lmT o h y thcre ttip m o r r th:in 100 procewing pltints with an tlurctl i n licit of :ilrolinI, tinriu:tl r:ip:tvitg for grinding :ilinwt 200 million tiusliels, Thr IIW of ~-i*rllulosc~ for thr proclurtion of rayon, rcllulosr In cine genrr:rtion thr proctuc*tion of soyliwn oil incw:tsctl esters (cvlliilosr :iwtritc antl rrllulow nitriite), and celluloxe tit su(*liit r:ite that i n 1944 it exceeded th:it of (vittonscetl nil. ethers litis gro\vn rapidly, Aiiout h l f tlir 1946 world producI n 194fi it took tlie lead as :isource of edili!o oil. Tlie 1947 t,ion of 885,SCH) tons of rnyon originnteil in tho Uniteit States, produrtioii of soylwns WRS 181,3W,~300Imhels, virlucil at hut n consitlcr:iltlr anioitiit of cotton linters was used in these rilmost Ii:ilf B hillion dollsrs. This tigronornir development mrinitf:ict,rires. h:is rontrihutrtl yrwtly to the erononiir wrlfwe of our farmers It is noteivortlty tliiit rlicniic*:tI uxrs of wood 8rc Imsc?d on und of ttir nntic n. its crlliilose and not on its lignin cwitcnt. If hirye srtllr eroTilt! (wide soytmn oil c:in tw proc*essed to meet the rrnomic usrs for lignins could IH) foitnil, the wood utilization qnirenic.ntq of f o o i l manufacturers or the paint factory. From pic*turen o i t l ~ lIw yrvtitly iniprovctl. Tliiw is not iiii rtisp trmk. the oil there is also cihtuinerl lerithin, which ha8 many terhTo miike tlir viirioris fnmis of liyniii itvrtilttble for induwtrisl nrilogird uses, tis well as the ttorniones progesterone and prrgIISC, further itroivssing in nrvesxiiry. Ik~fort!a new rhemical nanulonc. The Icolvpiit-extr:rcted soybean meal t h u t contains industry rtm he ilrvrlo~wilfrom lignin, it must he denionalioiit, ,W%,proteins is utwl for the prepttrittion of adhcsives, ‘Uie tinuiurlly reprotlucible farm priitluth nwIcc1 t o niiiint:iin rlirnuiryir qwr:itions nuty 1~ vnrioirnlg i~1:issihwl. I l r i t l they :irr groiipe‘d into three c*lusses: I. (‘iiin~n~titivr chiiurgic r r n p , h u ( 4 1 :IS soyl)r:in, w i w , fi:iy, n:ivtil Ytows, vottoii, tind wood tlint tire gro\vii entitvly or p:irti:illy for intlustrid niarkets, nncl in cwniprtt~SIIIY fully I\ itli niinertd products or other ngriculturiil i,oiniiio~litit.s. 11. Surplus or supported rrops, such :is milk, siig:ir, IMwlUt$, t r i i d potatoes, tliitt ordinarily eunnot c*onipetc for intlustri:il in:trkets bcr:iu.ie of relatively high rost prr wit of c*heniic:ilconstituents. II I, .igric ut tu r:i I 1y-1)rod ucts :I titi f : m i rrl-itI I i r k , in I ti( 1ing oat and ricr hulls, cnrnrobs, molussrs, s:ta.tlurt, ti:ig:i.ise, wttoii linters, cheese whey, itnd seed-flas s t r w , are rxamples of niatrri:ils that :ire now processed profitably in rlieniic:il pln n ts , (3

~ i i i t r r l i l ifor ~ tii:triirfric~t,ici,iiigpIy\iiiiiiI

:ii*il

Juno 1948

I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E,R I N G C H E M I S T R Y

stritted t h t t h ~iriip~setl operations are t!c~o~iittttic~tilly sound when nicitsiired aguinst siiiiilr~rproducts coming front otlicr 1~viti1til)lcritw mtttcrii~ls. SUHI’LUS ANI) YUPI’OHTED CRO1’8

Peunuts, like milk, are nornially produrcd for food inarkrth. The protlurtion of pennuts for strictly inilustriu1 mrirkrts has never attainetl importance. Normally peanuts are cruslwd whrn they do not meet food quality standards o r wheii thry are i n surplus supply. When diverted froin food niarkrtp, the etvnomir returns to farmers are as tt rule lowcr. In 1939 only ahout 8% of the peanut crop was crushed for oil tiut in 1940-41 ubout 35% was crushecl, pursuant to the governnient-slwnsored diversion progr:im. Although the proiluction of peanuts hus increased substantially since that time, the 1940-41 production of oil (171 million pounds) and inert1 (130,OOO tons) constitutes a peak. With the advent of the protein fiber industry, peanut proteins may play an important role in the production of new textile filwn. Economic considerationfi suggest that fiber factories rould cwmpete with food markets for ti continuous supply of ti uniform peanut meal. Assuming thiit $80 per ton for meal would provide the necessary post-ECA ineentivr for crushing, the cost of contained crude protein woultl he about 8 cents per pound. This constitutes an attrartive sourre of raw material for the infant protein fiber industry. In recent years millions of pounds of surplus potatoes have lwcn diverted to industrial plants for the mnnufacture of twvertige and industrid alcohol and feeds. A hundruiweight of potuttss (14% starch) yields 1 gallon of industrial alcohol. Two hundred and seventy pounds (support price about $6) would be required to mntdi the production from :I bushel of corn. TJnlike corn, however, there are no valuable coproducts, sucli ns oil and gluten feed, to offset manufacturing costs. Bcrause of these ronsitlerations, diversion of surplus potatoes to alrohol plants constitutes tt c*ostlygnvernmental olwration. \Yhea potatoes iire dehyilratrd for ft.14 tlvre is a Cj to 1 shrinkagr. Furthermore, Iiotatws cwtt:iin :il)out SO% wttcr, and tlie tlrhytlration costs arc high -:itioirt $15 to $25 per ton of dry protluct. Jhiring priiods \vlien pricw for fcrtistuffs ure high nnd there is it11 over-dl ii:ttioti:iI shnrtiigc for livestork feeding, suc*Iiilivcrsions of surples pot:ttocbs itlt’ in the piil~lirinterest. AOHICULTURAL BY-PRODUCTS AND FARM RESIDUES

Volt~nirs htive h c n written regarding tlie tt~lvantngeotts titiliztttioit of rigriciilturd by-protlucts iiittl furlti rrsirliirs. In gcncrul, these i+oirimcdityhistories tell the tule of c*onvtvti i i K a tlisposal ~irolilcmittto a dis!m&le incomc. 11ic4iI1lrantl S I I ~ ~ I I I skini R milk (‘an a ~ l ~ a r i t a ~ e o ulie s l gused for tlic iiitcgrutctl tiisnufacture of wseiti, Iiii*tosc,1:ictir :i(litl, ~ i i r d1iicti~tr.s. Thr cstent to which such milk will be used for ~ t o i i f o o t lantl iionfeed purposes depends on the niiwnitucle of markets irnd the relative nct return from such oltertitions. llroil~~r~tiii~i of thy cttwin totded 31,333,000 p o d n i n 1947, IL gitiii of 72% from 1946 and 16% above the 5year uveragr. Crwle niilk sugar produrtion, predoniin:tntly froni c+hwsr wliry, for 11147 totiiletl 20,825,000 pouncls. 11 cleciline of 2% f l i J l l 1 1046 Iiut 3OU% grettkr thun i n 1943. From the IO47 output of rrivle milk BuKur, there were producc?d ~ , 0 0 6 , ptiirttls of tec4trtic~ulitnd 11 niillion pounds iif U.8.P. Itwtonr. Tlici ntsniifiwture of lui!tic acid untl its rlerivittivew riilt nil-

006

v:ttttl~gi~ounly I i r Iiiihc(1on clieew? w l i ~ ywlieti u cliaposu1 probIrrii i h prrsriit,; IWKO qiiitntiti(bh or whey u r ~ avdIahIe in a w i 1 1 1 :irrti; t u i d h i c t i r . acid, i t h atlts, and derivative# nre ttiiiilo c~o~itiittiou~ly on :L Lrge scdc -- wrn if it involver the iisr of i)tlior fcrnientul~lrsugars, 1’1w iisc of sed-fias straw I)y the 1Scustik P a p Corporatioit, in the rnunuf:tcturr of fine pqier, is an out~t~indirtg ex:iittplr of chemurKy. Tltc dwthpmt!rlt l~usinvolvetl the Iiightwt type of rescttrclt from sect1 to miiiiufilrtured pIYJdUrt8. I n l!)37, only 5201) tons of struw w r r used, rornpsretl with 370.O00 tons in 1945. This fttrni rcsitlur is now used for all of o u r cig:iret p:ipcr atid for fine stationery, rurrency, anti I3ilile paper. The pro~lurtioiiof furfural from potitos:iit-rorttairting matrri:ils, such as oitt hulls, rice hulls, antl rorncobs, has benefited hoth agriculture tuicl the cheniical industry. Current reseerch with rorticol~s,a t the Northrrn Regional Research I,itl)ortitory, iiitlir~ttcsthat sylose c:iii selec.tively be removed froiii the resitlud ccllulosr by controllrtt arid hytlrolysis. The refiidue is then sac*i~ltarific!cIto it 10% g1111~ose solutioa. The sylose is obt:iined as ~t 15%, solittion which inuy be converted to furfurnl or fcrniented to :I niistuw of Iiut:tnol, aretone, and ethanol. The gltirosr sdution CUII be used for produc.tion of ulrohol or protein feedptuffs in the form of yeasts. C‘hemurgy h:ts iiiany r:ise Iiistorics of rrops itntl agricultural by-products put to industrial use. Some processes, such L ~ B the produrtion of nylon intemediutcs from corncobs virr fiirfurul, hold promise for profitdde future activities. OtherR, in thr light of actual or potential competition from stored hyclrt~rarbons,coiiltl hitrtlly 1~ reconmended for venture r:tpital. In general it :ippeitrs prudent to estaldish 11s a major guide in chemurgic researcb--not involving national welfaretlie tlevelopmrnt of protlurts that cannot reatlily be produred i n volume from natur:tl gits, prtrohim, :tnd rod through the mrcliuni of organic synthesis. This c~ompetition from gr:itlunlly tliniinishing supplies of hytlrorarbon reserveg sliould, ho\vevrr, be :iwcpt,ed :is it rlitillciige hy those now iititig clientrrrgic~riwe:irc~li with nnnuully rrlirotluriltle :igrirulturd poilucts:.

Naval Slues E. 1,. ID.4’IvI’ON,IIcad, Nuvul Stores Ilcsc~urcti Division, Ihrreuu of Agricultural und Industrial Clicinistry, NCWOrlcuns, La.

N

AV.4 I, STORES :trr tl it’ proi liwta ninnufwturril from pine gittn, ittc~latlingtiirprntirie, rosiii, pinc oil, and pitrii. Tliry :ire o1~t:iinctlT r i m soutlirrn yellow pine, also known :is long 1o:if pinr, froiii sI:ish pine, and Doni pine stiinips, or ‘%ght\voocl.” Tlir n:tnir ‘‘nuv~iIstows” wus applied to tlirw proilti(~tsin (’1~101iiitIdttys, \vheti thcir prinripal use WBB in sliipliiiilding. l’inc pitch, pnrtirulsrly, ww used for caulking ships :iritl for \\,cettlirr-proofiiigrope rigging. “Turprlititio f:iiwiiiig,” :IS tlir induntry was idled, begm in Sort11 Anirrivx :IS ciirly :IS 1600, ttttiong thc Acatiians in N o w Sroti:t. Sliipiiiwit of t4tr froiii the Carolinns to EngI:uttl in f7(J4 wits only 400 biirrrls. A hundred ye:tn later, ~southrrit r s p r t , s to Brititio of tar, rosin, trnd other producta ti)tiili~cI riliout iS,(Kx) brtrirlw, u i i d frotii North Ct~rolinain the M:LIIIPy t w (1So4) weiv s h i p ~ ~ ?dinost il 2O,o(H)~:tlli~ns of tur-