I S D U S T R I A L A S D ESGISEERI.VG CHEMISTRY
March, 1930
A typical Californian kerosene extract assays ai: follows: yiscosity a t 100' F.. . . . . . . . , 6 5 sec. .4. P. I.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 4 . 5
Flash.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,145' F. Fire.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,170' F.
ENGLER DISTILLATIOK
5% In 10 20 30
OF. 324
390
414 430
223
T a b l e \'-Operating
Costs (Continued)
Labor:
' o " , ~ ~ & ~ }~. . . ~. . . .f. . .$. . . .~. . . ~. . . .e. . . ~. . ~ =~ y6 6 , O O
Maintenance and repairs: $12 000 per year (360 days). . . . . . . . Supplies: $3500 per year (366 days). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~~
%
O F .
R
40 50 60 70
444 456 468 482
80 90 95 97
OF. 497 522 555 595
costs
Operating costs are shown in Table V. T a b l e V--Operating C o s t s Assume the plants to he driven by electricity, and the evaporators to he heated with exhaust steam. A N D LIGHTOILS PLANTFOR TREATISGKEROSEWE Capacity 500 tons per day (3800 hbls.) using 75 per cent sulfur dioxide (by volume) Electrical power: 7320 kilowatt-hours 1 kilowatt-hour a t 1 cent = S73,20 per d a y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steam (exhaust): 232,200 pounds per 1000 pounds a t 10 cents = 23.22 day.,......................... Water (recooled and reused): 70,000 gallons per d a y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000 gallons a t 2.2 cents = 1,54 Sulfur dioxide: 2500 pounds per day. 1 pound a t 1.8 cents = 45.00
= =
33.33
9.72 -
Total cost per 24 hours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = $252.01 Operating cost per metric ton of distillate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . = 0 504 Operating cost per barrel of d i d l a t e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = 0.067 PLANTFOR TREATIXG LTJBRICATING OIL Capacity 500 tons per day (3500 hbls.) using 200 per cent sulfur dioxide (115volume) Electrical power: 10.080 kilowatthours per day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 kilowatt-hour at 1 cent = P l O O . SO Steam: 338,000 pounds exhaust steam.. . . 1000 pounds a t 10 cents = 3 3 , K 42,000 pounds live steam.. . . . . . . 1000 pounds a t 50 cents= 31 . O O Water (recooled and reused): 100,000 gallons per d a y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000 gallons a t 2.2 cents = 2.20 Sulfur dioxide: 2250 pounds per day. 1 pound a t 1.8 cents = 4 0 . 50 T.ahor.
7" f p , r , e ~ ~ s ]~. . .~. . . ~. . . .~. . .~. . . .~. . .~. . . ~. . . ~ $= ~ 66y 00
Maintenance and repairs: $12,000 per year (360 days). , . . , . . Supplies: $3500 per year (360 days). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
=
=
33.33 9.72
Total cost per 24 hours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = $307.35 Operating cost per metric ton of distillate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . = 0.615 Operating cost per barrel of distillate.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = 0. OSS.
Insulating Board from Straw' Albert G. Gibson STEWART I a s o BOARDCOMPAWY, S T JOSEPH,hlo.
T
HE utilization of farm wastes as the raw material for
manufacturing processes has attracted much attention in recent years. Cereal straws, among which wheat straw is by far the most important, offer an annual supply of inaterial in tremendous amounts in the majority of our states. Table I shows the annual wheat production in the United States for the years 1920 to 1928, inclusive @ I ) , together with a conservative estimate of the amount of straw corresponding to this production, based on a figure of 1 ton of straw to 15 bushels of wheat. With an average production of 818 million bushels of wheat per year over the 9-year period, the average amount of straw available annually was over 54 million tons. T a b l e I-Annual W h e a t P r o d u c t i o n of U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d Available W h e a t S t r a w f o r t h e Years 1920 to 1928, Inclusive YEAR TOTALWHEATPRODUCED AVAILABLE STRAN Million bushels Million tons 55.53 1920 54.33 1921 57.87 1922 53.13 1923 57.60 1924 45.07 1925 55.40 1926 58,13 1927 1928 53.80
The distribution of straw in the chief wheat-producing regions of the United States is shown in Table I1 as average figures for the period 1921 to 1924, inclusive (23). Thtl first group of six states, producing 43 per cent of the average annual wheat crop during the four years for which data were taken, shows an average of more than 50 tons of straw per square mile. The second group of five states, with 22 per cent of the wheat production for the peyiod, shows straw concentrations of from 25 to 50 tons per square mile. The third group of seven states produced 21 per cent of the wheat for the four-year period, but shows straw concentrations below 25 tons per square mile. The remaining thirty states, not listed, produce but 14 per cent of the wheat crop, and in general show area concentrations of small magnitude. The figures for straw concentration given in Table I1 can 1
Received January 14, 1930
only be regarded as indicative, since they are based on area units of whole states, and great variation in concentration may occur within each state, depending upon terrain and distribution of industries. In the absence of available data for smaller units of area, these figures, do, however, g k e a general indication of those states in which utilization of btranmay be considered most practicable. While other factors enter into the utilization of farm wastes, the problem of collection of these wastes is the controlling one. The problem of collection in turn is largely dependent upon the area coiicentration of the waste material in connection with such factorb, as method of crop harvesting, available transportation facilities by road and rail, and the cost of baling and transfer froin farm to mill. T a b l e 11-Average Available S t r a w a n d Average Area C o n c e n t r a t i o n of S t r a w in Chief W h e a t - P r o d u c l n g S t a t e s for t h e Years 1921 t o 1924. Inclusive Av . ANNUAL Av. AREA WHEAT AVAILABLE CONCW. STATE PRODUCTION AREA STRAW OF STRAW Million bushels So. miles Million lons Tons/sa. , - mile Kansas 82,080 8.27 124 101.0 North Dakota i8 70,795 5.20 73.5 Oklahoma 43 39,030 2.86 73.2 Illinois 50 56,650 58,7 3.33 Ohio 41,060 56.8 35 2.33 Indiana 29 36,350 1.93 53.1 Nebraska Washington Pennsylvania Missouri South Dakota
52 44 23 33 32
77,510 69,180 45,215 69,415 77,650
3.46 2.93 1.53 2.20 2.13
44.6 42.3 33,s
Colorado Minnesota Montana Idaho Michigan Oregon Texas
21 28 46 24
58,915 83,365 146,080 84,800 58,915 96,030 265,780
1.40 1.86 3.06 1.60
23.8 22.3 20 9 18.9 18.2 14.6 4 5
16 21
18
1.07 1.40 1.20
31.1 27.4
Attempts at Utilization of Straws
Barring the primitive use of straw for the thatching of hut.. a practice retained to the present day among the peaqant classes of civilized races, and also neglecting the early indubtrial use of straw indicated by the complaint of the Israelites
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226
INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY Prospective Developments
Development work is now under way for the production of a thick built-up insulating slab product for cold-storage xork, made from sheets of the present product cemented together with asphalt or some similar adhesive and moistureproofing material. It is expected that such a board will prove to be equal to cork in insulating properties and superior to it from the standpoint of fabrication and permanence. Plans are also under way for the production from straw of an artificial board resembling hardwood, which will have a tensile strength equal to that of hickory and which may be readily sawed and nailed. The resinous material from the digester waste water will be utilized together with waste material from the manufacture of artificial resins in the production of this synthetic lumber. The successful development of such a product in a region of the country which has no available lumber will have a profound economic significance, and will be not only a further step toward the utilization of farm wastes, but a contribution to forest conservation. Economic Factors in S t r a w Utilization
The annual supply of straw is guaranteed as long as man continues his present bread-eating habits. Since straw without chemical treatment is not a good fertilizer, and since it is available in amounts immeasurably in excess of its possible use as feed, it is a potentially important raw material. As pointed out in the first part of this article, the chief problem in its utilization is the great problem common to all farm wastes-the collection of the material. If this collection of material can be made one of the unit processes in the harvesting of the crop, there is a fair possibility of the economic utilization of the waste. In some of the great wheat-growing regions the crop is harvested by combined machines which can now be provided with balers so that the wheat is threshed and the straw baled a t the same time. Where the straw is baled as harvested, utilization is possible in regions where the area concentration of wheat is fairly high. I n these regions it may be economically possible to collect straw within a radius of 100 miles from a plant. The maximum plant capacity of 60,000 tons per year planned for the present unit will require collection from a much smaller area than this, however. The collection of straw will not be taken over by this company. This business will either devolve to the individuals who have been operating baling presses, or else a group of farmers may arrange for the delivery of their straw by a cooperative agreement among themselves. During the past two years a price of $8 per ton has been paid for baled straw delivered a t the mill.
Vol. 22, No. 3
It is lnlanned to locate other mills for the Droduction of insulating board from straw as the market fo; the product expands. The chief factor in the location of these units will be the concentration of the straw supply, satisfactory local agreements insuring a steady supply of this material a t a reasonable price and shipping facilities for the product. Good roads will undoubtedly prove important with respect to the second of these factors. The operation of the existing mill a t St. Joseph during the past two years has definitely proved the practicability of straw utilization for the product’ion of insulating board. It has incidentally returned nearly a quarter of a million dollars each year to the inhabitants of Buchanan County, Mo., in payment for t’hestraw delivered a t the mill. Many notable authorities on conservation in this country have been much interested in this product, and recently representatives of several foreign governments have begun negotiations toward locating similar mills in their countries. At the present time, the largest manufacturer of household electric refrigerators and the world’s largest meatpacking concern are depending upon straw insulating boards for efficient insulation. Bibliography of Recent Literature o n S t r a w (1) Albrecht, Missouri Agr. Expt. Sta., Bull. 258 (1927). (2) Albrecht, J . A m . Soc. Agron., 18, 841 (1926). (3) Altmann, Zellstof Papier, 6, 432 (1926). (4) Barbier, Papeterie, 49, 538 (1927). (5) Blair and Prince, Soil Science, 25, 281 (1927). (6) Boistesselin, du, Papier, 30, 499 (1927). (7) Collison and Conn, New York Agr. Expt. Sta., Tech. Bull. 114 (1925). (8) Funsett, Paper Trade J . , SO, No. 23, 58 (1925). (9) Gerlach, Z . Pflanzenernllhr. Diingung, 4B, 534 (1925). (10) Griffiths, Dept. Sci. and Ind. Research (Brit.), Food Investigation, Spec. Rept. 36 (1929). (11) Lander e t al., Ibid., Fuel Research, Fuel for Motor Transport, 4th Mem. (1927). (12) Martin, Soil Science, 20, 159 (1925): 24, 309 (1927). (13) Newton and Daniloff, I b i d . , 24, 95 (1927). (14) New York Agr. Expt. Sta., Report (1926). (15) Niklewski, Cenlr. Bakt. Parasitenk., IS IT, 206 (1928). (16) Oddon, Papier 29, 841, 973 (1926). (17) Pomilio, Chimie & induslrie, Spec. No. 639 (April, 1928). (18) Roethe, U. S. Dept. Agr., Bull. 1203 (1923). (19) Rommel, IND. ENG. CHEM.,20, 587, 716 (1928). (20) Ruschmann, Z. Spirilusind., 51, 187 (1928). (21) Stanford University, Food Research Institute, Wheat Studies, 4 (192728). (22) Thaysen and Galloway, Ann. A p p l . BioZ., lS, 392 (1928). (23) U. S. Dept. Agr., Yearbook, 1923, 1924, 1925. (24) Weeks, “History of Paper Manufacturing in the United States,” Lockwood Trade Journal Co., 1916. (25) Wells, IND. ENG. CHRM.,21, 275 (1929).
United States Continues to Lead World in Coal-Tar Production The United States leads the world in the production of coal tar, the present output approximating 2,500,000 metric tons per year, according to the Chemical Division, Department of Commerce. An examination of the available data indicates that Germany and the United Kingdom are the leading European producers. German tar consumption in 1927 by 143 distillation plants amounted to 1,429,630 metric tons, against 1,234,106 in 1926, and 1,224,606 in 1913, according to official German statistics. Of the total consumption in 1927, 83 per cent was of coke-plant tar and 16 per cent of gas-house tar. In 1927, 659,327 metric tons of tar pitch, as compared with 562,000 in 1926, and 220,863 metric tons of prepared tar, distilled tar, and tar varnishes, against 177,681 in 1926, were produced in various German coke ovens and gas works. The increase in production has been attributed to the growth of motorization. Indications are that the cost of raw materials consumed by the tar plants in 1927 was the cause of the increase in the value of the finished products; the average value per ton of coke
and gas-plant tar was 25 per cent higher in 1927 than in 1926. The geographical distribution of coal-tar plants in Germany in 1927 was as follows: Prussia, 94; Baden, 6 ; Saxony, 12; Hessia, 5; Bavaria, 1 1 ; elsewhere, 15. Germany has 16 lignite (brown coal) tar distillation plants, which in 1927 consumed 192,000 metric tons of lignite tar. valued a t 17,958,000 marks, and turned out 27,521,000 marks’ worth of products. During the first 11 months of 1929 exports of coal tar amounted to 132,480 metric tons, of which nearly 80 per cent went to France. The next most important purchasers were the hTetherlands and Poland, respectively. Exports of coal tar showed nearly a twofold quantity increase in 1929-32,261 tons as compared with 18,637 tons in 1927. Imports during the first 11months of 1929 totaled 27,540 metric tons. Approximately 80 per cent originated in the Saar and in Polish Upper Silesia, with the Saar preponderantly the most important contributor of the two.
