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T H E J O L - R S A L OF I A Y D L 3 T R I A L AA-D ESGIAYEERIA\-G C H E M I S T R Y
consideration for several years, it was concluded that the employment of this waste organic material in the enrichment of soils deficient in humus was the best purpose for which it could be used. At first, it was feared that the calcium sulfite contained in the liquor would have a n injurious action on plant life, as i t is well known that free sulfurous acid has a detrimental effect on the formation of chlorophyll in leaves. As a result of investigations in this direction, steps were taken to neutralize the liquor so as to prevent the discharge of the waste water in a n acid condition, as a result of which it was found that the liquor no longer exercised injury to the plant life on the fields irrigated therewith. During 1 9 1 1 and 1 9 1 2 , Thalau made further investigations into the effects of neutral sulfite of lime on vegetation, and found that, when introduced into the land, plants were not injured in the case of loamy or sandy soils. I n high marshy soils injurious effects could be detected, probably owing to the decomposition of the calcium sulfite by the humic acid. Some experiments made in open field and in a plant laboratory, in which dried waste liquor was used on potatoes, showed that there was a decided increase in the yield; but it was found that when the waste liquor was used where large amounts of nitrogen were available, a reduction in the yield might result. The conclusion reached was that the waste liquor should not be used as fertilizer on soil rich in humus and containing a quantity of nitrogen, but that it could be used to advantage on soils poor in humus. [The spent liquors from the manufacture of sulfite cellulose have frequently been used, after treatment, for manurial purposes, but they are difficult to transport and the soil is capable of assimilating only a limited quantity. Knosel (Chem. Ztg., 26, 2 2 9 ) devised a process wherein the liquors were concentrated and then mixed with a n approximately equal weight of Thomas slag-meal; b u t Ahrens (Chem. Centr., 1905, I, 700) considered it of no value. Hoesch e t Cie have patented a process (French Patent 434,943, I ~ I I ) ,in which waste sulfite liquors are treated direct, or after concentrating or evaporating to dryness, with nitrogen-fixing bacteria; it is claimed that the material forms a n advantageous medium for the culture of the bacteria.-W. A. H. J
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THE DISPOSAL OF THE DISCHARGES FROM PACKINGHOUSES Screening the sewage and factory wastes discharged into the “Bubbly Creek” arm of the Chicago River by the stockyards a n d packing-houses is to be tried as a means of avoiding the deposit of solid matter in the river and the drainage canal. Chemical and sedimentation treatments have been proposed by the Sanitary District of Chicago in order to improve the character of the discharges from a sanitary standpoint, but a t present only the screening will be tried. Th’ere will be two rotary screens of the Weand type: one will handle the sewage from four of the larger packing-houses and the other will handle that from the pens of the stockyards. This installation is experimental, and if it proves successful it is probable that all the sewage will be treated in this manner. No plans have been made as yet for the disposal of any large quantity of solid matter removed by the screens.
and that it will then be found that alcohol denatured with I O per cent of benzol will give a motor spirit a t once safer, more pleasant to use, and sweeter in exhaust than the petrol in use to-day. While the calorific value of such a mixture is only 0.6 of the value of petrol, Lewes is of the opinion that the smaller amount of air required, the increased explosive range of the mixture, and the higher compression that could be used in the cylinder, all combine to make it the ideal motor spirit. The opinion of Lewes represents the English view point. Less and less petrol is being exported from the United States, owing to the increase in the domestic consumption; and it is a certainty that unless some other source can be found to supply a large proportion of England’s needs, prices must rise, and every possible method of creating such a supply is being eagerly passed under review. Since benzol in running is 1 2 per cent more powerful than petrol, and as regards elasticity and starting is quite as good, this is being favorably regarded in England as a petrol-substitute. The total quantity of benzol recovered in the English coke-oven recovery plants amounts to about 8,ooo,ooogallons annually and probably over a third of this is exported. Before it is fitted for motor use, commercial benzol, which usually contains about 140 grains of sulfur per gallon, must be carefully purified. Secor (Scz. A m . Suppl., 7 5 , 271) points out five different methods of increasing the normal visible supply of gasoline: (I) Importation; (2) Increasing the total yield of American crude petroleums; (3) The production of gasoline from kerosene; (4) The production of natural gas gasoline; and (5) By lowering the specific gravity of commercial gasoline. With the exception of importation these various methods of augmenting the available supply of gasoline are in active operation, and every increase in the price is a stimulus to additional output. The Standard Oil Company has imported some Russian naphtha, but no more is available. The price of gasoline in Russia has increased 100 per cent in the last two years, which state of affairs has warranted the Russian Government in promoting the production of alcohol. The Shell Oil Company of England has shipped some gasoline from Borneo to Canada, but the total quantity available abroad is insufficient for home needs, and America is still exporting gasoline a t the rate of I j to 2 0 million gallons per month. Secor considers that alcohol can be used advantageously if gasoline advances to 20 to 2 5 cents wholesale. While special engines are required, “there is no reason why alcohol should not be used to-day in cars selling around $5,000.” H e looks upon kerosene as the best fuel, since, from his view as a n automobile engineer, it combines more advantages than either gasoline or alcohol. Engine builders have evolved a system whereby kerosene and gasoline are combined as to ensure high volatility, with a minimum deposition of carbon; and it is of interest to note that the new fuel of the Standard Oil Company, the “Motor Spirit,” obtained by a process devised by W. I f . Burton, has a greater range of boiling points than gasoline, allowing, it is said, the motor to be started more easily. “Motor Spirit” is said to be cheaper than gasoline and to furnish 2 5 per cent more mileage.
SUBSTITUTES FOR GASOLINE “The waning supply of gasoline,” a state of affairs occasioned b y the rapid and apparently undiminishing increase in the use of petrol-driven motors, has recently been the subject for serious discussion in the technical press. I n fact, the question of meeting the increase in the consumption of the more volatile petroleum products is the vital issue of the day in the industry and a matter of deep concern to the engineer. Some of the very recent opinions on the matter follow. Lewes (Chem. World, 2, 113) considers that in the not very distant future it will be to alcohol that we shall have to turn,
ARTIFICIAL LEATHER FROM “SYROLIT” I n 1909, Schiitze, of Riga, Russia, found that a material strongly resistant to acids and suitable for employment for insulating purposes might be manufactured from milk curds. According to his process, the milk curds are made into a paste with cold water, with the addition of coloring matter if desired, and then heated a t I O O O C. for about ten minutes, being meanwhile continuously stirred until the material assumes a pulpy state. The hot pulp is then subjected to a pressure of a t least five kilograms per square centimeter, in previously heated molds, for about three hours; and immediately immersed in formalin
