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I/EC
REPORTS
Bettering Bagasse for Board A modified swing ham mer mill depiths bagasse at low cost and considerably improves its status as a r a w material for pulp
1 . Is useful as a chemical r a w m a t e r i a l for m a k i n g : • •
1,5-difunctional open chain compounds d i h y d r o p y r a n , d e l t a - h y d r o x y v a l e r a l d e h y d e , glutaric acid
2 . Disperses m a n y difficultly soluble dyes a n d resins. 3 . Is a driver for leather dyes. It produces deep and levels spray or f l a m e coats.
penetration
4 . Esterifies r e a d i l y a n d is used in t h e production of high boiling plasticizers a n d nonvolatile herbicides.
W r i t e f o r Bulletin 2 0 6 which d e s c r i b e s Q O t e t r a h y d r o f u r f u r y l a l c o h o l , its chemistry, p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s a n d uses.
The Quaker Oats Company The Quaker O a ^ (pmpany \
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OP CHEMICALS
CHEMICALS DEPARTMENT 3 3 7 C The M e r c h a n d i s e M a r t , C h i c a g o 5 4 , I l l i n o i s Room 5 3 7 C , 1 2 0 W a l l S t r e e t , N e w Y o r k 5 , N e w Y o r k Room 4 3 7 C , M a i n P. O . Box 4 3 7 6 , P o r t l a n d 8 , O r e g o n I n E u r o p e : Q u a k e r O a t s - G r a a n p r o d u c t e n N. V., Rotterdam, The N e t h e r l a n d s ; Q u a k e r O a t s (France) S. Α . , 3 , Rue P i l l e t - W i l l , Paris IX, F r a n c e ; A / S " O t a , " C o p e n h a g e n , S. D e n m a r k
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For further information, circle number 20 A on Readers' Service Card, page 123 A 20 A
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
I O R over 100 years bagasse has at tracted the attention of inventors and promoters as a possible source of pulp for use in wallboard or paper. But despite all efforts, bagasse— annual production estimated to exceed 50,000,000 tons—remains mainly a fuel material for sugar fac tory boilers. Exceptions of note in the United States are only two, both in Louisiana : Celotex Corp.'s board mill and Valentine Pulp & Paper's new mill which recently went into operation (C&EN, p. 393, 1956). These operations take about 2 5 % of Louisiana's bagasse production. Another notable exception, outside the United States, is W. R. Grace's bagasse pulp and paper mill in Peru. Bagasse remains largely a fuel ma terial for two r e a s o n s . . . . Produc tion of clean, high grade, and uni form quality bagasse pulp is dif ficult. Pith and dirt must be al most completely removed but with minimum fiber loss and power cost. . . . Economic problems are large. For example, the annual produc tion period is only 21/2 months in Louisiana, 5 to 6 months in some tropical areas, and in just a few places, continuous; thus storage is an expensive item. Intrigued by the apparent waste of a valuable raw material through burning, Arthur G. Keller of Louisi ana State University worked several years on methods for economical bagasse fiber separation from pith and dirt. Early this year, Keller was granted patents (U. S. Patents No. 2,729,856 and 2,729,858, Jan. 10, 1956) on a modified swing ham mer mill for depithing bagasse at low power consumption. The mill's rotor housing permits bagasse to be fed into one end and to travel the length of the rotor across the top of
