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T H E JOL’KX-4L OF IXDUSTRI=1L A N D ENGINEERING C H E J l I S T K Y
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NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE T W O LETTERS ON FULLER’S EARTH AND ITS VALUATION FOR T H E OIL INDUSTRY
E d i f o r of the Jozirnal o j Industrial a n d Engineering Chemistry: \T:hile the article entitled “Fuller’s Earth and I t s Valuation for the Oil Industry,” which appeared in the June 191j issue of THISJOURNAL, contains some interesting information which is substantially correct as far as i t goes, it appears to the writer t h a t AIr. Richert has not given the American fuller’s earth producers the consideration t o which they are entitled. A more liberal consideration of the subject would acknowledge the excellent results obtained by American producers from the systematic and scientific manner in which they have developed domestic fuller’s earth resources. The sample designated a s “A” in hlr. Richert’s article, being of unknown origin, no practical information can be derived from the data pertaining to it, except t h a t this earth, as a type, could not be successfully utilized in operations on a commercial scale. The importation of German earth has never acquired any commercial significance in this country, while on the other hand some of our domestic earth has been exported to Germany, where refiners of edible oils have used i t with satisfactory results. From a practical point of view therefore, consideration of German earth is superfluous, and the subject may be confined t o the investigation of the domestic and English earths. The English earth examined by M r . Richert was apparently of standard quality, as the results obtained are normal. The domestic earth, judging from the results obtained, was not a t all representative of the domestic product t h a t is being offered by American producers at the present timc. T h e impression created ljy l l r , fiichert’s article, namely, t h a t the English earth is much superior to domestic earth, shculd therefore be corrected. Since about 1880, when fuller’s earth was first used in the refining of edible oils, its use h a s increased steadily. Earth imported from England, because of peculiar satisfactory properties, became accepted as the standard and a very large proportion of the earth used in the refining of edible oils has been of English origin. The importation of English earth reached its maximum in 1914, b u t has fallen off considerably since. The high price, shortage and irregularity of the supply of English earth naturally stimulated &%mericanenterprise and the production of domestic earth has developed remarkably. For a number of years American deposits of fuller’s earth have been known which furnished earth equal and in some cases, superior, in bleaching quality, to the finest English earth. The domestic earth, however, was objectionable on account of the high percentage of oil which was retained by the earth in the filter press and also on account of the tendency to heat and even ignite when compressed air was blown through the press in the process of emptying the press. The amount of oil retained by English earth in best commercial practice is frequently claimed to he as low as 8 per cent, but a more average figure would be 1 2 to 15 per cent. IVith domestic earth of the past, the retention has been as high as 30 per cent and generally not below 20. The greatest objection to the use of domestic earth, however, was its so-called “pyrophoric” nature or its tendency to fire when blown There is no doubt of the fact t h a t if the domestic earth could have been blown in the same manner as English earth, the percentage of oil retained would have been materially reduced. I n order to overcome these objectionable features, very thorough investigations have been made, and considerable experimental work has been done by both producers and users of fuller’s earth. Some grades of earth which have failed t o respond to treatment have been abandoned, while efforts have been concentrated upon those which have shown most promise.
Methods of milling, grinding and drying have been studied and varied with gratifying results. l l e t h o d s of using the earth in actual practice have been investigated. Some domestic earths may now be treated in exactly the same manner as English earth with equally satisfactory results; others, under certain conditions, require special treatment. -\ large Texas producer has invented a process for washing the earth in the press with hot water, which is claimed t o reduce the retention of oil several per cent below the best results obtained with English earth. The American fuller’s earth industry is passing through a period of transition and conditions have changed materially from what they were only a year ago. Domestic fuller’s e w t h now being offered to the trade is the result of sound, scientific investigation; it is in many ways equal, if not superior, to the standard English earth and its use has become so firmly established t h a t i t is doubtful t h a t English earth will ever resume the important position in the oil industry t h a t it occupied previous to the war. In making these remarks, it has been the aim of the writer not t o direct unfriendly criticism to the article written by M r . Richert, b u t merely to correct any erroneous impressions which may have been made by drawing general conclusions from the data presented by h l r . Richert. WAHL-HENIUS ISSTITUTE R . J . QUISS CH:CACO, Ju‘y 16, 1917
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Editor of the J o u r n a l of Industrial a n d Engineering Chemistry: In reply to h l r . Quinn’s criticism, I wish t o state t h a t t h e article entitled “Fuller’s Earth and I t s Valuation for the Oil Industry,” was written merely t o describe a cheap and quick method of determining, in the laboratory, the efficiency and economy of fuller’s earth. The d a t a presented were selected out of a list of numerous earths with the point in view of showing t h a t bleaching power and absorption value, considered with the price of the raw materials, fix the economical value of the earths. ;Zt the time of writing the article, Soveniber 1916, the relative merits of English and American earths had not entered my mind; on the other hand, up to t h a t timc I had not found a single American earth t h a t would economically compare with the standard English earth. T h a t the domestic product, otycred by American producers ut the preseni tiinr, is in many ways equal if not superior to the standard English earth is pronounced evidence of the rapid progress of the American industry. PORTSMOVTH. Y.4, THEODORE G. RICHERT Augu;t 1 1917
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REVISION OF COBALTI-NITRITE M E T H O D FOR DETERMINATION OF POTASH-CORRECTION The above mentioned article appeared in THISJOCRNAI., 9 1191j), 7 8 5 , Rcferring to page 786, first paragraph, and after the sentence beginning, “Transfer to a mortar, mix thoroughly and grind,” the following should be inserted: “iYow add 4 g , calcium carbonate to contents of mortar aiid further mix and grind.” R . C. HAFFA N D E. H. SCHTVARTZ _ _ _ ~ ~ ~ -. .
A NEW F K T E R FLASK-CORRECTION I n my article printed under the above title, THISJ O V R S A L , 9 (191j), 7 9 3 , the 1 1 , ’ ~in. measurement a t the top of drawing should include only the shaded iicuz~yglass .side titbe T , instead of extending, as shown, from the end of that tube to -5f. Jos. SHAW A\.
