Came across this brief reference. Kirk 66. The Manufacture of Ethyl (Grain) Alcohol from Wood.- Wood is composed mostly of the same elements as sugar, namely, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, only in different proportions. By treating the finely divided wood with dilute acids it is converted partly into sugars some of which are fermentable by yeast under certain conditions, producing ethyl alcohol identical with that derived from the fermentation of grain, fruit, or molasses. One ton of dry sawdust will yield from 15 to 25 gallons of 95 per cent alcohol. The process of producing ethyl alcohol from wood consists in general of digesting the sawdust, or hogged and shredded waste, with dilute sulphuric acid at a steam pressure of from 115 to 120 pounds for a short time. This is done in rotary digesters which will thoroughly mix the acid and wood. These digesters are of steel boiler plate with an acid-proof lining. A part of the wood is converted into a mixture of sugars, some of which are fermentable. The digested material is next transferred to a diffusion battery, similar to that used in the extraction of sugar from sugar beets or dyes from dye-wood, and here the sugar and other water- soluble material are extracted with hot water from the digested sawdust. The extract is then neutralized with lime or limestone, and the sludge formed by the calcium sulphate and some of the dust carried in the extract is allowed to settle out, which requires ordinarily from 15 to 20 hours. The clear solutions are then drained off and cooled to the proper temperature for fermentation. The manufacture of ethyl alcohol from wood is a comparatively young industry. Under favorable conditions it is a profitable means for the disposal of wood waste.
THE PROPERTIES AND USES OF WOOD PREPARED IN THE EXTENSION DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN BY ARTHUR KOEHLER, B. S., Lecturer in Forest Products, The University of Wisconsin and in Charge of Office of Wood Technology, Forest Products Laboratory, United States Forest Service 1924 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.371 / Virus Database: 206 - Release Date: 6/13/2002 Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
