Increase Industrial Uses of Farm Products?

A chemical engineer at Iowa State looks at the possibilities and problems of increasing industrial use of farm products. While effects might not be immediate, he says, such use could be effective over time

What Possibilities for Oil Crops?

Some of our acreage of surplus crops might be shifted to new oilseed crops if they can be profitably grown and marketed. Let\u27s look at some of these crops and at the fats and oils situation to see what the possibilities are

Wood Waste as a Raw Material

It is estimated that the annual sawdust pile of the world would be several times as large as the largest skyscraper of New York. The sawdust is only about one-fifth of the total waste from the lumber industry. It is estimated that 62 percent of each tree cut for lumber is wasted. This includes the limbs, top, and stump as well as the waste at the mill. From the sawlogs alone the waste is approximately 49 per cent

Use Surplus Corn for Alcohol?

Ethyl alcohol has many present and potential uses. As for using corn, however, ethyl alcohol can be produced much more cheaply from other materials by synthetic alcohol plants than it can by fermentation plants

A Modified Oil Refining Loss Method

In certain research studies involving the determination of the refining loss of vegetable oils, such as soybean, the 500-gram samples required by the official method may not be available. The chromatographic method, while giving consistent results on a given sample, does not give results which check the official method. A modification of the official cup method was developed using a cup of special design with a 50-gram sample. Good checks with the official method were obtained. It was found that variations in evaporation losses were more important than mixing speeds in affecting results

The Determination of Small Amounts of Trichloroethylene

In research studies on the extraction of soybean oil by trichloroethylene it became necessary to determine small amounts of the solvent in the oil. For amounts above 10 percent trichloroethylene the simplest and best method for control purposes is by means of a specific gravity determination. Measamer (3) has shown that the trichloroethylene may be steam-distilled from the oil and weighed or measured. Three percent trichloroethylene in soybean oil may be determined with a maximum error of 10 percent. Greater accuracy should be possible in solutions containing more of the solvent. For amounts above 10 percent the method is more time consuming and no more accurate than the specific gravity method

Comparative Solubility of Protein in Cottonseed Flakes Extracted by Hexane and by Ethanol at Two Different Temperatures

The solubility in water, in 3 percent sodium chloride solution, and in 0.2 N sodium hydroxide solution of cottonseed flakes extracted by ethanol at 172° F. is lower than similar flakes extracted by hexane at 146° F. Data are presented which indicate the lower solubility is mainly the result of the differences in the solvents rather than the temperatures. The difference in solubility in the sodium hydroxide solution is less than in the sodium chloride solution

Destructive Distillation Products of Certain Iowa Carbonaceous Shales

Modified Fischer retort assays resulted in up to 23.2 gallons of oil per ton of shale from carbonaceous shales from southern Iowa coal fields. Destructive distillation was also carried out in two different laboratory retorts. Yields of an oily liquid up to 39.9 gallons per ton were secured. Analyses showed one sample consisting of 89.4 per cent pentene-1 and 9.2 per cent 2-methyl butane with minor amounts of other compounds. Some combustible gas and a solid residue of possible value for road use were also obtained

The Solubility of Wheat Gluten in Various Aqueous Solutions

Solubilities of vital wheat gluten in dilute solutions of sodium hydroxide, acetic acid, sodium carbonate, ethanol, and monoethanolamine at 55°C were determined. Solubilities at 30°C in dilute solutions of sodium hydroxide, acetic acid, monoethanolamine, and sodium borate were also determined. Sodium hydroxide, monoethanolamine, and acetic acid solutions were the best solvents

Solubility of Dialdehyde Starch in Various Dilute Solutions

The solubilities of 93%, 62%, and 5% dialdehyde starch in 0.5% and 1.0% sodium hydroxide; 0.5%, 1.0% and 5.0% borax; and in 0.5%, 1.0% and 5.0% sodium acetate solutions at 55°C for solution times of 15, 30, 60, and 120 minutes were determined as a part of an overall study of DAS-wheat gluten reaction products designed for adhesives. A method for determining the DAS content of solutions from apparent densities was developed. The results indicate that while any dilute inorganic alkaline solution will probably dissolve DAS the choice of reagent will depend upon what is desired in solution time, chain length of the DAS in solution, and viscosity of the solution