WOOD SCRAPS AND SAWDUST.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17124, 20 April 1921, Page 8

WOOD SCRAPS AND SAWDUST.

1,50tf,000 TONS WASTED EVERY YEAR. In West Australia alone it is e.-ti* mater that 379,000 tons of wood .*crnr<3 and sawdust from the timber mills are wasted every year, and that fur tlio whole of Australia tho wast.- would amount to I,oOO,tXK) tons. 'I his enormous waste is to a largo extent needless, for trimmings, edging and bhbt might be saved tor tho muiiuiucturc of toys and other small articles, tor ionversion into papvr pulp, and lor use at fuel. Sawdust illicit be treated tor the recovery of alcohol, or it inula b* distilled for the yield ol aeetie a<-td ;.nd acetone, among other valuable eheiiu* cals. Tlu> 'residuum would bo a high quality of charcoal. Sawdust and othetdobris might also bo used for convexsion by means of "producers," into,., power gas. -*';* In Bulletin 19, written by Mr I. Hi Boas, and published under the nuthorifr-.' ot the Australian Bureau of Science ami Industry, attention is directed to tho fact that in the United States valuaM* laminated wood industries have recoil. ly bc>n -developed by means of wood material that was formerly wafted. With the aid of lamination, trusses, motor-car bodies, and neroplant propellers can be built up out of scrap* that used to be regarded as worse thaa useless at the mills, seeing that only A small portion of them could be bnrnt under the boilers. Moreover, the» built-up articles nro much stronger and much less liable to warp than those ciA from tho solid.

in regard to tho possibility of using ,\ wood waste for power fuel, it is recalled J that in Sweden during the wnr a nura- *j bor of encouraging tests were carried '\ out. It was found tlmt oil engine* i-j could, with slight alterations, bo dmca x \ with the gases generated during the di*. M tillation of wood. In litis case tba L\ value of tho tar" recovered would offset j much of the expense of tho •proowi,' '' Tho distillation was carried out in or* >™ dinary gas retorts. ' * h Mixed with coal, wood has been n> |> tortod for making town gas. Uaed.l? alone the acetic acid in tho wood caused | trouble, but. by adding a proportion of coal the ammonia given oft neutralist' V the acid. In Australia wood. mint/<3 with 25 per cent, of coal is usod for tl* f< manufacture of town gas in many small * *, gasworks. -The overage yield,is 12000 **': cubic feet per ton of the mixed " l { and the gits'Eetu'ratodhn* a caloril| - - value of 400 British thermal tiniti j ("8. T.U."). Some time ago, whet 2 there was a shortage of coal in Perth, | the city gas company made use of tWw "M gum to supplement tho gns: supply. No & calorific tests were carried out, out it U j& said that the quality of the gas- -SOW a cubic feet were obtained from a ton of fj this wood —was satisfactory, In tna *t , course of distillation, from 18 gallons to 1 20 gallons of tar per ton wd 6"cwt. of m charcoal were recovered. t | Sawmill waste has proved itaelf- an * efficient fuel for suction go* engine pro- | ducers. Wood-producer power plnnto y are common on tho goldfietds of W«w t | Australia. Green wood is cut into % suitable lengths for charging the pro* \ ducers. In tho United States half jj charcoal and half "hojr waste" is ased J with much success for tho generation of i-j producer gas. In these circumstances \ the tar is not reovered, but it is said % that it gives little trouble—so little, n> $ deed, that plants have been rnn roft» '} 'tihuously for yenrs. Mr Boas snutpita , j that a more general use of wood fatl I' in producers would be of vnlno to tint* "S tor manufacturers and others engaged -$ in wood-worlttng industries. , ij