TO USE THE WASTE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 238, 2 July 1919, Page 7

TO USE THE WASTE

HELP FROM SCIENCE LECTURE BY PROFESSOR EASTERFIELD "Tho Utilisation of Waste Products in Industry" was tho subject of a lecture given by Professor Eastcrfield to I lie conference of representatives of local bailies now meeting in. Wellington. Professor Easterfield spoke of most of the greatest industries carried on iu this country in tlio cojirso of his very brief review of possibilities of turning wasto to profitable account. He spoke first of alii of coal, and the possibility of using coal more economically as fuel. He made, very brief mention also of processes for tho utilisation of sawdust for the manufacture o{ charcoal, and possibly of alcohol, acetic acid, and creosote, of possible processes l'or tho saving of oils from wool in the process of scouring, and even of economies .to bo made in tho meat industry, which ho regarded as the most efficient of all the industries carricd on in this country. , He said that tho milk industry at lire, sent was carried oil quite wastcfully. After tho cream was taken from the milk for tho making of butter littlo or nothing was dono to 6ave the other products. It was true that there was a casein industry being- developed, and he believed that tliif would one day be a L'rcat industry ill New Zealand, but nothing was done yet to savo tho other products after tho casein solids had been taken off. Thero was still sugar of milk that might be made. It might be said that if all our milk were treated for tho manufacture of sugar of milk thero might ba no market for the product here. This was quite true, but thero was still the possibility of fermenting the sugar for tho making of alcohol. Tho timo might coino when this process could bo mnde payable. Most interesting of all were his references to the flax industry, in which lis has been carrying on researches for three years past. It took approximately eight tons of green leaf to make a ton of fibre, ho said, or, counting all tho fibre, tho inferior as well as tiro best fibre, six tons of leaf to one ton of fibre. These figures seemed to show that thero was big loss, but in actual fact the best laboratory result lie had been able to obtain was one unit of fibro from live units of leaf; so that ho did not consider that tho flaxmiller was doing so badly iu his process for removing tho green matter to clean the fibre. Ho spoke of the waya in which the green matter might be utilised. In the first place the waste was rich, in potash and phosphoric acid, and therefore very valuable as manure. Unfortunately the cost of transport made tho wide use of this waste for manure -impossible. In actual fact it contained 70 per cent, of water, and the. farmer could not pay freight on water. One of his suggestions was that tho wasto might bo returned to tho flax. land as manure for tho growing plants. A plant growing as rapidly us flax must tako enormous toll in thoso substances, potash and phosphoric acid, from the soil, and unless tho soil was refortilied with manure tho crops would weaken. As a matter of fact experiments had been begun with tho use of this waste as manure, and the results promised to bo good. Also, it was found that the waste contained three per cent, of sugar. To deal with tho sugar industrially, ho said that his scheme at picsent was to sterilise tho wasto by heating in order to prevent tlio sugar from being attacked by bacteria. This done, the waste was squeezed. The liquid contained all the sugar, and all the mammal content. The liquid might still be used as liquid manure, or it might bs used for the making of alcohol. lie produced a bottle of tho finest rectilicd spirit made from flax fibre. Tho dry residue might be 'used in the mills as fuel. lie looked to tho timo.when the (lax mills would not. need to uso any other fuel. tAt present the return per aero from lfax-growiiig at least equal to tlio return from dairy-farming, but the position of tho industry was precarious, because a fall in prices would kill it. His suggestions for the utilisation of waste would perhaps be valuablo when low prices camo again, as they probably would iu four or five years from now.

Ho mentioned two very interesting pieces of war work which ho hud been able to do. 'Some time ago he had sugl- - to the Collector of Customs that instead of destroying all tlio smuggled opium taken from the Chinamen he should keep it. At the beginning of tlio war it • wa9 evident to liiiu that great quantities of morphine, which was the nctivc agent in opium, would bo required for the relief of pain of wounded men. It was then that he asked the Collector of- Customs to let him have the opium, and from tho considerable r.uantity that had been accumulated l\v tho Collector, he was able to make sufficient morphino to give injections to 250,000 cases. The other work was in the making of carbons for electric .searchlights. It was at tho timo when there were German ships off our coast, t and the forts found that they could get' no carbons for their lights. The - reason, was that all the carbons previously used had come from Nurnberg, even those used by the Navy. He had been asked to make some carbons, and with help he had been able to make ft thousand of them, sufficient to serve until the British were a'ble to, complete their arrangements for making them in quantities. In general summary, he said that it would never be possible for any industry to mnke progress unless investigations were continually being made in it. For these investigations money would have to be found, but he believed that the return from (he investment would tie 'good. . It was in the possession of large numbers of trained chemists that Germany had such a big advantage of Britain at the beginning of the war. The Germans had always realised the value of chemistry to the,nation. Unless wo paid rnflre attention to research wo would never make head against tlio Germans. It was very well to say now that we would never have their stuff again, but if their stuff was better it Mould be asked for, and the only way in which tho British could be sure of holding trade would bo by beating tho Germans at their own game. He was not one of those who believed that we were going to develop a race of agriculturists by teaching boys of thirteen lessons in tho school gardens. Ije appealed to those interested in education to see that this question was not plavcd with. If wo' were to have research work done that would be valuable in result, provision must be made for the training of research workers, and for tho payment of them when trained. A student just out of his degree course was not fit to undertake research work of industrial importance Such a man must first have training as u nelpet to another experienced man, and training in tho carrying on of research work, There ought to be in tho community a large number of men able to Isko up n problem of research, and work it out for the benefit of the community.

111 aiißwer to a question lie said that lie (lid not believe that nil (he reseaiv! work could with advantage be confined to one central laboratory.