36 T H E C O T T O (CHEMISTS'

T H E A P P L I C A T I O N O F C H E M I C A L R E - S E A R C H T O T H E C O T T O N O I L

I N D U S T R Y B y D a v i d W e s s o n , So . C o t t o n O i l Co., N . Y.

(Address before The Am. O~l Chem. Socy. at New Orlea~zs 1922 Co~vention.)

"Knowledge is power". The more we know about any material , the greater are the possibili t ies for de- veloping its use. This axiom applies part icularly to the Cot tonseed which was first looked upon as a necessary evil in the product ion of cotton. I t was next found useful as a ferti l izer and with proper re- s t r ic t ion could be used as a food for animals. The first oil pressed from it was used ,for paint and burn- ing in lamps. The first oil mills used the hulls for fuel and sold the cake and meal for cattle food and fertilizer. The early refineries with haphazard m e thods turned out yel low oil of very uncertain quality, some of which was fairly edible but mos t of it only fit for the soap kettle. The soap stock ~rom these early refineries was ei ther t h rown away or made into a difficultly marketable soap.

Dur ing the past for ty years accumulated expe- rience aided by scientific research have brought about enormous changes. Chemical analysis has shown that the seed vary great ly in composi t ion f r0m sec- tion to sect ion and season to season, and values must be considered accordingly. Analys is as well as feed- ing exper iments have d e m o n s t r a t e d tha t the hulls once so prodigal ly burned for fuel are a valuable cattle food taking the place of low" grade hay, while the lint which fo rmer ly was burned with the hulls, finds uses in the manufac ture of textiles, bat t ing, furni ture cushions, celluloid, artificial silk, and last but not least, high grade papers where in it takes the place of rags.

W e do not see such great results in regard to cake and mesh Improved mill ing me thods have reduced their oil contents and they are valued on the basis of chemical analysis ra ther than on appearance.

The grea tes t changes have been b rough t about in the manufac ture of the oil and the products made theref rom. A knowledge of the fundamenta l prin- ciples of refining has replaced the irregular evil fla- vored soap oils of the early days with tasteless, odor- less products which have taken much of the prest ige f rom the oil of the olive and the "fat of the hog.

These briefly sketched results are men t ioned to show how research applied to a once despised waste product has b rough t the indust ry in which we are all in teres ted to its p resent condi t ion of usefulness, besides adding hundreds of mill ions annually to the value of the cot ton crop.

Al though much has been learned during the past 40 years, let us not for a m o m e n t imagine that there are no fields to conquer. As already indicated, there is much to be learned about the seed itself. We should know the breeds of co t ton produc ing the seed which will carry the longes t fibers and at the same time yield tlne most oil. We should know the laws of climate, heat, moisture , soil and fertil izer which govern results. W e have more or less general in format ion but we lack accurate knowledge.

We know that cake and meal are rich in protein, but know comparat ive ly little about the protein itself. Beef steak carries roughly 2o% of prote in while Cot tonseed meal runs f rom 36 to 5o%, according to the amount of oil and hulls left in it and whether it comes f rom Carolina or Texas. Wi th beef steak at 3oc per pound the protein costs $1.5o per pound, while with Cot ton Seed Meal at $ho.oo a ton carrying 4o% of protein, the protein costs 6%c per pound. A study of the protein of the Cottonseed will determine its food

N O I L P R E S S SECTION)

value. Chemical research has given us hogless. table lard. Is it too much to hope that fur,~Vege. search may develop vegetable beefless beef ste~l~ er re. equivalent material which will add to our foo"~ or al at minimum cost? u supply

Cot tonseed oil has been bleached for the 1- years with Fullers Earth. How nmch do w~ t 40 about why the earth does the bleaching an ~ ~n0~ lt~leltSc~offreC:eOml~teh~ ~iyl ~S:lef~rth~Vhat is the na~u)Vell:l

In deodor iz ing oil by s team what is the malodor0.. material distilled off? 5'Iay it not be possible to trea ~ it in such a manne r that its permclousLy active od0ri ferous energy may be directed in s u c h a nlanner s to rival the f ragrant pe r fumes ot Arabia> I, ,~ process of hydrogena t ing the oil, how mu'ch ";;'̂ the know about the various mixed glycerides p'ro"dUuW~ at different stages of the process? As a matter 0f fact we have no sat isfactory me thod for separating them and ident i fying them. T h o u g h apparently 0[ minor impor tance a good method would be of great practical use in the manufac ture of uniform products as well as s tudying the differences between the 0il~ of different sect ions and of different seasons. At present we can separate the fa t ty acids, but that gives us little more informat ion of the real structure of the fats themselves than would the relative quantities 0[ different colored bricks in a ruin tell us the shape and style of the building f rom which they came.

W e know that all fats tur n rancid but know very little about the causes and the products formed in the process. This is a ma t t e r of great practical ira. portanee.

In buying and selling Crude Oil our transactions are governed by a rule of thumb refining test, which in a way, approx imates the t ime honored but bar. borous means employed in the refining kettle. Crude Oil t ransac t ions should be based on the exact amount of yellow oil contail~ed ra ther than on the means employed for ge t t ing it out, in the same manner as iron ore is valued by the amount of metal present ra ther than on the yield of an inefficient blast furnace,

Time is too short to do more than hit some of the high spots though there are many other pr0hlems of impor tance to our industry. It is believed enough has been said to show there is still plenty of work ahead for the research chemist .

One of the mos t p romis ing signs for the future is the spirit of the Depa r tmen t of Agriculture which has s tar ted in on fundamenta l research primarily to bene- fit the farmer, but incidental ly of great use to the cot ton indust ry as a~ whole and the vegetable 0il indust ry in particular. As will be noted by the repor ts and papers read at this meeting, some very valuable results have a l ready been accomplished and the gove rnmen t is now on the r ight track to utillae its splendid labora tory facilities for fundamental research.

It seems to me that the time is ripe for co-0pe~ael t i re research for the good of the industry as a wn0J. 2"he day has gone by when there is anything t0.be g a i n e d - b y a lot of technical men getting together and all keeping their months shut for fear they might tell someth ing that would be of use to the o!~eat t fellow. It is about as foolish a performance as t,,_,j of the ostr ich who sticks his head in the sand anu thinks because he can ' t see his hunter, the hunter can ' t see him. As a mat te r of fact, a body o!.~; p. working along the same lines, using the same !!t~0 t ture have ver few fundamenta l facts whicll a.r= ~,, ' Y - ot rou~ known to all though of course there is lots ~.;,f for each man to have a different means o~,v5~$1 those facts. A free in te rchange of ideas win, .'-

Ojiciat Monthly Bulletin Interstate ( C H E M I S T S '

�9 ion, do more g o o d to t he i n d u s t r y as a w h o l e oP m ~ast practlc 'e of s i l ence and sec recy . By

~ t l e V vta , ~onn there shou ld be n o t h i n g s ec r e t abou t umt *."'~'7 ana lyses or ana ly t i c a l r e su l t s and the medl~ them. T h e r e shou ld be free c o n v e r s e

I ' S a l X C ~ o . . . l:~ d~ ~u~ chemical na tu r e and the constltUtaOu of at)otlt t-~,ols wh ich we all hand le , bu t w h e n it c o m e s l lemaL~**~'.~ils of e r e c t i n g and o p e r a t i n g p l an t s to

the ueo~ - ' d n r f0 . . . . in resu l t s we a i e t r e a d i n g on a ge ous 0btatm,ce:~'~i,m, ~''~ excep t 'in t he case of p r o c e s s e s and .~r0! - en t fully p r o t e c t e d by pa t en t s , it is on ly r i g h t t ( tllplll ' t ~ r to m a i n t a i n sec recy . a, d prOp~ oous case is t h a t of m a t h e m a t i c s appl ied

An ana*a~ business It is e m i n e n t l y p r o p e r for the a c c o u n - t0 ~ dffferent c o n c e r n s to d i scuss m e t h o d s of i111ts 0 I �9 ' _tin~ The b o o k k e e p e r s and the c o m p a n i e s in- acC0tm ~ " ~0h, ed are bound to benef i t by the i n t e r c h a n g e of idc'ts but if the a c c o u n t a n t s shou ld s w a p i n f o r m a t i o n

' ' - .-~ *he finan, ' ial c o n d i t i o n and prof i t s or los ses regarm"~, ~ . ~ -~ d0~elr respect ive c o m p a m e s , t r o u b l e w o u l d n a t u r a l l y

result. In conclusion, it is h o p e d t h a t even at the r i sk d Mving told s o m e t h i n g w h i c h m a n y of you k n o w

" -. ~nouo-h has been said to s h o w h o w the vege- alreaay, ~ iable oil indust ry has bene f i t ed by chemica l r e s e a r c h in the p.ast and its h o p e s in t he fu tn r e d e p e n d on ca0peratlve research to the end that the problems con- fronting all of us m a y be m o r e eas i ly and e e o n o m i - ~al!y solved.

NEW M E M B E R S H I P D I R E C T O R Y O U T S O O N Secretary Caldwei1 is anxious to include in the n e u

directory as many names as possible. Our by-laws pro- ~.ided for automatically dropping those \aho do not pay Iheir dues ($6.o0) by July I5th. H a v e yotl paid yours ? I[ not, please remit so your name and address will be i, tim. new directory.

R E S O L U T I O N Adopted at lath Annual Convention, N e w Orleans,

June, I922 I I/I~ereas, the Uni ted Sta tes G o v e r m n e n t t h rough the

l!q~artment of Agricul ture, Mr. H e n r y Waltace, Sec- retary, has invited this Society to outlirte a p rog ram of tim&mental research in the chemis t ry , techuoIogy and e~,0nomics of oils and fats to be invest igated by the able Shtff Of scient is ts in tlne s eve ra l B u r e a u s of the l)elmrtment of Agr icu l tu re ; and

Whereas, a joint confe rence was held in W a s h i n g t o n last October between the Basic Research Commit tee of this Society and the In te r -S ta te Cot ton Seed Crushers ' Ass0dation and the Bureau Chiefs and Assis tants of the bepartment, at which a comprehens ive p rogram of r~'search Was outlined and accep ted ; and

l'fhereas, Inuch valuable and impor tan t work has already been accomplished in several of the problems outlined and other work is now under way and ad- iliti0ual work being planned as rapidly as facilities and ~ersonnel will permi t ;

Be it resolved, That the p r o g r e s s w e and construct ive e l~01icyof the DeI )a r tmen t of A g r i c u l t u r e in co -ope r - ~!"I~. with the Amer ican Oil Chemis ts Society, be i.gn!y commended and t ro t this S o c e t v express ts l"'nfs, a, nd appreciation to Mr. H e n r y \ffallace, Secre- ~r! ?t Agriculture, and th rough hilu to his able Bureau ,,!lets an d Assistants for the cordial and fr iendly ~[~v!t 0t co-operation manifes ted , and for the valuable ulrk,alreadv done and con templa ted ; and i,f[ ~! furtl~er resoh,ed, That tl:lis Society again pled es ~,~,au! support in tenderin-~ to the De,)ar ' tment of A~ri- ",tuft a �9 .2 - x . cilia*- II. ass,stance possd~le and all the avadable fa- ,:., '~. and data of the indus t ry as same may be con- ".lerecl

of value m the p r o g r a m of research under taken .

Cotton Seed Crushers' Association 37 S E C T I O N )

Be .it resolved, Tha t the thanks and apprecia t ion of the Amer ican Oil Chemis ts Society be ex t ended to its officers ~\.ho have so ably, faithfully, and loyally ad- min is t ra ted its affairs dur ing the pas t yea r ; and

Be it further resolved, That we ex tend our s incere thanks to Mr. W. R. St ryker , Chairman, and the mem- bers of the local A r r a n g e m e n t Commit tee , who have so thought fu l ly and efficiently handled the details o f this mee t mg ; and

Be it further resolved, That we express our cordial apprecia t ion to Dr. George S. Jamieson , Chemis t in Charge Oil, Fa t and W a x Labora tory , Uni t ed Sta tes Depa r tmen t of Agr icul ture , for the valuable researches in oils conducted dur ing the pas t few months , and the in teres t ing and ins t ruct ive repor t submit ted t h e r e o n ; and

Be it furlher resolved, Tha t the thanks of the Amer i - can Oil Chemists Society be t ende red the Grunewald Hote l for the p leasant a r r angemen t s and for cour tes ies extended, and to the newspapers of New Or leans fo r their courtesies and valuable publicity.

(End of Chemists' Section)

S O Y A B E A N O I L T R A D E IN M A N C H U R I A U n d e r date of June 13, I922, Consul J. W. Ballantine,.

at Dairen, Manchuria , t r ansmi t t ed to the D e p a r t m e n t of Commerce at Wash ing ton , the fol lowing repor t on the soya bean oil marke t ing condi t ions :

The total expor t s of Bean Oil f rom the por t of Dai ren in the fiscal year of ;92I were IIg,ooo tons, compris ing 3,6oo tons for Japan, 5,8oo tons for the Uni ted States, ~4,ooo tons for China, and 95,0oo tons for E u r o p e . The expor ts of Bean Oil to Amer ica steadily increased du r - ing the war, and as against 33,7oo tons expor ted to Europe in I914, those of the Uni ted States a m o u n t e d to only 3,2oo tons. By 1917, the figures rose to 55;ooo tons for Europe an([ 13I,ooo tons for the Uni ted States, for which the above figures were the record ones. In 102o, 55,300 tons went to Europe whils t the expor ts to the Uni t ed States d ropped down to ILOOO tons.

" In I92t ( f r o m April , z92~, to March , I922), the di f - ference g rew still f a r wider. To 95,ooo tons fo r Europe, An~erica's share was only 5,8oo tons. T h e reason is very plain. Dur ing the war , Manchur ian Bean Oil used to fiud its way to E u r o p e via America , most ly {n changed form. This ceased with the close of t h e war. Secondly, the Uni t ed Sta tes ra ised the tariff on Bean Oil very high indeed fo r the pro tec t ion of the domest ic industry.

" W h a t will be the fu tu re of Manchur ian Bean Oil on the European marke t and whe the r or not it will meet any power fu l rival on the marke t are both quest ions of direct in terest to the local manufac tu r e r s o f Bean Oil and its expor te rs . The appearance of any fo rmid - able rival on the European marke t will c rowd Man- chur ian Bean Oil out of the field, it being at much d isadvantage because of the long distance to be car- ried over�9 In the meantinm, it wilt do well to have sorae f resh good marke t exploi ted in Japan, Chosen, e t c . "

B R I T I S H M A R G A R I N C O N S U M P T I O N The present consmnpt ion of o leomargar ine in Great

Bri tain is es t imated at about 4o0o tons a week, com- pared with about 50oo tons a week last year. At this rate consumpt ion for the year 192I amoun ted to about 2oo,oco tons, compared with about 250,000 tons for I92o and a p ro -war consumpt ion of about 250,000 tons. Margar ine manufac tu re r s in Eng land are equipped to produce as much as 4oo,0oo tons a year. Bri t ish im- nor ts of marga r ine have declined f rom about 5o,ooo tons before the war to about 3o,ooo tons in 192o and 25,000 tons in I92I.