THE USE OF SULPHUR FUMES IN COPRA DRYING? 
By A. H. WELLS 
Chief, Division of Organic Chemistry, Bureau of Science, Manila 
and 
G. A, PERKINS 
Chemist, Bureau of Science, Manila 
TWO PLATES 
A few years ago almost any grade of copra or coconut oil 
was salable at a good price. To-day a “Manila” oil of high 
rancidity and color finds a poor reception in the markets of the 
world. The Philippine oil mills are faced on one hand with a 
demand for high-grade oil, and on the other with a low-grade 
supply of copra from which good oil cannot possibly be made 
except at a prohibitive cost. This situation is thought by many 
to require the “cure-all” of legislation, but the writers favor 
the use of other methods to improve the quality of Philippine 
copra. The application of sound business principles to the oil 
and copra industries would solve the difficulty. 
The main cause of color and free fatty acid in coconut oil is 
the action of mold on the copra. Any method, therefore, of 
drying coconut meat that protects it from mold and contami- 
nation with dirt and smoke makes possible the production of 
good oil. The most economical method of drying for very large 
plantations, and at the same time one which, produces excellent 
copra, is by steam, using modern machinery. The economy of 
this method is that it saves labor, which is a very important 
item on large holdings. On smaller plantations, such as are 
found generally throughout the Philippines, the initial cost and 
overhead expenses of steam dryers are large items compared 
with the labor that they save. 
The problem of how to dry copra on large plantations has 
been rather satisfactorily handled by the firms that manufacture 
drying machines, some of which have agencies in Manila. 
Therefore, the problem of the small plantation has occupied the 
* Received for publication January 28, 1922. 
187663——4 49 
