404 The Philippine Journal of Science 1920 
this utilization of molasses would be advantageous, since the 
wood has to be burned or dry distilled anyway. 
fe THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR BY THE STEFFEN PROCESS, AS 
MODIFIED BY BATTELLE 
This has been tried in Hawaii. In the process the glucose is 
all or partially destroyed by heating the original juice or molasses 
in an alkaline medium, and then handling the resulting product 
exactly as in the Steffen process, making saccharate, which is 
used partly to neutralize the juice. The method requires many 
changes from and additions to that used in existing raw-sugar 
factories and, so far as I know, has not yet proved successful 
in practice. The principle is correct, and I should like to see 
it given a trial on a large scale, in order to settle definitely the 
question of its usefulness. Of course, in this process a valuable 
material is lost, namely, glucose; and it remains for the indi- 
vidual centrals to decide whether they derive more profit from 
the sale of sugar and molasses separately or from going into the 
recovery process with a subsequent gain in sugar but loss of the 
glucose—and of the molasses, of course. 
8. THE MANUFACTURE OF CHAR AND RECOVERY OF THE POTASH 
The molasses is dry distilled and the resulting material leached 
to obtain the potash. The char is ground and used in fields. 
It helps heat absorption and makes a compact soil more porous. | 
The process of leaching out the potash salts is described in any 
work on the manufacture of this material, and I need not repeat 
it here, 
9. THE MANUFACTURE OF ACETATE OF LIME 
This utilization of molasses has been carried on for some 
time in a large plant in Brisbane, Australia. The molasses is first 
subjected to acetic fermentation in the ordinary way. The re- 
sulting acetic acid solution is then distilled until it is practically 
free from acetic acid. The vapors (or the condensed acetic 
acid solution) are run into milk of lime, forming acetate of 
lime solution. This solution is evaporated to the consistence 
of a massecuite and is then spun in centrifugals to dry, while 
the mother liquid is used for the dilution of fresh molasses. The 
resulting material is shipped to the cordite factory at Marybo- 
rough, where the lime acetate is subjected to dry distillation to 
obtain the acetone, which is used as an admixture and solvent 
in the manufacture of cordite. I have no data as to the value 
of acetate of lime, and hope to write about this later, when I 
have better information. 
