120 



C. U. C. P. ALUMNI JOURNAL 



July, 1918 



Straw Used for the Production of Gas 



This subject is discussed in Gas Journal, 1917, 140, 326, by R. D. MXaurin;. 

 The author calls attention to the lar^e waste of straw annually in Canada alone, 

 and has studied the possibility of utilizing sUch waste as a source for gas. The 

 straw to be used must first be compressed into bales to a density of 25 pounds 

 per cubic foot. The compressed material is placed in a highly-tempered steel 

 retort, j]^ feet long, 2 feet wide and 6^/2 inches deep, fitted with a fire box and 

 inclosed in a proper casing. The author estimated the present cost of retort to- 

 gether with scrubber and gas-holder, at 105 Pounds, in Canada. The maximum 

 temperature applied reaches 500° to 600° C. and from 30 to 45 minutes suffice 

 to complete the removal of the gas. It is estimated that one ton of straw will 

 yield from ii,cx30 to 12,000 cubic feet of gas, from 6 to 8 gallons of ammoniacal 

 liquor and tar, and about 600 pounds of carbon. Of the gas obtained about 30 

 per cent, is employed to assist in the destructive distillation of the straw, leaving 

 about 7,000 cubic feet available for other purposes. This surplus possesses a cal- 

 orific value of 400 British thermal units for each cubic foot, which is the equiva- 

 lent of about 25 gallons of petrol. The gas obtained is a mixture of methans, 

 hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and may be used for all purposes for which 

 coal gas finds employment. 



Acetylsalicylic Acid 



P. N. Leech, in /. Ind. Eng. Chem. 1918, 10, reports on the examination of 

 a number of samples of acetylsalicylic acid, of American source. He states that 

 the purified acid melts at 131.5-132.5 C, and that 14 samples of American origin 

 which had been examined by him possessed a melting point ranging between 128 

 and 133' C. Leech states that this range of melting point is probably more cor- 

 rect than the range given in the British Pharmacopoeia (i33°-i35° C.). 



All commercial samples examined by him, with a single exception, contained 

 less than O.i per cent, of uncombined salicylic acid, the determination being made 

 colormetrically. He proposed that this limit should be adopted officially. 



Organized 1897 



Incorporated 1902 



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The First MEDICAL Association in America 

 to Admit Pharmacists. Object! Co-operation. 



22nd Annual Convention at Hotel Aster, Times Square, 

 New York City, on Monday, May 19th, 1919. 



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