THE FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY 

 Wood distillation 



pressure treatment has over the sim- 

 pler and far less expensive open tank 

 process. The theory is, and there is 

 no reason to doubt its correctness, that 

 the deeper the preservative is forced 

 into the wood the less will be the op- 

 portunity for fungi to enter. Those 

 who cannot use this elaborate treat- 

 ment, however, need not despair, for 

 there is known to be great value in 

 open tank treatment, or even in the ap- 

 plication with a brush of good pre- 

 servatives. 



WOOD DIS I ILLATION 



Alcohol, turpentine, wood creosote, 

 and acetates are the present best known 

 products of wood distillation. It is the 

 task of this section to conduct experi- 

 ments to determine what products of 

 tliis kind can be secured from dififerent 

 woods, and the best processes for ob- 

 taining them ; to study the design and 

 operation of machinery best adapted for 

 the production of these by-products so 

 that they can be produced most eco-- 

 398 



nomically, both as to quantity and qual- 

 ity, and to study the refining of crude 

 products. It is obvious to anyone who 

 has noted the development of these in- 

 dustries that here is a large field for 

 the utilization of much material that 

 now is wasted. Already, great advances 

 have been made, and there is no ques- 

 tion in anybody's mind that greater 

 still are not far distant. 



The species to be first studied are 

 southern i^ine, Douglas fir, Norway 

 pine, and other resinous woods. Al- 

 ready the ])ro(lucts that can be obtained 

 from these woods are known, but there 

 is greater room for improvement in the 

 methods of production and refining. The 

 distillation of dififerent hardwoods will 

 also be studied. Slabs, sawdust, stumps, 

 and all forms of mill and forest waste 

 are material for such a laboratory as 

 this. 



The equipment includes a steam dis- 

 tillation and extraction retort ; one oil- 

 jacketed destructive distillation retort, 

 and three product continuous refining 

 .•^till and accessory apparatus. 



