508 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.41 



It was found that the yield of glycerin was increased by fermentation in 

 alkaline solution. Dry soda ash in proportions of about 5 per cent of the mash 

 proved most favorable as the alkaline agent. The most favorable temperatures 

 for the fermentation were found to be between 30 and 32" C. and the concen- 

 tration of sugar solution between 17.5 and 20 gm. of sugar per 100 cc. Upon 

 completion of the fermentation, from 20 to 25 per cent of the sugar originally 

 in the mash is converted into glycerin and practically all of the remaining 

 sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxld. On purification of the fermented mash 

 and distillation in a vacuum evaporator, about 50 per cent of the glycerin 

 originally in the mash can be recovered, and by redistillation of the cnide prod- 

 uct a satisfactory dynamite glycerin can be obtained. 



It is thought that the alcohol which can be recovered in this process will be 

 of sufficient value to balance the cost of materials and production, and that the 

 only cost to be considered for the glycerin is that of purification and distillation. 



The process as carried out imder factory conditions is described, and a dia- 

 gram is given of the experimental glycerin still employed. 



Mannose yeast, G. Mezzadroli (iS'^a,?. Sper. Agr. ItaL, 51 {1918), No. 7-8, pp. 

 306-311). — In searching for a suitable yeast for the fermentation of the must 

 obtained from vegetable ivory (fruit of Phytvlcphas macrocarpa) waste, re- 

 maining from the manufacture of buttons, a yeast obtained from Puglia was 

 found to have the most marked action, causing a regular and rapid production 

 of alcohol. This yeast was found to be nonspecific in that sorbose, sucrose, 

 maltose, lactose, raffinose, and inulin were acted upon with almost equal 

 rapidity. The author is of the opinion that this yeast, on account of its poly- 

 valent enzym action, may have some application in the distilling industry, par- 

 ticularly for the fermentation of sugar cane molasses. 



The cytological and biochemical properties of the yeast are described in de- 

 tail. 



Conference on recent developments in the fermentation industries {Jour. 

 Soc. Chem. Indus., 38 {1919) No. U, pp. 27 1 T-2 86 T).— The report of this con- 

 ference, held July 17, 1919, in connection with the annual meeting of the So- 

 ciety of Chemical Industry (England), includes papers on The Manufacture of 

 Acetone, by F. Nathan, The Acetone Fermentation Process and its Technical 

 Application, by A. Gill, Employment of Microorganisms in the Service of In- 

 dustrial Chemistry, and A Plea for a National Institute of Industrial Microbi- 

 ology, by A. C. Chapman. 



Potash from kelp : The experimental plant of the United States Department 

 of Agriculture; preliminary paper, J. W. Turrentine and P. S. Shoaff {.Jour. 

 Indus, and Engin. Chem., 11 {1919), No. 9, pp. 864-874, figs. 6).— A detailed de- 

 scription is given of the experimental kelp-potash plant of the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture at Summerland, Cal., which was " designed for the de- 

 termination of the best methods of processing kelp for the extraction of 

 potash salts and the simultaneous recovery of other valuable products, was 

 erected during the summer of 1917, and put into operation in the early fall 

 of that year, 



" One hundred tons of raw kelp per day are subjected to a process involving 

 drying, destructive distillation, lixiviation, evaporation, and fractional crys- 

 tallization for the preparation of high-grade potassium chlorid. 



" The by-products kelp oils, creo.sote, pitch, ammonia, bleaching carbons, salt, 

 and iodin are yielded in commercial quantities by this process. The main 

 problem now in hand is their commercialization. It is confidently believed that 

 they will be made to yield sufficient revenue to enable the main product, 

 potash salts, to be marketed sucessfully in competition with potash from 

 foreign sources. 



