THE PRODUCTION OF EXPLOSIVES 141 



producing organism, the preparation of that medium, and de- 

 termination of those conditions best suited to its growth. The 

 Division of Chemistry, Bureau of Internal Revenue, U. S. 

 Treasury Department, met with success in the employment of 

 S. Ellipsoideus, var. Steinberg in alkaline sugar solutions un- 

 der definite conditions of concentration and temperature. 

 Yields of 20 to 25 per cent, of glycerin on the original sugar 

 content were obtained and inedible materials such as Porto 

 Rican " black strap " molasses were found to be the most ef- 

 fective of sugar-containing materials for this use. 



Phenol, commonly called carbolic acid, benzene and toluene 

 are produced, with gas, coke and other substances in the dry dis- 

 tillation of soft coal and were originally largely recovered com- 

 mercially from the lighter coal tar distillates, but, though the 

 coal gas industry was established in this country in 1816, the 

 water gas industry in 1865, and the by-product coke industry 

 in 1892, the proper chemical utilization of the by-products 

 was prevented by the adroit commercial practices of the Ger- 

 man manufacturers and merchants, so that in 1914 we prac- 

 tically lacked these industries. It is true that for some years 

 we had employed by-product coke ovens about steel works, 

 where the richer gas was used for heating purposes in hot- 

 blast stoves, soaking pits and the like, and about cities, where 

 the richer gas was sold, either alone or mixed with other gas, 

 such as water gas, as illuminating gas. Also, to meet a con- 

 stantly increasing demand for higher candle power it had be- 

 come the practice to strip the gas at the steel works of its ben- 

 zene and toluene, by oil stripping, and to ship these hydro- 

 carbons to the gas plants for use in enriching the illuminating 

 gas. Furthermore, it had been early recognized that toluene 

 and benzene were formed in the carburetters of water gas 

 plants through the cracking of the petroleum oils used to sup- 

 ply the illuminants to the gas, and between 1900 and 1905 the 

 United Gas Improvement Co. had developed methods for their 

 recovery. None of these operations were, however, conducted 

 on a large scale, so that when this enormous demand came in 



