14 



BULLETIN 129, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



TABLE 7. Relative values of commercial alcohol and acetate per cord of wood of various 



species. 1 



[Average value of yields from heartwood and lumber of beech, birch, and maple from Wisconsin ($8 06) 



equals 100 per cent.] 



i The weights per cord are derived as explained on p. 6. 



Assuming that the value of the . charcoal and the cost of plant 

 operation per cord of wood is the same for all species, the differences 

 in the value of the alcohol and acetate produced by the various woods 

 represent the differences in the value of these woods for distillation 

 purposes. 1 The average value of the alcohol and acetate yields 

 from Indiana beech and Wisconsin birch and maple heartwood is 

 $8.06 per cord. The values of these products from the heartwood 

 of chestnut, red gum, tupelo (slabs), and southern and northern oak, 

 are less than this amount by $3.78, $1.14, $1.03, $1.30, and $0.54, 

 respectively; from hickory (factory waste) the products are $1.55 

 greater in value. The average price paid is only about $3.50 per cord, 

 and consequently the use of chestnut for this purpose is out of the 

 question. Oak, tupelo, and red gum, under favorable conditions 

 of supply and cost, might be used profitably, while hickory should 

 command a very good price for this purpose. Since these deductions 

 are based on the value of the chemical products they apply less 

 strongly in case of plants making only a partial recovery of these 

 products. 



The value of alcohol and acetate from the different forms and 

 species as given in Table 6 are compared in Table 7 by means of a 

 standard value. This value is $8.06, being the average value of 

 beech (from Indiana), birch, and maple heartwood (from Wisconsin). 

 This standard is taken as 100 per cent and the other values are ranked 

 accordingly. 



1 The assumption in regard to the cost of operation will undoubtedly hold so far as the destructive 

 distillation of the wood is concerned. However, the cost of the refining operations is approximately 

 proportionate to the amount of crude pyroligneous acid produced; although this is variable, it bears some 

 relation to the yield of refined products. The large amount of crude pyroligneous acid per cord of hickory 

 would tend to increase the refining cost per cord of wood; likewise the low yields of crude pyroligneous 

 acid from chestnut, tupelo, and red gum would tend to lower the cost of these woods. Therefore, the 

 assumption made is not entirely correct, but the differences are not great enough to affect seriously the 

 conclusions. 



