68 FORESTRY BRANCH BULLETIN No. 63 



The charcoal is sold for domestic fuel or for making charcoal iron. The 

 valuable products are wood alcohol, acetate of lime, acetone, and charcoal, 

 and recently the oils have been added to the list. 



The production per cord unit of the valuable products is about as follows : 



Crude wood alcohol 8 Imperial gallons. 



Acetate of lime 200 pounds. 



Charcoal 1,000 pounds (50 bushels of 



about 20 pounds) . 



In addition to these main products the gases form 15 to 20 per cent of the 

 weight of the original wood. The creosote oils separated during redistillation 

 amount to 2 to 3 Imperial gallons per cord, and the hardwood tar amounts to 

 about 16 Imperial gallons per cord. 



The crude products of the four plants operating in the province of Quebec 

 are refined for the most part at Montreal. The Standard Chemical, Iron and 

 Lumber Company of Canada, Limited, controls all the wood distillation plants 

 operating in Canada. 



No authentic records have been obtained of the cost of the wood delivered 

 at the mill. It is estimated to be about $6 per cord. The price varies consider- 

 ably and has advanced on account of the war. At the rate of $6 per cord the 

 total value of the wood material at the plants would be $270,000. 



Waste Utilization and By-products 



This question is an important one and its solution presents some real 

 difficulties. The Dominion Forestry Branch is endeavouring to help as much as 

 possible in the solving of them. 



The prevailing conditions must first be considered. What is the situation 

 in regard to utilization in the wood-using manufactures? 



As a matter of fact absolute waste of raw material, such as short ends, 

 shavings, and sawdust does not take place, saw-mills not being considered in 

 this discussion. No refuse of manufacture is being dumped outside and burned 

 in pure waste. Even in the most unfavourable conditions the small pieces 

 are either sold for heating purposes or burned with the sawdust, shavings or 

 inferior refuse under the boiler of the factory for steam purposes. The question, 

 then, would be whether some wood-using manufacturers could not make a better 

 use of the waste of their factories than for mere heating and steaming purposes. 



In the case of factories which are isolated it must be admitted that in many 

 instances short ends, shavings, and sawdust cannot be disposed of at a profit 

 except for heating and steaming purposes. 



Generally, such a factory, engaged in the manufacture of more than one 

 line of commodity, has very little material left in short ends which would be 

 worth the trouble of sorting and marketing for the manufacture elsewhere of 

 wooden articles, on account of the cost of transportation. As to shavings and 

 sawdust, a small proportion might be disposed of to farmers in the vicinity for 

 hotbeds and stable litter, but the greater proportion will probably be used only 

 for steaming purposes. Clean hardwood sawdust can always be advantageously 

 marketed for packing, cleaning, and curing purposes, and for the manufacture 

 of by-products such as sanitary sweeping powder, dryers, polishers, etc. 



