THE SOCALLKl) A.MVLOMVfES PltOCRS- ,7 



It is not the iiuthui's pioviiice now to puss judguit-nt on the 

 value of the Aiwylouiyces process froni a technological ami 

 economic stiimlpoint, the more so because the ivadei- interested 

 in this matti-r will liinl more precise duta in thi* review pub- 

 lished by M. Dkluuleck (111.). The chief advantiige of the 

 Amylomyces process is the abolition of the expensive additions 

 of malt re<juisitf in the oldei- method of .siiccharific^ition, the 

 amount formerly needed being up to 15 jter cent, in the case of 

 maize, and 2 to 3 per cent, in the case of jMjtiitoes. With reganl 

 to the yield furnished by the Amylomyces process, it is stated 

 that in the Seclin works, 37. 8 litres of absolute alcohol are 

 obtained per 100 kilos, of maize containing 57.5 j)eicent. of starch, 

 a yield corresponding to 66.2 litres per 100 kilos, of starch. 

 Owing to the large proportion of mycelial hyplue, the residue 

 filters easily, a circuijistiince of consideraljle value in French 

 distilleries where the residues are not consuniLtl on the premises 

 for foilder, but are drietl ami pressed for further treiitment. 



Viewed from the njycological standpoint, the advanfcige, 

 and at the same time a somce of weaknes.s, in this meth<.»d 

 lies in the inoculation with such a small amount of yeast, 

 and therefore in the abolition of the preparation and employ- 

 ment of a yeast-mash (^ 148). In the present case the mash is 

 deprived of the bactericidal lactic acid, and is therefore readily 

 infested by injurious germs, should the latter be pre.sent at the 

 start, or even tind their way in as a result of carelessnos in 

 the act of inoculation, at a time when only a few individual 

 organisms of the A))iylofui/cett or yejist are present. On the 

 other hanil, it is claimed in favour of the raw spirit foiined in 

 this proc-ess that it is very low in fusel oils. Another tpiestion 

 (of a purely economic character) is how far the extni outjait of 

 alcohol is counterbalanced by the increasetl outlay in fuel for 

 sterilising the mash, and by the interest on and depreciation of 

 the nece.s.siiry plant, which latter very soon wears out* 



Finally, it should also be mentioned that, since 1S9S, the 

 afore.s;iid patentees have replaced Mucor (Atni/lonn/i'e^) Jioujni 

 by another species, namely, the .so-called /i-A/ni/finni/rrs, or 

 Mucor jj, described in J^ 240. This organism is capable of deal- 

 ing with more highly concenti-jited ma.shes than the other, and 

 enables a charge of 25,000 kilos, of maize to be mashed to 

 1000 hi. (22,000 galls.) of giK>ds. According to Hoidiu, a 

 third species — nan»ely, that alrea«ly mentioned as y-Aiin/hnnycej', 

 or Mit'Or y — is able to cjirry the fermentation o. i to 0.2 lialling 

 further than is attainable by using the others aforesiiid. I^it- 

 teily, however, this fungus seems to have V>een abandoned again, 

 since it was reporte<l, at the commencement of it)oo, that a 

 Luxemburg jrniin distillerv, workinj; with the Amvlomvces 

 process, had superseiled the foregi<ing species of Muor by 

 A.<per(jillii,< ori/:tr (for description of which see a later section), 



VOL. II. O 



