ALCOHOL 



29 



When a revenue officer is assigned to a 

 distillery, it must be operated regularly 

 on every day except Sundays. (Sec. 39, p. 

 57.) 



Methods are prescribed by which de- 

 naturants may be obtained and used. 

 (Sees. 41-44 and 49, pp. 58, 59, and 61.) 



Factors Influenring the Cost of 

 Slaniifactnring Alcohol 



While cheap and abundant raw material 

 is indeed essential to the profitable produc- 

 tion of denatured alcohol, there are other 

 factors, no less important, which enter in- 

 to the cost of manufacture. Some of these 

 are as follows: 



Interest and depreciation — A small dis- 

 tillery can hardly be built and equipped 

 for less than $12,000. Interest on the in- 

 vestment may therefore be set at about 

 $700 a year; and a like amount ought to 

 be allowed for keeping the plant in good 

 working order. The capacity of such a 

 plant can be doubled without any very 

 great increase in cost: and if the capacity 

 be halved, the reduction in cost will be 

 relatively small. 



Lat)or — At least three and probably four 

 men will be needed to run any distillery, 

 however limited its capacity. Increase of 

 the production up to 400 or 500 proof gal- 

 lons daily would probably not call for ad- 

 ditional labor. Five men undoubtedly 

 could handle a plant producing 1,000 gal- 

 lons daily. 



yVatei — A large amount of pure cold 

 water is needed for the operation of a dis- 

 tillery. This fact is generally unknown 

 save to those who are engaged in the dis- 

 tilling business. A plant capable of pro- 

 ducing 100 proof gallons, or 55 gallons of 

 180-degree alcohol, in a working day of 

 ten hours, will need a supply of water 

 amounting to not less than 3,000 gallons 

 in that length of time, five gallons per 

 minute, and ma.v demand considerably 

 more. 



Fuel — Little definite information is 

 available regarding the amount of fuel 

 necessary for the operation of a small 

 alcohol distillery. This dearth of accur- 

 ate knowledge is regrettable, for the coal 



bill is a prominent item in the distillery's 

 expense account. Such data as are at 

 hand indicate that the coal consumption 

 — per gallon of 180-degree alcohol pro- 

 duced — may vary from 11 pounds under 

 the most favorable conditions to 38 

 pounds in a poorly equipped and poorly 

 managed plant. As 11 pounds of coal 

 as a distillery fuel yield almost 159,000 

 heat units and a gallon of alcohol gives 

 about 75,000, it is apparent that the use 

 of alcohol so produced for heating would 

 involve a great waste and be altogether 

 unprofitable. Furthermore, the coal con- 

 sumption of a small distillery will be 

 proportionally greater than that of a large 

 one. since many economies which are pos- 

 sible in a large plant are quite imprac- 

 ticable in a small one. 



Conclusions 



It is apparent that the business of dis- 

 tilling alcohol is one which calls for a 

 considerable investment and no small de- 

 gree of technical skill. It can not be con- 

 ducted advantageously, from a commer- 

 cial point of view, in very small plants on 

 account of the proportionately high cost 

 of the plant and labor; and many of the 

 so-called "wastes" which have been sug- 

 gested as fermentable raw materials are 

 so poor in fermentable substance or so ex- 

 pensive to handle that their availability 

 is thereby impaired. It seems that the 

 business, to be productive of satisfactory 

 returns, must be conducted on a fairly 

 large scale, and that the best success is 

 likely to be attained with raw materials 

 of the general types already in use, name- 

 ly, maize, potatoes, and molasses. The in- 

 dustry is not suited to every locality, and 

 it is most likely to be successful if car- 

 ried on systematically on a very large 

 farm, or if supported by the joint interests 

 of a fairly large community. The allur- 

 ing statements sometimes made regarding 

 large financial returns to be obtained by 

 making industrial alcohol with waste raw 

 materials, unskilled labor, and a "cheap" 

 distilling outfit are misleading and can 

 only result in loss if followed. 



H. W. Wiley. Chief. Bureau of Chemistry, 

 Revised by H. E. Sawyer. Fermentation Chem- 

 ist, V. S. Denartment of Aericulture. 



