BUREAU OF SOILS. 243 



respondiii^ly high price. No source of potash is known to us which 

 lends itself so readily to the preparation of a chemical grade of potasii 

 as does kelp. Every consideration demands that the highest grade of 

 potash practicable be striven for. 



A year ago it had just been established that the charcoal yieldc.l 

 as a by-product by the lixiviator and remaining after the potash and 

 iodine had been removed possessed potentially high value as .i 

 bleaching carbon or agent for removing coloring matter from a va- 

 riety of organic liquids and solutions not susceptible of bleachinu: 

 chemically. This was shown to be potentially as valuable as a mate- 

 rial formerly imported from Europe and selling at a price of 20 cents 

 per i)0und. Recognizing the possibilities which lay in such a by- 

 product, every effort was made both to determine definitely its bleacli- 

 ing power when applied to various classes of products and the best 

 metliod of its manufacture in satisfactory and uniform condition. 

 Neither problem is yet completely solved, as tests are still being 

 made here and also collaboratively by various commercial concerns, 

 both on laboratory and plant scale, and the ideal method of manu- 

 facture has not' yet been devised. However, the matter has pro- 

 gressed to the point where sales have been effected at 15 cents per 

 pound and production brought to the point where this product ap- 

 pears about to be able to pay the production cost of itself and of the 

 potash also, if not ultimately the operating cost of the entire 

 enterprise. 



Certain!}^ kelp char and potash combined should enable us to pay 

 all expenses ancl probably yield a profit. 



It is definitely established that the process in its present stage of 

 development will yield iodine of a daily value of $50 to $75. It is 

 entireh' probable that a nearer approach to the theoretical will be 

 attained. 



A further development of the crystallization method employed 

 should 3'ield common salt of a degree of purity to warrant its sale as 

 such in the local market in quantity sufficient to represent a consid- 

 erable daily revenue and Jiet profit. 



It is now definitely established by large-scale operations over a 

 period of months that the destructive distillation of kelp yields am- 

 monia in that form which makes possible commercial recovery. PjX- 

 periments to date indicate no considerable loss of the nitrogen of kelp 

 m other forms. This fact, coupled with that of the simultaneous 

 production of combustible gas of a quality and quantity sufficient 

 greatly to reduce if not to eliminate fuel consumption (the main item 

 of expense) , in connection with the distillation, and of kelp tar, whose 

 subproducts, kelp oils and creosote, have been shown to be of value as 

 flotation agents and disinfectants, respectively, not only justifies that 

 process, but furthermore indicates the certainty wherewith these 

 products may be looked to ultimately to pay the operating expcinscs 

 of that process and to yield a profit besides. 



A prospectus based on results as they stood June 30, 1019, is inserted 

 here as illustrating what is now expected as the results shortly to bo 

 attained as the outcome of the present stage of these experiments. 

 The conservativeness of the estimates should counterbalance the pro- 

 phetic nature of the statement. 



