Compound Celluloses 141 



1 condensed ' product is precipitated in dark brown flocks \ 

 when dried it has the following composition : 



C . . . . 64-4 

 H . . 4*4 

 O 31-2 



On diluting and distilling, acetic acid is obtained. The 

 amount formed in this way is 4-5 p.ct. of the lignocellulose. 

 Acetic acid is therefore a product of hydrolysis of the ligno- 

 cellulose, which contains a certain proportion of CH 2 .CO.O 

 groups. 



Nitric acid (dilute), in presence of urea, acts as a 

 non-oxidising acid, and similarly to the above. 



Other acids act in similar directions, and in greater or less 

 degree, according to the nature of the acid and the conditions 

 of its action. 



Alkalis. The hydrolysing action of the alkalis in boiling 

 aqueous solution has already been discussed. 



At elevated temperatures (150-180) solutions of the 

 alkaline hydrates (2-3 p.ct. Na 2 O) effect a complete resolution 

 of the cellulose and lignone, the latter being obtained in 

 solution in the form of acid derivatives. In addition to 

 acetic acid the solution contains acids of high carbon per- 

 centage, which are precipitated on adding mineral acids to the 

 alkaline solution. These bodies have been investigated by 

 Lange (Zeitschr. Physiol. Chem. 14, 217), but as the products 

 described by him were obtained from lignocelluloses of another 

 group viz. the woods and under more severe conditions of 

 treatment, they will be dealt with subsequently. Jute, however, 

 yields very similar products, viz. acid bodies of high carbon 

 percentage (60-6 1), giving Cl substitution derivatives. The 

 cellulose retains residues of these bodies, but they are easily 

 eliminated by treatment with hypochlorite solution. The 

 cellulose is then obtained as a white pulp, consisting of the 



