A Dkckxxiai. Rkcoki) 



charcoal, and tlie 2Ji"<^<-'e.ss was worked out hy laboratory chemists on 

 a seini-commercial scale at the Cleveland chemical laboratory of the 

 Chemical A\''arfare Service. The commercial production was just 

 about to be undertaken at the termination of hostilities. 



A number of other problems connected with defensive and offen- 

 sive chemical warfare were Morked upon and definite conclusions 

 reached. Chantring conditions, however, fre(iuently made tlie results 

 of no value almost before tliey were secured. Among these problems 

 may be mentioned tear gases, gask mask filters, carbon monoxide 

 absorbent, solvent for arsene gas, and the recovery of isoprene and 

 toluol from turpentine. 



It seemed, at first sight, tliat our entrance into the war woidd not 

 throM' a very great l)ur(len upon the wood distillation industry since 

 the Eritisli munitions manufacturers were the only ones using acetate 

 of lime in making smokeless powder and it Mas not anticipated that 

 American manufacturers would produce this particular type of })ow- 

 der. It soon developed, however, that the aircraft program would 

 demand twice tlie current ])roduction of acetate for tlie preparation of 

 the cellulose acetate "dope" used to shrink tlie wing fal)ric. 



The Signal Corps finally decided to construct several new distil- 

 lation plants, after the field had been carefully gone over and the 

 merits of various expedients determined. Tlie laboratory acted in a 

 consulting ca])acity in all of this work and also assisted plants already 

 in operation to secure greater yields through the use of a tem])erature 

 control method worked out by the laboratory before the war. 



Later, when the demand for acetic acid became so acute that the 

 price of production no longer was a controlling factor, a method of 

 increasing the yields of acetic acid by fusion of the wood with caustic 

 soda was perfected. 'J'liis method ])roduce(l three and one-half times 

 as much acetic acid ])cr unit weight of wood as straight distillation. 



Wood ('clhilosr for Kj'jjio.sivc.s 



Among the many fancied and real shortages of raw material, 

 those having to do M'itli munitions were perhaps the most spectacular, 

 because their immediate significance M-as most easily appreciated by 

 the lay mind. Among these munition shortages none seemed to come 

 so unexpectedly or develop so rapidly as that of cotton linters. the 



