136 BisvIpMde of Carhon as a Solvent. 



of drying, deodorising and preparing it for market as a 

 manure that could be dealt with in the same manner as 

 bone-dust or guano. 



After a series of experiments it appeared that the tallow 

 remaining in the refuse was one of the causes of failure, and 

 attempts were made to remove it by boiling in water. A 

 mea^n of four experiments on different samples of refuse 

 proved that 7.34 per cent, of tallov/ could be extracted by 

 this means alone. Tallow was still found in the boiled 

 refuse. The solvent power of bisulphide of carbon was 

 tested on a fresh sample, and the result was 26-87 per cent, 

 of tallow. The experiments were continued on refuse 

 obtained from diffei-ent factories, and the conclusion arrived 

 at was that an average of 14 per cent, of tallow is lost in 

 meat preserver's refuse ; that 7 per cent, can be removed by 

 boiling in water, and the whole by bisulphide of carbon. 



Some idea of the immense loss of tallow may be formed 

 ffom the fact that every thousand sheep gives about ttree 

 tons of this refuse. 



The refuse after being treated with the bisulphide of 

 carbon comes out as a moist crumbling mass, the fragments 

 of bones are softened and easily reduced to powder by 

 pressure, and the whole may be easily dried, forming an 

 almost inodorous powder. 



The next experiments were with greasy dirty wool. ; It 

 was found that when treated with the solvent the wbol 

 quickly and perfectly gave up its grease and waxy sib- 

 stances (suint) contained in it. So perfectly that by simply 

 rinsing in cold water the whole of the dirt was removed. 



The first sample tried gave suint - - 17.53 per cent. \ 

 Dirt remoTed by cold water - - - 24.74 ,, \ 



Clean dry wool 47.73 „ \ 



100.00 



To test the process a second sample was divided into two 

 parts ; one treated with the solvent, and the other washed 

 with water heated to 135°F. \ 



The one with which the solvent was used gave suint \ 

 39.82 per cent ; dirt, 16.02 per cent.; and wool, 44.16 per \ 

 cent. 



The portion washed with water gave dirt and suint 

 52.89 per cent. ; wool, 47.11 per cent. Suint is valuable as 

 a source of gas for illumination, and also of potassium salts 

 which are obtained fi'om the residue. 



