UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

 BULLETIN No. 983 



Contribution front the Forest Service 

 WILLIAM B. GREELEY, Forester 



FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY, MADISON, WISCONSIN 

 IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER. 



April 6, 1922 



THE MANUFACTURE OF ETHYL ALCOHOL 

 FROM WOOD WASTE 



By 



F. W. KRESSMANN 

 Formerly Chemist in Forest Products 



CONTENTS 



Page 

 Sources of Ethyl Alcohol and Compara- 

 tive Costs of Production 1 



Amount of Wood Waste Available . . 3 



The Present Value of Wood Waste . . 4 

 Limitations to the Utilization of Wood 



Waste 5 



Processes for the Manufacture of 



Alcohol from Wood . 6 



History of the Processes 7 



Outline of Investigations 15 



Apparatus and Procedure 16 



Methods of Analysis 17 



Y easting and Fermentation 19 



Results . . 27 



Effect of Catalyzers other than Sulphuric 



Acid or in Addition Thereto . . . . 53 



Study of Different Species ..... 56 



Source of Fermentable Sugar .... 59 



By-Products ...... .4. . 61 



Analysis of Results .......* 62 



Plant Equipment and Operation ... 63 



Costs 67 



WASHINGTON 



GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 



1922 



