PHILIPPINE FIBERS AND FIBROUS SUBSTANCES. 



239 



EXPERIMENTAL. 

 DIGESTION OF THE PREPARED BAMBOO CHIPS BY THE SULPHITE PROCESS. 



Bamboo chips prepared as described above, in lengths varying from 

 1.270 to 2.540 centimeters, but nncrnshed, were well screened from dust 

 and dirt and packed into a stationary, upright, lead-lined digester and 

 heated with direct fire in the presence of sulphite liquors of different 

 concentration and under varying conditions of temperature and time. 

 Thirty-seven separate digestions we're made, but in no instance was I 

 able to produce from bamboo a pulp easy to bleach with bleaching powder, 

 the universal bleaching agent employed in the industry at the present 

 time. 



The process yields fully 50 per cent of unbleached pulp and with a 

 much lower sulphur consumption than is required in commercial prac- 

 tice for wood. Well prepared, but uncrushed chips pulped readily witb 

 liquors of ordinary strength in six to eight hours, but the unbleached 

 fiber was not as light in color as sulphite spruce and could only be used 

 in the unbleached condition for wrappings, tags, etc., where strength, 

 rather than color, is the important consideration. It is needless to say 

 that 1 varied all the conditions of the treatments in every conceivable 

 manner with the main point in view of producing a pulp which would 

 bleach readily, and with a reasonable consumption of bleaching agent, 

 but without success. If bamboo pulp were most suited for use in an 

 unbleached state, then the sulphite process should be adopted by all 

 means, but the material is not sufficiently light in color to be mixed 

 with mechanical wood pulp in preparing news print paper, besides it is 

 too good a fiber for the latter or for wrappings, for which it is entirely 

 suited so far as color is concerned. In my opinion, bamboo fiber is 

 eminently fitted for paper for books and for certain grades of writing 

 and lithographic papers, either alone or when blended with rag or sul- 

 phite wood pulp. 



A few data selected from the more successful sulphite experiments 

 are given : 



Table I. 





Composition of the 1 



quor. 



Conditions of time 

 and temperature. 



o 



ci 

 CD 



o 



CD 



a o, 

















CD 





o o 





Experi- 

 ment No. 





"o 



C3 



•3. 



IS 



OS 



a . 



^a 



cd 



a 



+2 



a ,3 



.2 a ■ 



■SB 

 a v 



A a 

 a 



CD 



Color. 





a 



=3 



a =3 



o 



CD 

 CD 



asg 



OS 



*ag 



o3 CD £ 



"a3 



■5 ^ 

 P. CD 



•go. 







j 



EH 



o 



&H 



EH^-M 



&H 



S"" 



kH 



m 



03 







Per ct. 



Per ct. 



Per ct. 



Per ct. 



Hrs. 



Hrs. 



°c. 



Per ct. 



Per ct. 



Metric. 





1 



1.17 



3.87 



1.34 



2.52 



3£ 



7 



145 



52.4 



30 



149.6 





2 _ 



1.28 



4.53 



1.47 



3.04 



3 



7 



150 



50.2 



27.6 



240 



Do 



3 



1.09 



3.39 



1.25 



2.14 



4 



9 



145 



50 



24.12 



240.0 



Do. 



4 



1.12 



3.71 



1.28 



2.43 



3 



8 



145 



51 



28.5 



223. 5 







