﻿PHILIPPINE FIBERS. 105 



PAPER MILL WATER. 



Large quantities of water are required in the manufacture of pulp and 

 paper, and its quality is of the first importance. In no other industry 

 making use of large quantities of water in the processes of manufacture, 

 is the purity of the water more carefully guarded. A soft water is not 

 demanded for making the liquors used in the boiling of stock, because it is 

 necessarily rendered hard in the operation. For washing the pulp and 

 for steam-making purposes a soft water is desirable and even necessary. 

 The importance of using a very soft water in the other departments of 

 paper manufacture is perhaps overestimated. It is of more concern that 

 the water be clear and especially free from iron, sediment and organic 

 matter. A factory making use of the waters of small streams will be 

 troubled by turbidity during the rainy season of the year. A better 

 source would be in wells or reservoirs fed by pure water brought by 

 conduits from mountain streams. Artesian wells furnish the greater 

 supply of water in use here at the present time for boilers and industrial 

 purposes. 



A series of fifty-two analyses of the Manila city water supply, extend- 

 ing over a period of seven months and representing portions of both the 

 dry and rainy seasons gave the following extremes in parts per million : 21 



Maximum. Minimum. 



Total residue 220 153 



Fixed residue 190 127 



Volatile matter 46 16 



Oxygen consumed 2.20 .65 



Chlorine 4.40 2.13 



Hardness 109 58.8 



Remarks. — The above analyses 22 were made on unfiltered water and 

 they show a high degree of purity. The oxygen consuming power, 

 equivalent to bleach consuming power, is remarkably low. The source 

 of this supply is the Mariquina Eiver which empties into the Pasig River 

 between Manila Bay and Lake Laguna. 



The mineral constituents of a water affect its value for paper or pulp 

 manufacture mainly as they bear upon its suitability for boiler purposes. 

 Philippine ground and surface waters as a class are considered to be 

 moderately hard. 



While none of the boiler waters which were examined contain sulphate 

 of calcium, some of them have a high silica content which forms a 

 troublesome scale. 



A table of analyses of boiler waters collected from various provinces 

 and islands of the Archipelago is given on page 106. 



21 Parts per millonX0.058 = grains per United States gallon. 

 23 Bliss, C. L. ; Publications of the Bureau of Government Laboratories (1904) 

 No. 20. 



