YIELDS. FROM DISTILLATION OF CERTAIN HARDWOODS. 
yields of alcohol. 1 The total tar yields follow almost the same order 
as the alcohol yields. The yields of charcoal, on the other hand, tend 
to follow the reverse order, but with more exceptions. The lowest 
yield of charcoal and the highest yields of alcohol and of tar are 
obtained from one species — hickory ; while the highest yield of charcoal 
and the lowest yields of alcohol and of tar are also obtained from one 
species — chestnut . 
Table 3. — Average yields of alcohol, total tar, and charcoal from the hear twood of various 
species, in percentages of dry vjeight of material distilled. 
Species. 
Alcohol. 
Total tar. 
Charcoal. 
Species. 
Alcohol. 
Total tar. 
Charcoal. 
Per' cent. 
2.08 
2.08 
1.94 
1.76 
Per cent. 
13.0 
9.4 
12.8 
11.7 
Per cent. 
37.7 
41.9 
40.6 
38.6 
Tupelo 
Per cent. 
1.56 
1.53 
1.34 
.90 
Per cent. 
10.6 
12.0 
7.8 
4.6 
Per cent. 
44.1 
Beech 
Birch 
40.6 
Oak 
45.7 
Chestnut 
47.6 
YIELDS PER CORD. 
ALCOHOL AND ACETATE. 
COMPARISON OF YIELDS. 
Table 4 shows the same results as Table 2, but expressed in different 
units — the raw material in terms of gallons of 82 per cent wood alcohol 
and pounds of 80 per cent acetate of lime. 
The yields from the various species on a cord basis are quite different 
from the yields on a unit weight basis ; the heavier woods, such as 
hickory and oak, are advanced in relative position, and the lighter 
woods, such as chestnut and red gum, are reduced. 
The average yield of alcohol from Indiana beech and Wisconsin 
birch and maple is 10.9 gallons per cord; the yield from these species 
from Pennsylvania is 11.51 gallons per cord. These figures represent 
the average yields obtained at commercial plants in these localities. 2 
The average yield of acetate of lime from these two groups of woods, 
319 pounds and 315 pounds per cord, respectively, is about 50 per 
cent higher than the average commercial yields. The yield from 
white oak from Arkansas of 9.2 gallons alcohol is very close to that 
being obtained in one commercial plant, and the acetate yield of 262 
pounds per cord is, as in the case of the standard species, about 50 
per cent higher than the commercial yield. The only ways in which 
the experimental distillations differed from commercial conditions 
were the low maximum temperatures and the short distance from the 
center of the charge to the heated surface of the retort. It is possible 
that these two conditions, resulting in a slow and well-controlled 
distillation, are sufficient to account for the higher yields. 
1 These averages do not include the yields from "lumber," since this material was usually very dry 
resulting in maximum temperatures much higher than the normal, giving yields of tar and charcoal not 
comparable with the rest of the runs. 
2 A corresponding difference between the Lake States and the Eastern States is also obtained commer- 
cially in the acetate yields, but this difference is not shown in the laboratory yields. It must be remem- 
bered, however, that these figures represent the average from equal proportions of the three standard species, 
while in actual practice one species may predominate. 
