240  Conservation  and  Chemical  Engineer.  {A^^riSS!'m' 
of  the  conservation  theme  as  influenced  by  the  work  of  the  chemical 
engineer  will  have  to  be  passed  by  for  the  present. 
That  there  are  numerous  problems  as  yet  unsolved  of  equal  and 
possibly  greater  importance  than  some  of  these  discussed  will  also 
be  conceded  by  those  possessing  even  a  moderate  acquaintance  with 
chemical  industries. 
One  of  these  problems,  for  instance,  is  the  recovery  of  the 
valuable  constituents  of  the  waste  liquor  of  the  sulphite  wood-pulp 
process.  A  German  authority  states  that  every  litre  of  this  waste 
liquor  contains  120  Gms.  of  organic  material  as  against  10  to  15  Gms. 
of  mineral  substance.  Dr.  A.  Frank  estimated  that  in  1904  there 
was  wasted  in  this  way  in  Germany  300  million  kilogrammes  of 
organic  material,  concerning  which  we  know  that  it  has  value  in 
several  directions.  In  this  country,  the  sulphite  wood-pulp  process 
has  also  an  extensive  development  and  the  same  waste  liquor  is  run 
off  into  our  streams. 
A  somewhat  different  problem,  but  one  of  even  greater  impor- 
tance, is  the  loss  of  valuable  metals  in  smelter  smoke  and  fumes. 
The  American  production  of  bismuth  is  not  over  10,000  lbs.  a  year 
and  considerable  amounts  of  bismuth  and  bismuth  compounds  are 
imported  every  year.  Yet  it  is  estimated  in  the  forthcoming  report 
of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  for  1908  that  880  lbs.  of  bismuth 
per  day  are  being  thrown  off  in  the  smoke  of  the  great  Washoe 
smelter  at  Anaconda,  Mont.,  and  with  this  also  go  copper,  lead,  zinc, 
arsenic,  and  other  mineral  products.  One  way  of  saving  much  of 
this  lost  material  is  pointed  out  in  noting  that  the  replacing  of 
smelting  methods  by  electrolytic  methods,  possible  in  some  cases, 
allows  these  metals  to  be  recovered  from  .the  deposited  slimes. 
In  conclusion,  let  us  emphasize  the  fact  that  our  chemical  indus- 
tries need  not  merely  development  or  exploitation,  but  if  they  are 
to  continue  to  flourish  as  we  are  drawn  more  and  more  into  inter- 
national competition  they  must  have  the  newest  and  best  results 
of  chemical  research  applied  by  the  experienced  chemical  engineer. 
New  and  better  materials  must  be  sought,  better  processes  evolved, 
economies  effected  at  all  possible  stages,  and  waste  products  care- 
fully looked  after.  The  most  successful  chemical  industries  in  the 
world,  which  show  the  highest  scientific  and  technical  development 
and  which  are  steadily  expanding  and  throwing  out  branches,  are 
those  of  the  great  German  chemical  companies.  Organizations  like 
the  Badische  Anilin  and  Soda  Fabrik,  which  have  by  their  employ- 
