Am'slT"i9i9.rm"  }  Production  of  Glycerin  from  Molasses.  621 
A  report  from  the  Laboratory  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Bureau, 
Washington,  dated  May  6,  191 8,  has  within  the  past  few  days  been 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  writer.  In  it  experiments  are  described 
indicating  that  the  problem  of  the  production  of  glycerin  by  the 
fermentation  of  sugars  in  such  a  yield  as  to  be  of  commercial  signif- 
icance has  been  solved. 
It  seems  that  Dr.  Alonzo  Taylor,  then  Assistant  Secretary  of 
Agriculture,  reported  that  when  in  Germany  in  the  summer  of  191 7 
the  Germans  were  producing  glycerin  in  large  quantities  by  a  fer- 
mentation process.  Investigations  were  undertaken  at  four  differ- 
ent laboratories  in  the  United  States  with  a  view  to  elucidating  the 
problem,  and  Mr.  A.  B.  Adams,  Chief  Chemist  of  the  Laboratory  of 
the  Internal  Revenue  Bureau,  Washington,  was  able  to  report  to 
the  Hon.  Daniel  C.  Roper,  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue, 
three  months  after  the  work  had  been  assigned  to  the  laboratory, 
that  Mr.  John  R.  Eoff  had  solved  the  problem  in  so  far  that  he  was 
able  to  produce  glycerin  in  such  quantities  that  if  the  actual  cost  of 
the  recovery  was  not  too  high  the  process  would  be  commercially 
profitable.  Details  of  the  process  have  been  furnished  to  the  Brit- 
ish and  French  authorities,  and  to  interested  manufacturers  in  the 
United  States. 
The  report  in  which  the  experiments  are  described  in  detail  is 
signed  by  Messrs.  John  R.  Eoff,  W.  V.  Linder  and  G.  F.  Beyer. 
After  numerous  trials  with  pure  cultures  of  different  yeasts, 
Saccharomyces  ellipsoideus  (var.  Steinberg) ,  No.  657  of  the  collec- 
tion of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  was 
selected  as  most  suitable.  Preliminary  experiments  were  then  insti- 
tuted which  ultimately  led  up  to  the  following  general  conclusions : 
The  best  yields  of  glycerin  were  obtained  by  fermenting  solu- 
tions of  sugar  containing  5  per  cent,  of  sodium  carbonate,  which 
must  not  be  added  to  the  liquid  all  at  once.  A  less  quantity  of  the 
alkali  diminishes  the  yield  of  glycerin,  while  a  larger  quantity  stops 
fermentation.  Other  alkaline  substances,  sodium  hydroxide,  potas- 
sium hydroxide,  and  borax  may  be  used,  but  sodium  carbonate 
(soda  ash)  is  preferable  on  account  of  its  cheapness.  Although  no 
hard  and  fast  rule  can  be  laid  down  for  the  method  of  adding  the 
sodium  carbonate,  which  must  be  varied  according  to  the  nature  of 
the  sugar  solution,  it  should  be  added  as  soon  as  the  fermentation 
has  well  started,  and  in  as  large  quantities  and  as  frequently  as  is 
