CONGRESS in 1938 authorized the establishment of four regional laboratories to work on new scientific, chemical, and technical uses for agricultural raw materials. Commodities in surplus and important to each area were assigned to the laboratories, which, named for the four points of the compass, are located in Peoria, Ill.; Wyndmoor, Pa., adjoining Philadelphia; New Orleans, La.; and Albany, Calif., near San Francisco. The buildings were completed and work was started in 1940 and early in 1941.

In the few years since, the results of research in the laboratories have made a deep impression on the life of the Nation. From them have come a process for the production of penicillin; a way to make sweetening materials from wheat flour; rutin; sweetpotato starch, and many other products and processes that are described elsewhere in this volume. Many other pieces of work are going on or have been finished. They are being fitted into the mosaic of the industrial utilization of agricultural raw materals and into the lives of all citizens.

The Northern Regional Research Laboratory in Peoria is assigned the task of finding new uses for corn, wheat, and the less important cereal crops; soybeans and other oilseed crops of the area, and agricultural residues. This last project is more national than regional, because it deals with agricultural residues of all kinds—straws, stalks, corncobs, hulls, and such—wherever found in the United States.

Just as cereal crops are the most important commodities in the laboratory, starch is the most important component of the cereal crops. Focussed on it are many lines of research—fibers, adhesives, industrial fermentations, and chemicals of industrial importance. There is a starch acetate fiber, for instance, that has certain properties all its own, although it resembles the cellulose acetate material that is prepared from cotton linters and other cellulosic raw materials. There is saccharic acid, which may find wide use as a food acid, and there is a family of products that stem from the action of micro-organisms on starch or the corn sugar manufactured from starch. Penicillin is the outstanding product of fermentation. Another part of the work with fermentation is making alcohol from the starch found in the cereal grains of the Midwest. The studies include work on a laboratory and a pilot-plant scale. A pilot plant is an experimental production unit equipped to work with industrial materials and processes on a scale somewhere between laboratory and full industrial size. Much information on the production of alcohol from wheat was made available to industrial users at a time when the properties of wheat as a raw material for alcohol were unfamiliar to many persons.

Two processes were developed for the production of starch from wheat and wheat flour. Conversion of the wheat starch commercially produced by these processes into glucose sirup and dextrose sugar provided millions of pounds of sweeteners. Some day the processes may provide an outlet for surplus wheat.

Besides starch, all cereals contain proteins of various types. When starch is manufactured from corn, these proteins are found in the so- called corn gluten, which is ordinarily used for cattle feed. This gluten is treated industrially with alcohol to extract an alcohol-soluble protein known as zein. Research in the Northern Laboratory has indicated the possibility of using zein in the production of a promising industrial fiber which, in both wet and dry strengths and in other properties, compares favorably with fibers prepared from other protein materials. Zein has also found wide industrial use in shellac, printing inks, and adhesives.

The growing of soybeans, a more recent crop than corn and wheat in our national economy, has increased rapidly during the past generation. Soybeans contain an oil that lies midway between the more commonly used food oils and the so-called paint- oils. There are great possibilities in both directions. Much of the research at the Northern Laboratory on soybeans has been devoted to improving the properties of soybean oil to a point where it can meet the competition of other oils in their own particular fields. For example: Soybean oil in storage may develop unpleasant flavors that make it undesirable for use in cooking fats, salad oils, and other foods. Research workers at the laboratory have studied the problem several years and have made progress in correcting the difficulty. For paint, soybean oil has desirable and undesirable qualities. It is more or less immune to the yellowing that has been objectionable with interior linseed oil finishes, but it does not dry fast and hard enough to be used for the best type of surface coatings. Research has indicated that a new chemical treatment can cut the drying time of the oil without affecting its other properties. The new process has been made available to the industry.

Other materials produced from soybean oil are Norepol and Norelac. (Names of many products of the laboratory contain the first syllable of Northern and Regional, and another syllable that describes the product.) Norepol, a rubber substitute, filled a gap during the early days of the war before synthetic rubber was in large-scale production. Norelac, a thermoplastic resin, was in industrial pilot-plant production for more than 2 years before it came on the market as a full-fledged commercial product. Norelac is largely used as a heat-sealing and waterproof coating for paper and food packaging.

Tons and tons of cornstalks, corncobs, straw, hulls, and similar materials are wasted or poorly used on United States farms. To put them to good use is a national problem. They can be used unchanged or modified by chemical treatment. One use for some of them is to make a substance that replaces sand for cleaning machine parts, castings, and so on. It is expected that with the increase in the cost of wood, agricultural residues, like straw and stalks, will find a wider use in making paper. Much research has been devoted to this development.

The difficulties are largely economic. The question always is, Will it pay? With the working out of proper procedures that will collect the residues and deliver them to the factory at a reasonable price, there is no reason why these materials may not take their place in the manufacture of, paper.

With a new process perfected in the Northern Laboratory, it is possible to produce from agricultural residues furfural, a colorless, oily liquid used in purifying butadiene and making plastics, that has great promise as the basis for a new chemical industry; glucose, from which alcohol can be made cheaply; and lignin, a material that is now used as fuel but has great possibilities for chemical development. All this is done in a continuous chemical process. Agricultural residues also are used in making Noreseal, a product that may replace cork in seals and tops for bottles, plastics, and building materials.

Research at the Southern Regional Research Laboratory deals primarily with cotton.

Lately the production and consumption of synthetic fibers that compete with cotton have expanded markedly. Rayon is the outstanding example. Not long ago nearly all rayon was used for clothing and household fabrics, where appearance is an important consideration, but during the war the production of a new, high-strength type of rayon was greatly expanded, primarily for truck, bus, and airplane tires.

In this connection the claim has been made that rayon is superior to cotton for tire cord, particularly for heavy-duty tires. The statement must be qualified. Tests have shown that present types of commercial cotton cord are entirely adequate for passenger-car tires. Some tests made by the Army have indicated that tires made with rayon cord are better than tires made from ordinary cotton cord for some types of heavy-duty military service. On the other hand, tires made of cord from selected varieties of cotton stood up so well in other tests made by the Army and by the War Production Board that any assertion that rayon is superior for certain types of service may well be questioned. Of course, the strength and other properties of cotton vary considerably with the variety, and some varieties, such as Wilds 13, are better suited for tire cord than others. This is a fair example of the point that industrial markets for cotton and other agricultural commodities may depend on growing specific varieties that possess the characteristics needed for specific end uses.

Research on tire cord is continuing, with the object of developing a still better cotton cord for use in tires for heavy trucks and busses.

Most persons have had occasion to apply a bandage to a cut or sprain and have found it difficult to bind the injury with just the right amount of tension. Too much tension may interfere with circulation and cause throbbing; too little may permit the bandage to loosen and fail to function. By means of a modified mercerization process developed by the Southern Laboratory, standard cotton gauze may be made semi- elastic and used to advantage in bandages for several types of injuries. This new all-cotton material will bend and give with the flexing of a joint, will expand if there is swelling, and is liked by doctors and nurses, particularly for cases where a mild-pressure dressing is required. About 30,000 rolls of the bandage have been produced at the Southern Laboratory and used in clinical trials by Navy, Army, and private hospitals.

Cotton that must be exposed to the action of the elements will mildew and rot, become weak, and finally fail in its function entirely. This applies to tent material, mosquito netting, fish nets, sandbags that come in close contact with the soil, and so on. Sandbags have uses in peace and war, for fortifications, protection of buildings, levees, and so forth. The Southern Laboratory has developed an accelerated rotting test to discover which of the various mildew- and rot-proofing agents are effective in increasing the life of cotton sandbags. The test is made by burying samples of cloth in warm, moist soil and measuring its loss in strength. One especially effective treatment to preserve fabrics against mildew and bacterial rot is the partial acetylation of the cellulose of the cotton fiber, so that it is more practically proof against attack by cellulose-destroying organisms. Several bags made of acetylated cotton fabric were filled with sand and placed outdoors with one side in contact with the soil. After 2 years these bags were still intact and serviceable.

Unlined cotton fire hose has been constructed from a specially treated cotton yarn, which, when properly woven into the hose, acts like linen yarn in rapidly absorbing water. It swells enough to close the minute openings in the tightly woven structure, so that the hose carries water without too much leakage. The treatment was intended especially to make cotton serve as a substitute for linen in rubberless hose for use in fighting fires in buildings, ships, and forests during the war. The same principle is being applied to the development of water-resistant military and civilian fabrics.

Large amounts of low-grade cotton fabrics, such as osnaburg, are produced, sold, and used as gray goods, that is, without finishing treatment. The improved effect of various finishing agents and processes upon the appearance and utility of these low-grade materials was studied. After extensive tests with several durable-type finishing agents, a modified cellulose compound was selected as the most satisfactory generally as to increased strength and resistance to wear imparted to the fabric and the retention of those properties after repeated launderings. In many cases it was found advantageous to combine a mercerization treatment with the finish. By compacting and rounding the yarns, as well as by increasing luster, mercerization imparts an improved character to cotton cloth. Results of work on a pilot-plant scale indicate that useful and attractive fabrics for household uses and garments may be obtained by further processing of low-grade cotton products.

Because only short cotton fibers, like cotton linters, could be purified with existing commercial equipment and because of the threatened shortage of chemical cellulose during the war, a study was made of cutting machines that would reduce lint cotton to lengths comparable to second-cut linters. A pilot-model machine was designed and constructed, followed by a larger experimental machine that was tested in a commercial linters purification plant. On the basis of the results of these tests, the War Production Board financed a full-size comimercial unit designed for cutting both lint cotton and mill-run linters. Preliminary production tests indicated that the machine should be capable of cutting approximately 10 tons of cotton an hour to a length satisfactory for purification and nitration. Although this machine was developed to fill a wartime need, it may possibly be used to advantage for mill-run linters or short-staple cotton to relieve shortages of chemical cellulose.

For many years gossypol was the only pigment known to be associated with cottonseed. Research at the Southern Laboratory led to the detection of many other pigments, three of which have been isolated and identified: Gossypurpurin, purple in color, and gossyfulvin, orange in color, both of them from raw cottonseed, and gossycaerulin, blue in color, from cooked cottonseed. Microscopic investigation of the distribution of the predominant pigments in cottonseed tissue has shown that they are concentrated in distinct organs of the seed, that is, in pigmented glands. The glands are mechanically strong, resist the action of many organic liquids, and have a density less than that of other cottonseed tissue. With this knowledge, a process was devised for the mechanical removal of pigments from cottonseed; it consists in floating the largely intact glands on the surface of a mixture of organic liquids that has a density intermediate between that of the glands and that of the other seed tissue. A fractionation unit of prepilot plant scale has been constructed and operated to separate pigment glands from solvent extracted cottonseed flakes. The liquid for the fractionation process is a mixture of tetrachlorethylene and Skellysolve B, adjusted to a specific gravity of 1.378 at 27° C. For the first time, a sufficient quantity of cottonseed pigments is available for a determination of the physical, chemical, and toxicological properties of these coloring matters, and a study of their functions in relation to seed maturity, seed storage, processing conditions and industrial utilization, and toxicological and nutritional factors.

The commodities studied at the Eastern Regional Research Laboratory, near Philadelphia, comprise milk, tobacco, animal fats and oils, vegetables, apples, hides, leather, and tanning materials.

Whey, a byproduct in the production of cheese and casein from milk, contains lactose, or milk sugar, which can be transformed into lactic acid by the action of certain micro-organisms. From lactic acid a material known as methylacrylate can be produced. When this methylacrylate is combined with such-materials as butadiene, isoprene, and so forth, it can be converted into a rubberlike material known as Lactoprene. The vulcanizing or curing characteristics of three types of Lactoprenes have been studied extensively. The resulting materials are resistant to oil, oxidation, sunlight, and heat and appear to have possibilities for the manufacture of various kinds of articles for special uses.

The kind of synthetic rubber now being produced in greatest volume results from the combining of butadiene and styrene while they are suspended as minute globules in an emulsion. Much difficulty was experienced with the soaps that were used to prepare the emulsion. Because about 90 million pounds of tallow a year are needed for such soap, the Eastern Laboratory, in cooperation with the Rubber Reserve Company, undertook an investigation of tallow and tallow soaps in order to determine the effect of minor constituents of the tallows on the polymerization process. The investigators found that the presence of certain minor constituents in the soap was largely responsible for the retarded polymerization of the synthetic rubber. They also learned that a hydrogenation of the tallows before they were used for the preparation of soap would completely eliminate the troublesome variability in the finished soap. As a result of the work, the Rubber Reserve Company specified that all its soap in 1946 be hydrogenated to a precise degree. The requirements can be met by the use of nonedible tallows and greases, instead of edible tallows as formerly used. The research contributed substantially to the synthetic rubber program.

Because of the shortage of hog bristles for paint brushes, a process involving the extrusion of a heated plastic mixture of casein and water into air was developed. One manufacturer put in operation a pilot plant, with the cooperation of the Eastern Laboratory, to test the bristle. There appears to be an excellent market for the material, and it is expected that casein bristles can be produced more cheaply than natural bristles or other artificial products.

A new starch compound was prepared at the Eastern Laboratory. It is allyl starch. It dissolves in many organic solvents to yield a lacquer, or spirit varnish, which polymerizes after drying and becomes very hard and resistant to agents that often damage varnish surfaces. When properly formulated, varnishes containing allyl starch dry and harden to a mar-resistant coating much more rapidly than some oil- and resin-containing furniture varnishes. The resistance of the hardened finish to hot and cold water and to alcohol and other organic solvents is notably superior to that of several commercial furniture finishes.

During the war in the South Pacific it was found that leather goods and equipment used in the tropical atmosphere were in many cases seriously damaged by mold growth. In cooperation with the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, the Eastern Laboratory developed several compounds and treating procedures to meet this difficulty. Of these compounds, three were found to be especially effective when applied to completely fabricated leather equipment, and gave greatly increased resistance to both moisture and mold growth in laboratory tests and service tests in the Pacific and Panama areas. These compounds are composed of salicyl anilide paranitrophenol, and dinitro-ortho-cresol.

As chestnut wood becomes more and more limited because of ravages of blight, this country will become increasingly dependent on foreign and synthetic tannins unless additional domestic sources are developed. The Eastern Laboratory has given careful consideration to the production of domestic tannin from a number of potential tannin sources. Among these are Western hemlock bark; canaigre, a field plant grown in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona; scrub oak bark from Florida; and domestic sumacs. The problem in all of these materials is more economic than chemical. A good quality of tannin can be obtained from each of them. The problem to be solved is whether the material can be produced at a price competitive with the imported or synthetic article.

Fruits, vegetables, alfalfa, poultry, and wheat are the crops assigned to the Western Laboratory. These products, with the exception of alfalfa and wheat, are used almost entirely for human food. For that reason research on food products and processes commands an important place in the work of the Western Laboratory.

During the war, studies on vegetable dehydration were urgently needed to assist industry in meeting military demands for large quantities of dried foods. More than a billion pounds of dehydrated vegetables were produced during the war. Several important discoveries made at the Western Laboratory helped make possible this production It was shown, for example, that easily controllable factors, such as moisture content and the composition of the package atmosphere, are effective in preventing rancidity and staleness in many kinds of dehydrated vegetables. Improved processing methods, studies on the suitability of raw materials, more precise analytical procedures, and better designs for equipment are among the contributions. A large amount of new information is available in the form of publications on these and other related subjects.

Commercial production of spray-dried whole-egg powder was greatly increased during the early months of the war to such an extent that egg drying became a major wartime industry, with an annual volume of 300 million pounds. As many servicemen can testify, serious trouble developed with the spoilage of stored egg powders. To solve the problem, research for the improvement of the keeping quality of dried eggs was requested by the Army Quartermaster Corps and much work was done on it at the Western Laboratory. Factors such as moisture content, atmosphere in the sealed container, and acidification of the powders were studied. Besides, chemical research yielded important basic information on the components and reactions in dried eggs that cause spoilage.

The control of acidity during the drying and storage of eggs will extend by at least four times the useful “shelf life” of the product. The beating or whipping properties of unacidified-spray dried eggs are poor, while those that have been properly acidified before drying are about equal to fresh eggs. The process consists of adding a small amount of hydrochloric acid to the eggs before drying. After dehydration, enough sodium bicarbonate is mixed with the dried powdered eggs to neutralize the acid. Upon reconstitution of the powder with water, the reaction between the acid and soda forms a small amount of sodium chloride. The salt thus introduced is barely detectable. The results of the studies on dried eggs make them a much better and more useful material and may thus serve to provide additional market opportunities.

Research on frozen foods is an important activity at the laboratory. Although a large and expanding industry now exists, the freezing methods of preserving foods present many problems that require technical attention. Work was done on fruit purees and other contributions have been made in freezing technology.

The pack of frozen apricots in California alone increased from 55,000 pounds in 1940 to 34,800,000 pounds in 1944, and that of peaches from 97,000 to 22,700,000 pounds. Most of these frozen fruits were used in pies. A large share of them was treated with a sodium bisulfite bath to prevent darkening, a procedure developed at the Western Laboratory. Large quantities of fruit were processed in that way which could not be canned because of metal shortages. It was noted that scalding sweet corn on the cob before removing and freezing the kernels gave a better product than when removal from the cob is the first step. Progress has been made in solving the problem of preventing the development of undesirable flavors in frozen peas. Tests to determine the sanitary history of frozen fruits and vegetables have been developed, together with other procedures, and recommendations to assure a continuation of the generally good conditions of sanitation that now prevail in this industry.

It has been found that some wastes from canneries and freezing plants can be employed as culture media to grow useful yeasts, molds, or bacteria. One example is the use of pear cannery waste in the production of a feed yeast rich in proteins and vitamins. Semicommercial-sized batches of yeast products have been made and are being tested for their feed value by cooperation with the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station.

Another possibility under investigation is the use of the wastes as a culture medium for the production of antibiotic compounds. The juice from waste asparagus butts is especially suitable for this purpose. Among the antibiotics being studied are tyrothricin, citrinin, and subtilin. Subtilin was discovered and named by the Western Laboratory in 1943. A method for its preparation has been found and tests were started in cooperating medical clinics to determine its usefulness. Preliminary indications are that subtilin may be helpful in treating tuberculosis and amoebic dysentery. The use of these and other similar antibiotics also is being investigated for the control of plant diseases. For this purpose it Is not necessary to purify the products; hence costs will be much lower than for a material planned for medical use.

Investigations on different phases of fiber production from proteins are under way in all four regional laboratories. At the Western Laboratory the proteins are the keratins (important constituents in feathers, hooves, hair, and horn) and the proteins from wheat, alfalfa, and egg white. Each has been used in the experimental production of fibers, plastics, and adhesives. Most of the work done thus far is quite fundamental in nature, in order to establish a firm scientific basis for the production of useful specialized products. Keratin proteins are of particular significance because they are nonfood proteins and are, for the main part, now wasted or diverted into products of low value.

The use of agricultural products as basic raw materials for industry holds great promise for the country as a whole. Much of our economy is based on the utilization of expendable raw materials drawn from the oil well and the mine. When these materials are gone, and the time is near for some and distant for others, we shall be faced with the necessity of turning to the supply of reproducible raw materials offered by agriculture. At present we are in the position of an individual who is living on his capital. When that capital is gone, there will be none to replace it. Let us live industrially on our agricultural products, our income, and postpone the bankruptcy which will face the country when our stored-up supplies of fuel and other materials are spent.

THE AUTHOR
H. T. Herrick is special assistant to the chief of the Bureau of Agricultural and Industrial Chemistry. After 15 years’ experience in industrial work, Mr. Herrick came to the Department in 1926. He has been chief, Industrial Farm Products Research Division; assistant chief, Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering; and director, Northern Regional Research Laboratory.

ALSO, IN THIS BOOK
What Makes Cotton Good? by E. E. Berkley and H. D. Barker, page 369.
New Trends in Marketing, by R. W. Hoecker, page 911.
Rutin for the Capillaries, by James F. Couch, page 711.
Penicillin, by Kenneth B. Raper, page 699.
Uses for Vegetable Wastes, by J. J. Willaman and R. K. Eskew, page 739.
Corncobs Enter Industry, by Elbert C. Lathrop, page 734.
Farm Science and Citizens, by Sherman E. Johnson, page 920.
Soil Organism and Disease, by Selman A. Waksman, page 511.
A Bonus From Foulbrood, by E. C. Holst, page 686.

NEW USES FOR FARM PRODUCTS

Specifications for new farm products and new ways of using them have resulted from research carried on by the Department, mainly at its four regional research laboratories, and under the direction of the Bureau of Agricultural and Industrial Chemistry. A quick glimpse of some of the accomplishments of recent years is given in these pages. Special equipment is required to test the merits of a new product or process, as indicated in the picture above that shows a section of the pilot plant at Peoria, IL,, where new ways of making alcohol from grain are tried out on a semicommercial scale. The 200-gallon vat fermenter (~~right~~ [below]), also at the Peoria laboratory, is used to produce penicillin in submerged culture.

As a result of research to make starch from wheat, two processes have been developed for producing wheat starch that is convertible into sirup, sugar, or industrial alcohol. One step of the so-called batter process is demonstrated above, left, by a pilot-plant aide at the Peoria laboratory. At right, above, Walter M. Scott, Director of the Southern Regional Laboratory at New Orleans, examines some attractive new fabrics made from a low-grade cotton not before used for such purposes. Chemical Engineer Samuel Aronovsky grinds peanut shells (below) into a material known as Noreseal. It is being tested for use in bottle closures.

Research at the regional laboratory at Philadelphia has made possible the commercial manufacture of rutin, a preparation prescribed for strengthening capillary walls. The green buckwheat plant is an economical source of the drug, a fact that was disclosed by James F. Couch of the Department’s laboratory staff after a 2-year search. In the above photo Dr. Couch (left) and J. Naghski examine a sample of rutin powder. Some of the equipment used in extracting the medicinal rutin from green buckwheat on a pilot-plant scale is shown below.

At the New Orleans laboratory W. B. Strickland (above, left) and W. N. Berard apply a rot-proof treatment to cotton fabric from which sandbags are made. The effectiveness of the treatment is shown at right, above. The treated bag (in foreground) resisted rot damage, while the untreated one, under identical conditions, almost completely disintegrated. Another accomplishment of the New Orleans laboratory is a semielastic bandage fabric shown at left, below. Made by a modified mercerization process, this new all-cotton material will bend and stretch with the flexing of a joint and will expand with the swelling of an injury. Medical authorities say this fabric has many advantages over the ordinary bandage.

The scope of farm products from which new things can be made is virtually limitless. At the regional laboratory at Albany, Calif., R. A. O’Connell (above) prepares to test the merits of an experimental fiber of which poultry feathers are the main ingredient. A domestic source of tannin may result from research at the Philadelphia laboratory where Western hemlock bark, canaigre [a kind of dock (Rumex hymenosepalus) native to the Southwest U.S. -ASC], and scrub oak bark are being used in experiments. Below, Technologist W. D. May takes from a vacuum drum drier test batch of scrub oak bark tanning extract.

An improved process for manufacturing pectin from apple pomace (above, left) has been developed at the Albany, Calif., laboratory. Apple essence, another byproduct of apples, is being tested at the Philadelphia laboratory. In the photo at right, above, apple essence is being added to jelly to give it a flavor obtainable in no other way. Below, a laboratory aide measures out the right amount of apple essence to give candy a characteristic apple flavor. For a general article regarding various developments in farm byproducts, see page 689 [above -ASC].

From whey, a byproduct of milk, the laboratory at Philadelphia has produced a rubber-like material known as lactoprene. Being resistant to oil, oxidation, sunlight, and heat, it seems to have possibilities for many special uses. In the picture at left, above, a laboratory worker adds the initiator or catalyst to the lactoprene emulsion. At right, above, a tensile-strength test is given to a strip of the vulcanized product and, below, a chunk of the lactoprene compound is being refined on a roll mill before it is vulcanized. (For further details see page 694.)

A wool-like fiber has been developed from casein, another byproduct of milk. Above, Earle O. Whittier of the Bureau of Dairy Industry examines a tray of moist casein that has been partially dried in a special oven. The fiber takes wool dyes and thus can be blended with wool in making fabrics. Among the many uses found for soybeans, oil paint is significant. In the picture below, its qualities for marking traffic lines are being given a practical test.