Glycerine From
p. 57 · Read in the full issue
Copra
Apparently Not Wanted in This War
IN the war of 1914-18, glycerine, as a component of explosives, was in great demand among the belligerent nations: and. as coconut oil then gave high quality glycerine, copra went to prices never formerly heard of.
Some people, remembering this, and noting the enormous use of high explo sives in this war, have been watching copra quotations hopefully: but we are told, now, by experts, that in 25 years the position has changed completely. In 1914, the nations had no stocks of gly cerine; this time, they have huge re serves.
Moreover (says one American writer) a great many processes for the produc tion of glycerine bv fermentation of sugars and by synthesis from petroleum pro ducts or from acetylene, ethylene and propylene have been developed, particu larly in Germany, since 1914. Whether these processes are being utilised on a commercial scale in Germany to-day de pends on the relative availability of soap making raw materials on the one hand and sources of cheap sugar on the other.
Processes of this type serve to make gly cerine more readily available from a greater variety of sources and less de pendent on a supply of oils and fats.