CHEMISTS CONFER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 22, 26 January 1935, Page 10

CHEMISTS CONFER.

USES OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX.

SOURCE OF CELLULOSE PULP. The joint annual conference of the JCeiv Zealand section of the Institute of Chemistry (Great Britain) and the NewZealand Institute of Chemistry ivas continued' in Hamilton yesterday. The morning session opened with a paper 'by Mr. L. S. Spackman, of Auckland, who spoke on "Cellulose Pulp from New Zealand Flax." He stated that the use of cellulose pulp, or pulp as it wae commonly known, had assumed enormous proportions, and it was the stable raw material of a number of important industries, chief of whiclx was the manufacture of paper. The manufacture of newsprint was the largest single outlet for cellulose pulp. Other important industries using pulp were the artificial silk industry and the nitrocellulose industry. The artificial silk industry was well known, but the manufacture of nitrocellulose. which is used for making guncotton, lacquers and' celluloid, also con-, sumed large quantities of pulp. Pulp was manufactured from a number ot different raw materials, the most important of which was wood, although esparto grass, bamboo and rags were other important sources. Recently interest had been centred 011 New Zealand flax as a source of cellulose pulp. The cellulose content of flax was high, it was relatively free from resins, and it was in such a form that it could be easily purified by chemical treatment. No difficulty has been.found in making high-grade pulps in the laboratory. The chemical nature o"t the cellulose fibre in flax was such that it lent itself to the production of high grade pulps such as were used for admixture with lower grades of pulp is the manufacture of artificial silk and for use in the manufacture of nitrocellulose.

Tlie economics of pulp production from flax were traversed, and it was sliown that there was ample margin of profit and the world-demand was such that there was every prospect of pulp becoming one of New Zealand's staple exports. In a discussion which followed, Mr. W. Donovan, Dominion analyst, said the figures given for the yield of pulp and the price of production were in agreement with results which had been obtained in his laboratory. Other Papers. Mr. W. L. Stewart, of Wellington, read a paper entitled "Some Chemical Properties, of Diesel Fuel," and discussed chemical tests and their importance in predicting engine performance. A paper which gave rise to an animated discussion was contributed by Dr. Annett, of Matangi, 011 "Chemical Phenomena in Agriculture." He stressed the need of lime, and mentioned that the real value of liming did not appear until four years after its initial application. Mr. ]\. Grinimelt, of the Department of Agriculture Laboratory, Wellington, disagreed with the lecturer on the advisability of the universal use of lime, and mentioned that certain experi: ments had shown that 011 certain types of pumice land lime was not only unnecessary, but was a disadvantage. Mr. P. I\. Parr, of Auckland, read a paper on "Laboratory Organisation." During the afternoon the delegates paid visits of inspection to the Glaxo factory at Matangi, to Dr. Annett's experimental farm, and to the research and control laboratories of the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company at Hamilton.