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Beech Wood Distilled in an Iron Retort: Tar, Wood Vinegar and Charcoal
Heating hard wood in a closed iron vessel drives off a sour brown liquid, pyroligneous acid or wood vinegar, loaded with tar, and leaves charcoal behind. Andrew Ure (1839) describes the British works: iron cylinders set in brickwork, oak, ash, birch or beech only, and the crude liquor distilled again to leave the tar in the still. Beech tar is the starting point for Reichenbach's paraffin.
The picture: a later, far larger plant: the vertical retort and wood conveyor of the Cliffs Dow wood distillation works in Marquette, Michigan.
Advanced
A day's firing, then rectifying
Instructions
1
1
Cut the wood
Cut the wood
Saw and split beech into billets that fit the retort. Ure: use hard woods only (oak, ash, birch, beech); fir does not answer.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Logs (Oak, Maple, Beech)20 kgTools needed:
Saw
Axe2
2
Charge and lute the retort
Charge and lute the retort
Fill the iron retort, close the mouth with its iron lid, seal the edge with wet clay and wedge it tight. Lead the outlet pipe to a water-cooled condenser running into a barrel.
Tools needed:
Iron Retort
Clay
Condenser Coil
Wooden Barrel3
3
Fire it
Fire it
Light the furnace under the retort and keep it going through the day. Water comes first, then a sooty brown liquor. Ure's sign of the end: a few drops of water thrown on the first, uncooled pipe evaporate quietly.
Materials for this step:
Firewood1 as requiredTools needed:
Iron Retort
Heat-Resistant Gloves4
4
Cool, then take out the charcoal
Cool, then take out the charcoal
Let it cool overnight before opening; hot charcoal flares in air. Ure's charcoal came to about one fifth of the wood's weight.
Tools needed:
Iron RetortHeat-Resistant Gloves5
5
Rectify: vinegar off, tar left
Rectify: vinegar off, tar left
Distil the crude brown liquor again in a copper still. A clearer brown wood vinegar comes over; thick tar stays behind, about a fifth of the liquor (Ure). Pour the tar off into a tank while it is warm.
Tools needed:
Copper Alembic StillCondenser Coil
Settling Tank
Hydrometer
Chemical Splash Goggles6
6
What one charge gives
What one charge gives
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7
7
Limits
Limits
The method and yields are Ure's, from works with 8 cwt charges; the 20 kg charge and the scaling are ours. The gas from the retort burns: lead it away from the fire or burn it under the retort, as the French works did.
Tools Required
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