โ Scribed by R.H.O.
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Vol. 35, No. 2.) A unique development in the refrigerating field has just been revealed by an engineer associated with Refrigeration Inc., a San Francisco firm. The principle of this new system revolves around the compression and expansion of air which will not stop at the cooling alone of this air, but will, in addition, purify and sterilize the air that is expelled from the machine. A small 20 cu. ft. unit, which can reduce air to 15 deg. below freezing, with an outside temperature of 78 deg. has been in operation secretly for some months on a large commercial meat truck. This unit takes its power from the air brake compressor, which has sufficient unused margin to handle the requirements of the experimental plant. About the size of a typewriter, this machine has proved exceptionally satisfactory in practical use. The company is being watched closely by the lines which operate reefer vessels, as it has been shown by experiments that the new unit is particularly effective in the protection of fruits. The pores of grapes, for example, are sealed by their own juices, it is said, when cooled by this process, and as all bacteria in the air are destroyed by the compression of the air in the machine, refrigerating engineers who know of this remarkable development state the usual derogatory effect of prolonged storage under conventional systems is done away with by the advanced method which the new unit employs. The firm is also engineering various sized units for homes, service stations, and automobiles. There are two separate mechanical units: one, the air compressing unit which, in one size, is a 4-cylinder machine with I inch pistons operating at 185o revolutions a minute to develop 20 cu. ft. of cooling; and the power plant necessary to drive it. The machine is much less expensive than the conventional machinery of this type. R. H. O.
Palm Nuts.--Countries of the world somewhat removed from oil fields have an increasing desire to manufacture substitutes for petroleum derivatives. C.H.S. TUPHOLME in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, News Edition, Vol. 16, No. 2, states that raw materials other than coal and tar as potential sources of motor spirit have recently come under notice in Britain. Among these are palm nuts from Uganda and Nigeria. These were carbonized at the Fuel Research Station at 450 ยฐ C. and the oils
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