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UTILIZATION AND DISPOSAL OF INDUSTRIAL WASTES
Dr. F. W. Mohlman '.       ..;
Director of Laboratories , ,
¦  .    *   ¦ ,'   The Sanitary District of Chicago
The recovery of pollutional by-products in industry is like Portia's well-known reference to the quality of mercy, for "it bles.seth him that gives and him that takes." The manufacturer is blessed in proportion to the net returns of his investment: if he profits financially, it "droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven"; but if the recovery process is not profitable, he still is blessed by the good-will of his downstream neighbors and freedom from governmental re¬ strictions. It is obvious that the downstream neighbors and govern¬ mental agencies are blessed by relief from pollution problems that are frequent sources of friction between government and industry.
However, manufacturers hardly look upon their waste disposal problem as a blessing, and it is only rarely that the entire problem can be solved with a net profit, but frequently various degrees of abateiTvent can be accomplished at little or no expense and sometimes a profit is reaHzed. Vigilance in process control usually results in minimizing occasional spills or losses of products. Revision of process sometimes recovers products formerly considered wastes. Finally, the use of the most efficient, that is the least costly, process for treating the residual wastes to the required degree demanded by the conditions of disposal, is desired by both the manufacturer and the public authority, and the cooperative efforts of both parties should be directed toward the attainment of this goal.
In our work on industrial wastes in The Sanitary District of Chicago, many of the problems of industry have been encountered, and various degrees of effort have been exerted by some industries in the attempt to prevent discharge of pollutional solids. The most general problem has been the occasional loss of material such as oil, solvents, sugar, grains or other organic materials, which loss may be considered accidental^ either by carelessness of employees, failure of equipment, or more often overloading of equipment normally capable of preventing excessive loss.
Corn Products Recoveries
One of the more spectacular waste recovery achievements is that of the corn products industry, in which "bottHng up" of the process has resulted in profitable recovery of thousands of tons of