Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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Glimpses of the Plant of the Champion Fibre Co., Canton, North Carolina

  • wcu_great_smoky_mtns-2924.jpg
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  • Extract Tannin Extract, as used by tanners today, is of eomparatively reoenf origin. Less than a century ago tanners used roughly ground bark; this they spread in even layers between raw hides in \ ais, the vats being then li!k d w iih water. The extraction from the bark and the treatment ol the hides took place simultaneously. The manufacture of Tannin Extract from chestnul wood brought a new medium to the tanner and solved the problem of obtaining material possessing tannin in concentrated form, which has cITeeted many economies, both in transportation and in more efficient methods of extraction. Chestnut Wood Ex unci is obtained by the prooess of leaching, thi wood being first prepared by chipping, and these chips subjected to a steaming process, undei high pressure and temperature, in sealed vessels known as auto-clavcs. The liquoi thus extracted is purified and put through a system of evaporation and drying, our duil) capacity being 550 barrels, in a molasses-like form, though a part ol this is dried ami placi I <>"< the market as a powder. Our total daily output is equivalent to 112 tons dry Champion Extract.
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