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Show "Corn-Made" Tires From Kansas Seen if Prices Soar Los Angeles, Cal. Dr. James F. Norris, president of the American Chemical society In session here, sees in the cornfields of Kunsus a possible solution of the disturbing situation recently re-cently created by skyrocketing rubber prices. If continued high prices force tire manufacturers to appeal to the chemist, chem-ist, Doctor Norris said, it Is entirely possible thut a method of manufacturing manufac-turing synthetic rubber from corn and wheat derlvatles may be developed and the rubber plantation supplanted In some measure at least by the middle western American farm. "It Is among the possibilities that our research men will develop a valuable commercial rubber from acetone, from which the Germans made rubber during the war," he said. "Acetone la a by-product of butyl alcohol, and butyl alcohol Is produced from grain. In other words our automobile auto-mobile tires may yet be made from Kansas corn." Doctor Norris pointed out that crude petroleum may be used as the base of synthetic rubber, in which case the corn and whent growers of the Middle West will have to compete with the oil companies. |
