Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Distillations Episode 90: Useful Waste

DISTILLATIONS EPISODE 91: USING WASTE
0:00 UP THEME MUSIC
Hello, and welcome to Distillations – extracts from the past, present and future of chemistry. I’m Meir Rinde. On today’s show we’ll explore how some byproducts have become products of their own. We’ll learn how a cast off from the oil industry became a hot commodity. And we’ll talk to a food scholar who explains how waste from a slaughterhouse became America’s favorite jiggly snack. That’s all coming up on today’s episode of Distillations.
MONOLOGUE
Many products land on the shelves as an afterthought. Sometimes a scientist or inventor is looking to create a solution for one problem and stumbles across an answer to another. Or someone realizes that a byproduct being tossed could be converted into something useful or, at the least, marketable. Today, playgrounds, tennis courts, and running tracks are often created out of recycled rubber from sneakers. But the idea of using recycled material to create new products is nothing new. Thousands of years ago, a similar concept led to the use of Carbon black in ancient texts. Victoria Indivero has more in today’s chemical agent.
CHEMICAL AGENT – Carbon Black
When wood, oil, gas, or bone is completely burned, one of the main byproducts is carbon dioxide. If there’s not enough oxygen for complete burning, you get another byproduct: powdered carbon, also known as carbon black.
We don’t know who first pounded a piece of charred wood into powder and used it to draw on a cave wall. But we do know that some cave wall art is over 30,000 years old. The Egyptians, who invented paper, also invented ink made from soot. They charred wood with fire or partially burned oil and then ground the black residue into a fine powder. They added gum Arabic to water and mixed in the powdered carbon. The result? Black ink that never fades and an Egyptian papyrus over 3,000 years old that is still legible.

Chimneys first appeared in the Middle Ages and the soot scraped from their insides was soon used to make black pigment. The best black inks, though, were made from burning animal and vegetable fats. Rembrandt, the great Dutch painter, used black pigment from burned crushed bones to paint the folds of clothing.
With the rise of steam printing and mass literacy in the 19th century, black ink was needed more than ever. Old ways of using waste products such as bones, vine clippings, and chimney soot gave way to large scale industrialized processes using oil and gas. The 20th century car provided another use for carbon black. Adding carbon black to rubber tires makes them stronger. It’s also used in car wiper blades, belts, and hoses. Open up an office printer and you’ll likely find carbon black in the toner cartridges and black inks. Black shoes need a shine? Pull out the shoe polish—another destination for carbon black. And that’s it for the chemical agent. I’m ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Victoria Indivero.
BACK ANNOUNCE – TRANSITION TO CHEMISTRY IN YOUR CUPBOARD
Victoria Indivero is Distillations’ associate producer.
It removes makeup, moisturizes skin, prevents chafing —you name it, petroleum jelly can probably do it. What is now one of the most ubiquitous household products started life as troublesome by-product of big oil. Maggie Wood has more in today’s chemistry in your cupboard.
CHEMISTRY IN YOUR CUPBOARD
When drillers hit oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859, Robert Chesebrough’s kerosene business hit rock bottom. With nothing left to lose, 22-year-old Chesebrough spent his last dollars on a train ticket to Titusville, hoping to strike it big in the young oil industry.
Strike it big he did—but not in oil. Amid the maze of oil rigs growing out of the ground like trees, Chesebrough came across rod-wax. This thick, gooey substance clogged pumps and brought giant rigs to a shuddering halt. Men worked constantly to remove the wax buildup. They also used the wax to soothe burns on their skin.
A chemist by training, Chesebrough took ten glass jars of the bothersome substance to his Brooklyn lab. After months of experimentation, Chesebrough purified the active ingredient in rod wax: white petrolatum. To test his new product, Chesebrough did what so many scientists before him have done—used himself as a lab rat. He gave himself two identical burns. He applied the petroleum jelly to one and left the other alone to see which healed faster. His self-experiments convinced him to market the slippery, scentless goo, and within 10 years, almost every household in the U.S. owned a jar of Vaseline.
Americans used it for everything. Diaper rash and chapped lips. To take off tight rings and soften leather baseball gloves. Commander Robert Peary took Vaseline to the North Pole because it wouldn’t freeze, and World War I pilots smeared it on their faces to block the cold rushing through rickety planes.
Though it’s not recommended to apply Vaseline directly to burns today, Vaseline is recognized as an effective skin moisturizer. Petroleum jelly fills in for lost lipids in dry skin and seals moisture within the skin cells.
Expecting a power outage or going off the grid for awhile? Eggs coated in Vaseline will stay fresh for months. You can even use it to grease the wheels on your skateboard. For Distillations, I’m Maggie Wood.
BACK ANNOUNCE – SHOW ID
Maggie Wood is CHF’s editorial assistant.
Have something to say about what you’ve heard on our show? Send your thoughts to distillations at chemheritage dot org. You’re listening to Distillations. I’m Meir Rinde.
MUSIC – TRANSITION TO INTERVIEW
It’s the wiggly, jiggly snack that’s been part of the American diet for decades, and its main ingredient is a waste product from the meat-packing industry. To find out how this unlikely pairing came about, I spoke with food scholar Roger Horowitz.
Roger, thanks so much for joining us.
INTERVIEW
BACK ANNOUNCE
Roger Horowitz is the associate director of the Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society at the Hagley Museum and Library. He’s also a Gordon Cain Fellow at CHF.
And that’s it for this week’s episode of Distillations.
THEME MUSIC AND CREDITS
Distillations is a presentation of the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Our show is produced by Michal Meyer, Mia Lobel, Victoria Indivero and Jennifer Dionisio. Our theme music is composed and performed by Dave Kaufman. Additional music provided from the Podsafe Music Network. Check it out at music dot podshow dot com. Please, tell us what you think about our program, and send suggestions for future shows to distillations at chemheritage dot org. Until next time, I’m Meir Rinde.