used for processing into a continuous web utilizing a vacuum cylinder rotoformer a binder would be added to the resulting web and the product would have a variety of uses such as a secondary backing for carpet additionally the fiber could be used as an extender for wood pulp after being mixed with wood chips and processed in a refiner or a jordan engine the virginia peanut shells were first subjected to a light precrushing by being fed on a rubber apron to two soft faced opposing rolls having a gap of about 3 16 of an inch between them four dry quarts of virginia peanut shells were placed in a cylindrical rod mill having interior dimensions of 10 inches by 18 inches the mill was loaded with mild steel rods as follows by using rods of different diameters more complete milling is obtained than with rods of equal diameter the rods occupied approximately 40 percent of the interior volume of the mill the mill then rotated at approximately twenty revolutions per minute for twenty five minutes to achieve de fibering of the shell by separating the long fiber from the carcass of the shell the mixture discharged from the milling was composed of fiber shell particles of varying sizes dust and dirt the discharge mixture was tumbled in a fine mesh screen covered cylinder to remove the dirt and dust content the fiber was then separated from the other material by feeding a thin layer of the mixture on an apron or a continuous belt to an electrostatically charged zone so that the layer came into close proximity i.