Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 113 Series L, Quality of Water, 8 

DEP ARTl\IENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED t;TATEt; UEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

CHARLEt\ D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR 

THE DISPO~AL OF 

STH.A,VBOARD AND OIL-\VELL WASTES 

BY 

ROBERT LEl\iUEL ~ACKETT 

AXD 

ISAIAH BO\Vl\lAN 

. . . . . . ... 

... 

. .... :"• :··:·~.: ........... · . • .Jill • . •• :: • •• : . . . . . .,.·.· : .. · .. : : .. · .. : ·~.·.·: •.•:. ·. : .. • • • •• • • • • • • 0 

. . : : . . : •• •• ·' :of ·.: .. .. . ~. . . . .. . . 

WASHINGTON 

G 0 V E R N ME N 1' P I~ IN 1' I N G 0 F F I 0 E 

1805 

• e G a e a.. e • •a e e . . ~ . . . .. . .. . . . •" . . . . . .· .. : .. ::.::·.:·~:·.: 
.. · ..···.: ···.:··. ::··.·:: .~.: 

.. ::· ..... ::·: ... ~· .. : .. :· .. : .. : ·.· .. ··: 

.. " ... . . . . . . . . . .. . . ... . . . . 

·: .·: . . .... , . •• • • • 4 • 

• • • • 5 ••• 

. . . . . . . . . . . . ...... . . . . . . . . .. . . . '" .. • •• f!l· .. : •• : •• : : : ••• 

. . . ·: .· : ... · ... 
CONTENTS. 

Page. 

LKl"fE!{ OF TRANt-\:'tiiTTAL.-------------------------------------------------- 7 

STRXWBOAHll "'M.,TE: IT:-: DA\1.\UE To "·_\Tim l~E~onwE:-: ANn IT:-: 

EcoKolluc Dr:-wo:-:.\1., BY H. L. SACKETT. 

lntro<lnction. _ ..... _ ........... _ ... _______ . ____ ...... ____________ . __ . ___ _ 

SourceR and effects of stream pollution ___ . ____ ... ______ . _____ . _ . _ ... __ . _ . _ . 

Sewage pollution ............. ________ . ________ . _______ . ________ . ____ _ 

Pollution hy tra< le ·wa:-:te .. ___________ . _____ . __ . __ .. ____ ... __ ... _ .. _ . __ 

1\fanufadnre of straw board ... _____________ . ____________ ._ .. _______ . ______ _ 

Composition of straw .. __________________ . ________ . _____ . ____________ . 

Steaming in rotaries . _ . __________________ ..... _______________________ _ 

\'Vashing ...... ___ . _____________ . _ . _ . __ . _____________________________ _ 

Drying ....... ____ . _ . __ . __ . ________________ . _ . _______________ . ___ . __ _ 

1\h•tlwds of <li:-<IIOHal of waste .. ____ ._. ___________ ..... _ ...... ____ . ________ _ 

Experitllentson <lir:po!-lal of waste _________________________________________ _ 

Methods of purification _. _ .... ______ . _ ..... _. _ .... __ ... _ ... ________ . __ 

Sedimentation ... ________ .... _ .... ______ .......... __ . __________ .. 

Filtration ..... __ .. __________ .. ___ ... ____ .. _ ......... _ ..... ____ . __ 

Chemical pn~dpitation. _. _____ . _. _ ...... __ ............. _. ____ .... . 

Coagulants nse<l .. _________ ........................ ___ .. _____ _ 

.Alntn. _ .. __ . __ . ___ .. __ . ___ . __________ . _ .. _______________ _ 

~ulphate of iron. _______ ._ .. __ .. ___ .......... _._ ... ______ _ 

lJill\P .......... -.-.-------------------- ·- · · ·-- · · · · ·----- · Carbon <liuxi<lP . ________ . _ .. _____ . _. _ ....... ____ .. ______ _ 

Carboll <1ioxide awl milk of lim<:• . __ ... _ ....... ___ .. ____ .. _ 

Ex peri men t station ....... _____________ . _ _ _ _ _ ..... _. . ...... ________ _ 

I>e:-;niption of experiments._. ___ . _____ ...... _ ................ _. ______ _ 

Single-barrel test ...... __ . _ . ___ .... _ .......................... ___ . 

Ten-barn•l test .. ______ . ___ . __ ..... _ ............................. . 

Discussion of tests .... _____ . _ ............ _ ...... ~ .•.................. _ 

-:\Iixing apparatnH ...... ______ . _. __ .. _ .......................... __ 

Production of carbon dioxide._. ___ ._._ ....... __ ........ _ ... _ .. ___ . 

Treatment of sludge ......... _. _ ... _ ..................... _. _ ..... _ 

l\meln!'ion~ .......... ~ _. __ ... _. ____ .. _ .......... _ ............. _. ____ _ 

Supplementary note ........ __ ......... _ .... _ ................. _______ . 

DISPOSAL OF OrL-WELL \V _\:-;'l'ES c\T J\1ARIOX, IND.' BY IsAIAH BoW:'tlAK. 

lntrodnetion .... _. _ ...... ___ . _ .. _ ..................................... _. _ 

Topography and drainage of the region . ___ .. _ ......... _ ............ _. _. __ _ 

( ieologie ft'atures ..................... _. __ . __ .. _ ......................... _ 

Pleistoeene depositr: . _ .... _. ___ .... _ .. __ ......................... _ ... . 

Hard rock formations. __ . __ ._. ___ ... __ ............................... _ 

Kiagara limestone ... _ ... __ .......................... _ .. _ ..... _ .. _ 

H ndson River limestone and Utica shale .. _ ..... _ ................. . 

Trenton limestone ..... _ ......................................... . 

Sources of contamination ...... _. _ . _ ... _ ........ _ ... _ ..................... . 

Supplementary note, by Marshall Ora Leighton. ____ ................ ___ ._ .. 

9 

H 

!l 

10 

11 

11 

u: 

1-! 

1-! 

!.~ 

IX 

lH 

I \I 

l!l 

:m 

~1 

~1 

~] 

"27 

:2!1 

31 

l~DEX - ••••••.•••.• _ .......•.•. _ . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . • . • • . . • • • • . • • • . • . • • . • • • 51 

3 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

PLATE I. A, Straw board rotaries; B, Rotaries anrl f'tock piles._______________ 12 

II. ~t, Pulp washers; B, Settling basins .. ___________________ .________ lA 

III. Hettling ba~in;.: and filter beds.___________________________________ 16 

IV. Reeei \'i ng tau k with discharge pipe;.: _______________ .. ___ .... _ _ _ _ _ 4+ 

Fin. 1. Plan of :'<trawhoard settling basin .. _____ . _______ . ___ . ___ ._._________ 17 

2. Carbon-clioxide <listrilmtor. _. _________________________________ . _ _ _ _ 2+ 

;l_ :\filk-of-linw distributor ________________ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2..J: 

4. l\Tap of l\Iarion, lnd ----------------------------------------------- ;m 

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 

DEPARTMF.NT OF THE INTERIOR~ 

DNITEn STATES GEOLOGICAL SuRVEY, 

\VA~HI~GTO~, D. C., Jannrll'!f B7~ 190/y. 

SIR: I have the honor to tranFnnit herewith two manuscripts, the 

first entitled "Strawboard \Va'3te: Its Damag·e to \Vater Resources 

and its Economic Disposal,~' by H. L. S:wkett; the second, "Disposal 

of Oil-Well Wastes at ~Iarion, Incl.," by Isaiah Bowman, and to 

request that they he published together as one of the series of vVaterSupply and Irrigation Papers. 

These papers include a part of the results of investig·ations made by 

the division of hydro-economicl'l. The determination of the quality of 

available waters in the United States and their applicability to domestic and industrial uses involves a consideration of the principal sources 

of their pollution. 

The subjects dealt with in these papers represent two particularly 

troublesonw sources of damage to water resources. The areas in 

which sn<'h damage occurs are very large and important, pollution of 

the kind considered in the first paper covering the ~tates of Ohio, 

Indiana, and Illinois, and that cliscns:-;Pd in the second papPr haYing 

been felt in all those parts of tlw country in which oil wellR have be<'n 

developed. 

Tlu>:se inveRtigations were undertaken in an expcrinwntal way, and 

it is hoped that they may serve to clirPct wider attention to the prohlemH involved, to the end that praeticaJ Bolntion:-; may he reaclwcl 

which will he :-;atisfactory to all tho.~fl whose interests are involved. 

Very respectfully, 

F. H. NEWELL, 

Oh 1:e:_f JX'nr; tnee1·. 

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT, 

Dl:l'ectoJ' Un·itecl State8 Geological Survey. 

7 

STRA,VBOARD WASTE: ITS DAMAGE TO WATER 

RESOURCES AND ITS ECONOMIC DISPOSAL. 

By ROBERT LEMUEL SACKETT. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Ri,'ers and streams hrwe a commercial value by which they have 

been universally rated~ yet in many cases this rating must properly 

take into account more than strictly commercial or industrial uses. 

vVater power or shipping facilities have often determined the location 

of a mill where a city was unforeseen~ and the value of the stream as a 

source of water supply for culinary or drinking purposes has thus 

often been left entirely out of consideration. But watercourses contribute not only to the conunercial value of a location~ but to health, 

and their influence on health has now become an important factor in 

determining the money value of the lands bordered by them. Health 

and wealth are in some localities dependent on the condition and flow 

of streams. 

All sanitary authorities now recognize the vital necessity of providing· a pure source of municipal or private water supply. Family wells 

and springs can safely serve but a small proportion of the population. 

The urban population is now about 50 per cent of the total, and as it 

grows the percentage dependent on municipal supply will increase. 

It is to this class of water supplies that this discussion is confined. 

SOURCES AND E:E'FECTS OF STREAM POLLUTION. 

SEWAGE POLLUTION. 

As the wilderness was subdued by the pioneer, small mills and towns 

were established on lakes, rivers, and streams. By cutting the forests 

and draining the cultivated and settled areas the character of the 

stream flow was changed. Forests are natural reservoirs, where the 

rainfall is stored~ to be given up gradually. Cultivation and drainage 

aiel in producing a rush of water to the streams after rains, which is 

followed hy a period of very low :flow in a dry :·mason. The villages 

in time become citie:-;, drawing their' water :-:upply from, and discharging their sewage into, the near-by stream. This source of pollution, 

in connection with the occasional very low stream flow and eonsequent 

Hlight dilution, has been the cause of great commercial loss, of widespread disease, and of death. 

9 IRR 11:3-05-2 
10 8Tl{A WHOARD W A8TE. [No.113. 

POLLUTION BY TRADE WASTE. 

But city sewage is not the only source of stream pollution, for many 

industrie:-4 di:..;eharge large quantities of refuse~ called "'trade waste," 

the presence of which in sewers and streams is very obje.ctionable 

from a sanitary point of view. 

On the continent of Europe and in Great Britain this subject has 

received considerable attention. The English rivert~ pollution act of 

1876 treats the matter at considerable length. and gi\'es city authorities pmver to require the adoption of remedial measures by offending 

fadories. In the United States the nece:-~sity for legislation restricting 

pollution hy trade \Yaste lms only recently ari:-~cn. Among the States 

that.ha,~c already acted upon this question ~lassacbusctts stands first. 

The waste from industries is didsiblc into three classes-animal, 

veg-etable~ and mineral rl'fuse, though many factoriPs discharge two 

and even all three kinds. 

In the first dass of wa:-<te is included that from abattoirs~ packing 

houses, tanncrie;;.;~ and \Voolen mills, which discharge large quantities 

of animal tissue and oil. The decomposition of this matter may be 

slow, and if deposited on flats it causes unpleasant odors and attracts 

vr·rmin. If afloat in such quantities that the dilution is not sufficient, 

the. water is dangerous for house use, and even cattle refu:-~e to drink it. 

To the second class belong the quantities of vegetable matter which 

escape from distilleries and from paper, wood-pulp, and strawboard 

mills-matter for which no present economieal use ha ..; been found. 

To the third class belong- the waste:-; from oil refineries and gas 

works. which run off mineral oils and heavy tars. ".,..hen dif.icharged 

into city sewers thei-\e have proved very objeetionable, and \Vhen discharged into sluggish stream:'-~ they lodge on shoals and flats with the 

rise and fall of the water level, eoating and killing vegetation, eausing 

unpleasant odors, and fouling the water for dairying and other purposes. Tin-plate and rod mills and galvanizing and plating works discharge large quantities of chemieal \Vaste, such as dilute sulphuric or 

hydrochloric acid, copper sulphate, and sulphate and chloride of iron. 

Among other local industries that produee serious nuisance in their 

vicinity are ;-~oap factories, faetorics using the Solnty ammonia soda 

prol·ess, and \vhite lead, paint, varnish, and starch factories. Certain 

mineral waters used for curative and bathing purposes and the drainage 

from mines may also be offensive, but these are not usually amenable 

to pollution laws. In England they are specifically excluded in the 

rivers pollution act of 1S7l1. In Pennsylvania the higher courts have 

passed upon a case itwoldng mine drainage, and the operators were 

allowt>d to continue the natural drainage of the mine. 

The effect of wastes upon the <'onclition of the stream depends on the 

relative volumes of stream and of waste, the strength and character 

of the polluting material, and the proximity of other indu~tries or of 
HACKJ•:TT.] MANUFAC1'URJ£ OF t'THAWllOARD. 11 

cities requiring pure water and of agricultural land~ and resident~ 

who might declare a nuisance. It i~ dear, then, tlu!.t no general rules 

can be laid down, hut that each ease of pollution must he decided on 

its own merits. 

The addition of quantitie~ of organic matter to a stream is highly 

objectionable, as it furnishes food for the rapid nmltiplieation of disea~->e bacteria which may be pre:-;ent, and it may cause a nuisance by 

~low decomposition hy deposit upon shoals, tidal shores, and flats. 

Be~->icle:-; rendering the water impotable, abnormal amounts of organic 

matter cause :-;erious damage to many purifying industries, to sugar 

faetorie~, meat-packing houses, and canneries. The discharge of mineral waste, unless very highly diluted, hinders the natural purification 

of the ~tream, and aLlds ~uhstance.s that oxidize slowly. This wa.stc 

kills fish and makes the 'vatl'r distasteful, foul smelling, and dangL•rous 

even, to cattle, thus interfering with important agricultural interests 

and inereasing the menace to human life. 

J\IANUJ1"ACTL"RE OF ~TRA "\VBOAl!D. 

Thi~ report i~ confined to a careful study of the process of manufacture of straw board (or pa~teboard, a~ it i:-; commonly called), to the 

c·haraeter of the refuse, the nature of the pollution, the damage proclnccd, and the possible means of prmrenting the pollution. 

The principal factories of strawhoard in the United States arc contined to a comparatiyely small area. In the report of the United ~tates 

cl'nsns for HlOO 5~1 factories arc rec·orded as making :-~tnnvhoard. 

From 15 7, 53.t tons of raw material they produced a finished prochwt 

valued at $3, 187,B-!~. Indiana lPd with 70,081 tons of board, worth 

$1,350,15Bf). Ohio ranks second~ with -!U,531 tons, worth $800,038, and 

Illinois is thircl, with ~O,lUO tons, valued at $382,±5±. Nmv York, 

.-:\iaryland, and .Michig·an rank next in order. The first three mentioned 

make ~3 per cent of the board produced in the United States, and 

Indiana alone produces nearly 5U per cent of the total. The :-;traw 

u:-~ecl in Indiana cost about $3. ~W per ton, and the finished product was 

worth about $HI per ton. 

The straw board industry (loe:-; not. of course, include the manufacture of wood pulp, ~ulphite fiber, or jute. 

COMPOSITION OF STRAW. 

Htrawboard is manufactured from rye, wheat, and oat :-;traw. In 

England a special straw, known as esparto grass, is u~Pcl in making 

paper. Ryc nncl whr•at straws are preferred, as tlwy yinld the larg·est 

per cent of l'Pllulose-thP basis of all \regetahle tiber. Tlw chemi('al 

forumla for cPllulose is n((\) I10(),). The composition of various Htraws 

as given by l\Hdler, 11 a tfprman authority. is a:-~ follows: 

a.Jour. t\oc. Chemkal Industry, February ~.'i. 1.'-i\14, p. 101. 
STRA WHOARD WASTE. 

TABLE l.-CumJW8ition u.f straw8. 

-------------- -------------------

~ rye. wheat. 1 -Wi-nter I Wl-·nter 

1 

-· -;,cr ~:~I ~~:1. cent.-

'Vater _______ . _______ .. __ . ____ . _____ .' H. 3 H. 3 

Organie ennstitnentt-i. ___________ . ____ _ 

~~sh __ . _ .. __ .. ___________________ . __ _ 

Cc•llnlose ___ . _________ .. __ .. _ . __ . ___ _ 

~2.5 

54.0 

80.2 

5.5 

-!8.0 

Summer 

barley. 

---

Per cent. 

14.3 

79. 7 

-!3.0 

Winter 

barley. 

---

Per cent. 

H.:) 

80.2 

5.5 

48.4 

[No.ll3. 

Oat~. 

Pe1·cent. 

14.3 

80. 7 

i 5.0 

-!0.0 

.J ame~ Beyeredg-e, of N orthfieet Paper Mills, Kent, Eng-land, g-ive~ 11 

the following re~uu~ of analyses of straw~: 

T.\BLE '2.-('ompo.~itiun of .~trmn8. 

Zealaml Dutch 'I Duteh 1 

wheat. wheat. nat~. 

-------------------- ------- -- ---------

Dutch 

rye. Dutch 

barley. 

Per cent. Per ceut. Per cent. P1'1' cr·n.t. Pa cent. 

\Vater. _____________________________ _ 

OrgaiJic eonstituents. ___ . ___ . ________ _ 

Ash ...• ___________ ... ____________ . _ . 

Cellulose ______ . _. _ .. _____ . _____ . ___ _ 

i 

-H.'!. 

10.0 

1:?. 5 

-!:1. f) 

7.5 

11. 2 

4G.O 

5.5 

:17.;:) 

7. i-1 

4H. :l 

l.H 

41. :l 

11. 0 

47.7 

In tahle 1 the org-anic eonstituents inelude cellulose; in table ~ they 

do not. In the. latter the cellulose is unbleached. 

Remsen g-in•s the following percentages of cellulose, the straws being 

in the air-dry :-~tate. Hye straw~ 5-!:; \vheat :-;traw, 4:8; oat straw, 4:0. 

The differences appearing· in the aho\·e tables are clue to differences in 

the definition of eellnlo:-;e~ in the dryness of the materials~ and in the 

various methods of separation employed. The order of the eonuuc•reial rating of straw~~ a:-; g-i,Tcn by the strawboarcl companies, i:-; as 

follmvs: (1) rye, (2) \Vinter wheat, (3) spring wheat, and (4:) oat. There 

is generally reckoned a loss of about 4:0 per cent by weight from the 

dry straw to the finished board, the latter containing from 5 to 8 per 

cent of moisture. Various factors enter into the percentage of loss. 

Straw purchased at harvest time contains a larger pereentage of moisture than it contains· some months later. The loss of weight from 

harve~t to Christmas time amounts to almost 25 per cent, says an 

authority in the .Tournai of the Society of Chemical Industry. b Straw 

grown on light, sandy soils has a much lower specitie gnwity than that 

gTown on Iwavy clay or mixNl :-~oil:-;. Differcneps are abo eansed by 

weather conditions at harvest time. A W(~t Rtraw ('rm:-;cs g-n•ater los:-~ 

a Jour. :--ioe. Chemical Industry, Fl'IJrtuuy ~~. IS\H, )'. llll. 

I• For February ~~~. HIOl, p. 148. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 11 3 PL. I 

. 1. STRAWBOARD ROTARIES. 

11. ROTARIES AND STOCK PILES. 
RACKRTT.] MA NTTF AC1'TTRE OF RTRA WHOA RD. JS 

and make~ a poorer qnality of hoard. The dric~t material comeR from 

that in the loft..., of barns, while straw from stackb is mmally damp. 

It is statc<l that balc<l stra'v is more moist than loo:-~c straw. 

Of the +~ per eent of ('ellulo~e in wheat :-;traw, about BO per eent is 

san'd by present means of manufacture of stra,vl)Oard. The machinery 

an<l methods employed haye not changed materially for many years, 

and there seems to he little prospect of gre.ater economy being practiced. The reasons for this are discussed later in this paper. 

STEAMING IN ROTARIES. 

The process employed in the United States is as follows: 

The straw is first subjected to a cooking process by steam and lime. 

A large ellipsoidal rotating :-;tee l boiler called a "'rotary~" shown in 

Pl. I, _..t, is filled with straw, which is then cooked down with steam, 

then again :filled and cooked clown until the rotary boiler has been 

completely filled. The process of filling a rotary occupies from f'ix to 

twelve hours. The final charge consists of about 6 tons of straw and 

;=w bushels, or ~,100 pounds, of lime in the form of milk. This mixture 

is then rotated and cooked under 40 pounds of steam pressnn~ for twt-1 ve 

hours. Pl. I, A, shows the steam line extending through one of the 

trunnions and the worm g·ear which rotates the cylinder. This apparently severe chemical and mechanical action result~ in a rapid softening· of the woody tiber and in the reduction of the stra'v to a darkyPllow, pulpy mass. This ·• stock/~ as it is called, is stacked in piles 

10 to 15 feet high to drain. Concerning the action which takes plaec 

in the rotarieR, the .Tournai of the Soeiety of Chemical Industry says:'1 

The chemical adion of the milk of lime on the encrusting materials surrounding 

the straw fiber i~ not a yigoron~ one. 'rhese encrusting materialR are not completely, 

nor imleed to a great extent, separated from the cellulose. The mineral matter 

remains in the product practically untouched, antl if any less quantity than that 

corre:,;ponding to the percentage- in the original Rtraw operated upon exists in thP 

prepare1l pulp, it is due rather to the washing aftpr digestion than to any ?nlYPnt 

aetion of the milk of lime. l\iilk of lime under certain conditions has a bleaching 

aetion upon tlw :,;traw. It neutralizes the organic aeids mmally fouwl when fibrous 

plants are heatetl for any length of time in the presenee of water. 

The yield of pulp at this point will he from 75 to 80 per cent of the 

weight of the original material. 

PI. I, B, shows the rotaries, charged from the floor above, and the 

elevators that carry the stoek from the rotaries and dump it in the 

piles shown in the foreground. At the extreme left is an endless-<·hain 

elevator which carries the stock to the beater room. 

The material is allowed to stand in these piles for twenty-four hours 

or more to drain. After it is thus drained it contains about 50 per cent 

of 'vater and from 6 to 7 per cent of lime. This is eq uhTalent to from 

1~ to 14 per cent of lime in the dry straw. Since the original charge 

n For February :.18, 1894, p. 101. 
14 STRA WBOARD W ARTE. (NO. ]I;'~. 

of lime and straw waf" in tlw proportion of 2,100 pound~' of lime to 

14,100 pounds of straw and lim<\ or ahout 1± pf'r ecnt lime, practically 

none of thn latter ha:-; flraine<l out with the condenl'4ed Hteam. This 

drainage from the stoek pilPs forms hut a small part of the waste 

sewag·e. It is straw colored and very turbid, carrying a small quantity of fiher hroken finf' in the rotaries. 

WASHING. 

This process is much more draf.ltic, and it is here that the great 

volume of ·waste is producl'd. 

The stock is run through washing machines for the purpose of 

removing the lime. A rmv of washers in operation i.s shown in Pl. II, A. 

At thl' left is the chute from the conveyor a hove, down which the stoc.k 

is feel. To the right of the ehute are the water pipes. The washing 

machine consists of au oval channel about 3 feet wide, around which 

the stock travels, being snppliecl with copious volumes of wah'r. Across 

this channel is placed a <~ylinder, ±2 inches in diameter and ±2 incheR 

long, having longitudinal ribs or flanges about three-fourths of an inch 

square in section and three-fourths of an inch apart. J\t1eshing with 

this, like the teeth of geared wheels, is an idler, helow, of similar size 

and form. These wheels, revolving, lift the water and straw to a le\'el 

several inches hig·her than that in the oval channel, whence it flows hy 

grayity halfway around its course to a point where it meets a revolving bras:-; sereen of fine me:;;;h, through which a part of the water escapes, 

carrying· with it the finer particles of fiber and free lime. The remaining· 

Htra,v, with additional volmnes of frpsh water, now passes many tim<':-< 

through the rolls, which further nutRh and break the fiber, and around to 

the Rcreen, where more 1-\traw, lime, and water escape. The total \vaste 

is enormous. It nmv takes about ±0/)00 gallons of water to wash 1 ton 

of straw. About 3,200 pounds of straw and 560 pounds of lime are 

required to make 2,000 pounds of hoard. A small amount of lime 

remains in the hoard; hence 1,200 pounds of straw and about 500pouncls 

of lime are washed out b~T the 40_()00 gallons of water. An idea of the 

volume of waste may be conveyed by giving the capacity of an average 

mill. Such a plant uses 50 tons of ;-;traw and nearly 10 tons of lime 

during every twenty-four hours. From 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 gallons 

of \Yater are employed in the rotarier-;, \vashers, and vats. This volume 

of water carries away with it about 1D tons of the straw and practieally all of the 10 tons of lime each twenty-four hours. 

DRYING. 

After the washing process the straw, wHh a considerable volume of 

water, is lrd to a train of rolls, consisting of three parts-first, the 

wet end; second, the bot rolls; third, the trimming and entting 

machine. As it comes from the washers the material is run into vat::;, 
U. $. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 113 PL. II 

A. PULP WASHERS. 

1~ . SETTLING BASINS. 
SACKETT.] DISPOSAL ( )F WASTE. 15 

w·here it is mixed with Imxe quantities of water and pas~md oyer 

hollow cylinders having :fine wire-doth faces~ whieh allow the \Vater 

to e:-;eape, leaving· the fiber on the :-;urfaeP of the cylinder. The fiber 

is then taken by woolen felt:-;~ "rhieh are pn•ssed down on the surface 

of the cylinder. This makes a web of paper on the felt. The pulp. 

which is no\v about one-third straw and two-thirds water, travel:-; up 

and clown, over and under a double train of bot rolls, heated by steam 

that is carried in throug·h hollow hearings. As the pulp passes on 

through tlw train it is eonstantly pres:-;pd and dried~ nntil :finally it is 

separated from its cloth support and gcws to the trimming machine~ 

where it is cut into sheets of proper size. It nmv contain:'~ about 10 

per cent of water and a small quantity of lime. The board is manufactured in many thicknesses and weights. .Just before it is trimmed 

it ma~T he coated on one or both 1-1ides with a thin paper facing or 

finish. 

:1\IE'rHODS OJ1~ DISPOSAl~ OF WASTE. 

The ~waste liquors from the rotaries and washers, and that from the 

vats where it i:-; not used over again in the washers, are run together 

and discharged into a trough or ditch~ leading in some eases to a neighboring :-;tream. The effect of these wastes upon the stream depends 

upon its character and volume. A:-; many Indiana rivers flow over 

limestone heels, their \Vater is hard, carrying 15 to 20 grain:-~ of lime 

per gailon. But the waste liquor from a strawboard mill contained in 

one case a minimum of 6G grains per g·allon (an amount which has 

recently been doubled by a deerease in the quantity of water used)~ 

and in some ca:-;es, where \Vasb watPr is not pl<>ntiful, the quantity of 

lime reaches 200 or more gTains per g·allon. In order to reduce the 

quantity of lime to 40 grains per gallon the minimum stream flow 

woi1ld need to be about ten times the volume of \Vater employed 

in the proeess. This would require a stream that discharged~ in time 

of drought, from 10 to 20 million gallons in twenty-four hours. This 

limits the number of streams upon ~which such mills can he operated 

in the present manner without nuisance, to a fe\Y rivers in eneh State. 

On account of the elearing of forests, artificial drainage, and irregularities of rainfall the flow of Indiana tributaries beeomes extremely 

lo\v in the late summer and fall. Some, indeed, cea:-;e to be more than 

isolated ponds, the water seeping through the gravel beds. Under 

these circumstances, if not under normal conditions~ the di.~eharge of 

1'-:ludge into a stream produces results that demand very serious consideration. The straw waste, when deposited on flats from which the 

water has receded, decomposes very slowly, its decay being in part 

retarded by the pn~sence of lime and silica. Remsen :-;ays that as 

much as 73 per cent of the m~h of wheat :;.;traw is si·lica. As the analyses given in table 4 (p. 27) show, the quantity of ammonia present 
16 8TRA WBOARD W ARTR. [No.llil. 

in the waste is yery large, and this is undoubtedly the principal cause 

of the very slow decomposition. 

At some places the solid part of the waste has been heaped on large 

traets of land. In these eases the stench produced has been carried 

by the wind for a considerable distance, causing a nuisance. 

Mr. Sweeney, commissioner for fisheries and game for Indiana, in 

his biennial report for 1901 and 1902, speaking of the conditions which 

tend to destroy fish, says, on page 11: 

Greater than all other artificial means is the pollution of our streams with the 

refuse from strawboard mills, oil wells, and pulp mills. This refuse covers the 

spawning beds and prevents the eggs from hatching, while it penetrates the gills of 

the living fish and kills or drives them from the streams. 

The quantity of lime would in some cases be such as to kill the fish 

if the straw did not. Game fish are not to he found in polluted waters. 

Thus the interests of the State enter into the question of stream· pollution by strawboard mills. 

In other cases the method of disposal has been modified by running 

the waste into a series of beds scooped out of a gravel bottom land. 

Here the straw and lime slowly settle, the \Vater filtering through the 

subsoil and finding its way to the neigh boring creek. But the great 

quantity of straw waste soon clogs such natural filters as have been 

tried. High water is depended on to wash the refuse out of the beds, 

whence it is deposited on other lands below~ so that the method is 

only a makeshift. 

What a carefully constructed settling and filtering plant may accomplish has not yet been determined. During the summer of 1903 the 

American Strawboard Company built at one of its factories a series 

of basins, shown in Pl. II, B, Pl. III, and fig. 1. Basins Nos. 1 to 5, 

fig. 1, average an acre each, while No. 6 is about 2 acres in area. 

Levees from ± to 6 feet high were built, so that the basins could be 

filled to a depth of about 5 feet. Fron1 the old ditch which is shown 

in fig. 1 a spout was constructed to conduct the waste into basin No.1. 

From this basin it flows· diagonally to a weir at the opposite corner, 

where it enters basin No. 2. The flow is diagonally across each basin 

to the next in order through~the series~ to No. 5 or No. 6. From 

basin No. 5 a gate leads to filter No. 1, and from basin No. 6 a similar 

gate leads to filter No. 2. These filters have lines of 8-inch tile laicl25 

feet apart and covered with 2 feet of gravel. The underdrains lead 

to the open ditch between the two filters. Each basin has a gate leading to the river~ so that the waste can be run through any number of 

settling basins and then into the river or through the filters. The 

waste was turned into basin No. 1 in the early summer. When it had 

filled, the overflow ran into basin No. 2, and so on, basin No. 6 being 

.filled in late summer. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 113 PL. Ill 

SETTLING BASINS AND FILTER BEDS. 
SACKETT.] DISPOSAL OF WASTE. 17 

It seems inevitable that in time there will be a large deposit of straw 

and lime, which will have to be scraped off the basins and filters and 

carted away. Seepage through the walls and bottoms of the basins 

will decrease and the filters will clog until the efficiency has reached an 

unsatisfactory point. The period of time which will elapse before 

FIG. 1.-Plan of strawboard settling basin. 

this condition arises and the effectiveness of months of sedimentation, 

with or without filtration, will not be known until a season has passed. 

At one of its plants the American Strawboard Company used a 

trough-shaped device for separating the fine straw from the waste 

water. A vat 16 feet long was constructed, the end view of which 

IRR 113-05-3 
18 STRA WBOARD WASTE. [No.113. 

was practically an equilateral triangle. The waste· as it came ffom 

one of the washers was discharged into this vat, so that the water 

started downward, then turned upward through a screen, leaving the 

straw to continue downward. The screens clogged in the course of 

time and had to be cleaned by hand. The vat held about 7,000 gallons 

and treated 70,000 gallons in hventy-four hours. 

As the waste pa:-.secl from the washers to the vat the analysis was as 

indicated in the first column, and the analysis as the water came from 

the vat is recorded in the second eolumn. 

Analy.ses of strawboard 11Yt.sie bPforc and after pas.'iing .from washers to vat. 

[In parts per 100,000.) 

Before. After. 

Suspended matter: 

Organie matter ___ . ____ . ____________ ........ _ ........... . 

Inorganic matter ............ _ ....... _ ...... _ ...... _ .. _ .. 

Total residue .. __ .... _. __ ........... _ .. _ ..... _ ..... ___ _ 

Total solids: 

565. 7 

393. 1 

958.8 

188.6 

123.3 

:H2.5 

Organic matter. ___ ........ _ .. __ . ___ .. __ . __ . ___ . ___ ...... 1 

1, 294. 5 .528. 5 

Inorganic matter ___________ . _. _. __ ... ___ . __ ..... ______ . -I 661. 8 244. :3 

Total residue ___ .. ___ . _____ . ___ .... __ ...... _. ______ ... _i~6. 3 - 772.8 

Calcium ...... _________ .... __ .. _____________ .. _____ . ____ I 510. 5 204. 8 

I 

It will be seen that the vat removes about 66 per cent of the suspended matter. The latter is, however, abnormally high, and the 

effluent still contains 312.5 parts per 100,000--five to ten times what 

it should before passing to a sti·eam. Increasing the size of vat and 

decreasing the rate of flow, with some changes of design in order to 

emphasize the upward-flow principle, mig·ht lead to a design which 

would be sufficient vvhere the stream flow and dilution were high. 

No bacterial treatment such as is employed in the purification of 

sewage will a-v~ail in this case, as the treatment with lime and steam 

in the rotaries destroys all the bacteria present. A considerable period 

must elapse for the cultivation of such organisms. 

EXPERil\IENTS ON DISPOSAL 01!" WA.STE. 

To determine the possibility of other and more efficient methods of 

disposal than those just outlined, the author was appointed to take 

charge of a series of experiments on strawboard waste and to report 

their results to the United States Geological Survey. His instructions 

were to study the process of manufacture, analyze the waste liquor, 

and find the efficiency and cost of various methods of disposal, in order 
SACKETT.) METHODS 01!' PURIFICATION. 19 

that some recommendation might be made to the authorities or to the 

manufacturers when circumstances should demand a change in the 

method of disposal. 

The expense is a very important item, as it is easy to find a method 

of treatment by which the waste can be purified, but t.J1e cost would 

prevent the operation of the mill. Other methods will clarify the 

waste, but leave the water extremely hard, thus accomplishing but 

hal£ the purpose. Theoretically, the liquid which eventually flows 

into the stream ought not to be harder than the normal stream-a condition extremely difficult to fulfill by commercial methods. Likewise, 

the total solids should not be above an average amount contained in 

natural waters. 

METHODS OF PURIFICATION. 

There are three general methods of treatment for the purification of 

polluted water-sedimentation, filtration, and chemical precipitation. 

SEDIMENTATION. 

This process consists of letting the liquid stand for a period of time 

long enough to allow the matter held in suspension to settle to the 

bottom. There is no chemical action involved, but since organic as 

'veil as inorganic matter may he settled, future chemical changes are 

pos:;.;ible. The hardness or acidity will not be changed. The rapidity 

and efficiency of the process depend on the specifie gravity of the suspended matter. Silt will settle quickly, and this process is frequently 

used to remove such objectionable material from water supplies. 

In the case of strawboard wastes, the particles of straw are so tine 

and the specific gravity is so slightly above unity that the downward 

motion is very slow. A jar 10 inches high will settle about 10 per 

cent of its solid matter in twenty-four hours. In twenty-four hours 

more the change i-s very slight. At the end of twenty-four hours. 

color, turbidity, odor, and taste are about the same as before such 

treatment. The storage capacity required for twenty-four hours' settling would he twice the capacity of the mill. To settle forty-eight 

hours reservoirs that would contain three times the volume of refuse 

would be required, and so on. From 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 gallons' 

storage would be needed for such treatment. 

Even with still longer periods of sedimentation the hardness would 

remain practically unchanged, as the only lime precipitated would be 

due to the C02 absorbed from the atmosphere. 

FILTRATION. 

The process next to be described, and one now very frequently used 

in the purification of water supplies and of sewage, is filtration. The 

water is allowed to pass slowly through a bed of charcoal, coke, furnac~ 
20 STRA WBOARD W .A.STE. [No.113. 

:-;lag, or sand. The process is partly a screening one, but under proper 

conditions a very efficient bacterial action takes place, in which the 

healthful bacteria assist in reducing the organic matter to its constituent elements. Bacillus coli-cormnunis-the biological index of sewage pollution-disappears, and not only suspended matter but the 

amount of chlorine is reduced, and the number of bacteria per cubic 

eentimeter is decreased by from 95 to 99 per cent of the number 

present in untreated water. 

There are two kinds of filters, mechanical and slow sand filters. In 

the former the rate of flow is higher and frequent eleansing is necessary, while in the sand bed the rate of filtration is much less and the 

filter purifies its~lf in part while resting or while in action. If the 

surface becomes clogged, occasional rakings are necessary in order to 

remove the clogged surface and restore it to its normal state. 

CHEMICAL PRECIPITATION. 

In this process the liquid is treated with a previously detm·mined 

quantity of some chemical which will cause a reaction involving the 

production of a solid in the form of grains or flakes. As the preeipitant has a specific gravity greater than water, it falls and drags down 

with it other solids. The rapidity of its action depends on the proper 

proportioning and mixing of the agents employed and on the weight 

of the particles and their size. A flocculent, heavy precipitate rapidly carries down with it a large proportion of the organic and inorganic matter that has been held in suspension. 

Such processes are usually continuous; the fluid to be treated and 

the reagent are automatically mixed and fed in at the bottom of the 

tank, the current being upward. The purified liquid is taken from 

the top of the tank and the precipitated sludge is drawn from the 

bottom. Certain limitations have been found in the suceessful operation of the upward-flow principle. IIans Benedikt-,, in Die Abwasser 

der Fabriker (Trade Waste), states that the normal downward velocity 

of suspended matter in still water must be at least 2 millimeters per 

minute. He also says: 

If it be desired to perfectly clarify by deposition, on the upward continuous flow 

principle, water which is naturally charged with suspended matter, or by the addition of precipitants, a transverse section of more than 0.002 X 60 = 8.33 square 

meters is required to obtain 1 cubic meter per hour of clear water, in order that 

the urward velocity of the water may be less than the downward velocity of the 

particles. 

The chemicals most frequently employed in water purification are 

alum, sulphate of iron, lime, copperas, and combinations of these. It 

is very important that the proportion of coagulant be always correct, 

else either the action is not completed or unnecessary waste results 

from overcharging. 
SACKETT.j METHODS OF PURIFICATION. 21 

CoAGULANTS UsED. 

The series Qf investigations was begun by using small quantities of 

waste liquor-from 50 to 100 cubic centimeters-and trying the effects 

of various chemicals in different quantities. 

ALUl\f. 

The effect of alum was rapid, showing that it is a very satisfactory 

coagulant. The liquid was left slightly turbid and with some odor. 

The hardness was n.ot affected. The chemical action was as follows: 

3Ca02H 2+Al2 (S04 )s+K2S04+24H20=3CaS04+A120 6H6+K2S04+24H20. 

The quantity of alum is to the quantity of calcium oxide as 948 is 

to 168. About 112,000 pounds of alum is needed daily to treat waste 

\vater containing 19,800 pounds of lime and straw. 

The usual process for producing alum, or sulphate of alumina, is to 

treat the mineral bauxite with sulphuric acid. In England some mills 

have found it very cheap to make the necessary quantity in their own 

plant. The resulting cake, according to Nay lor in Trade "'Taste, page 

21, is 36 per cent sulphate. The cost is $4.70 per short ton of product or $13.40 per ton of pure sulphate. 

In the United States, on aceount of the excessive cost of hauxite 

and sulphuric acid, commercial sulphate 57 per cent pure will cost 

about $16 per ton delivered, or $28 per ton of pure sulphate delivered. 

The daily expense for 56 tons would be $1,568. This cost of partial 

purification, omitting other items, would absolutely prevent the operation of any mill consuming 50 tons of straw a day. 

Not only is the expense objectionable, but the quantity of lime in 

the water, making the water permanently b:ud, must be reduced, else 

the process is not satisfactory. 

SULI'HATE OF TRON. 

Ferrous sulphate is used in water-purifying processes, g1vmg a 

dark-brown precipitate. The action is rapid and the clarification satisfactory. The use of one atom of iron for each molecule of calcium 

oxide present in the water produces the following reaction: 

Ca02H2+ FeS04 =CaS04+ Fe02H2 • 

When the proper amount of ferrous sulphate is added to 100 cubic 

centimeters of strawboard liquor the precipitation is almost instantaneous, and in five minutes the solid portion lies at the bottom in a 

brownish cake. The liquid above is very clear, having only a slight 

greenish tinge. 

Since a daily output of 19,800 pounds of lime is assumed as a working basis, in order to make the comparison of cost apply to a particular mill 19,800 pounds of iron would be needed and 34,700 pounds of 

sulphuric acid. 
22 STRA WBO.ARD W .ASTE. ,[No.l13. 

The proper process would be to treat scrap iron with sulphuric acid 

in a reservoir. The expense would be19,800 pounds iron, at $7.50 per ton of 2,000 pounds . _. _______________________ $75 

34,700 pounds sulphuric acid (H2SO.d, at $12 per ton. __ . _____________________ . 208 

Cost of treatment. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 283 

The same objections apply to the use of sulphate of iron as to alum. 

The expense is too great, and lime remains in the form of CaS0,0 

which leaves the permanent hardness very high. 

Instead of using sulphate of iron as above produced, the crude sulphate, copperas, a by-product of certain processes, can be employed. 

It is 25.9 per cent ferrous oxide and 28.7 per cent sulphur trioxide (803). Roughly, 4: tons of copperas, at $9 per ton delivered, 

would treat 1 ton of lime. For 19,800 pounds of lime nearly ±0 tons 

of copperas would he required, at a cost of $360 daily. While this 

process would be more economical than the use of :·mlphate of iron, 

when all items of expense are figured, still the cost is excessive and 

the process impossible as a general treatment for all the waste from 

a strawboard mill. 

LIME. 

Lime is one of the most common coagulants used in clarifying drinking waters. The usual stream carries a small amount of carbon 

dioxide, which combines with from 5 to 10 gTahll-l of calcium oxide to 

form calcium earbonate, which precipitates in tine, white particles, 

dragging down such organic and inorganic solids as may be held in 

suspension. 

This process fails in treating strawboard refuse because the liquor 

is already many times overcharged with lime, by a part of which the 

little C02 that was in the water has been greedily used and the remaining lime is seeking more. The addition of milk of lime does not produce perceptible action. 

CARBON DIOXIDE. 

The facts above mentioned led at once to the conclusion that carbon 

dioxide must be fed to the waste liquor. On applying the computed 

amount of C02 , it was found that but little precipitation actually 

occurred. The reason for this may be stated as follows: (1) CaO+ 

H20=Ca02H 2 , or the lime in the waste liquor is in the form of calcium 

hydroxide. (2) On applying C0 ~ Ca0 +C0 =C~C0 + H 20, precipitation by C0 ~ occurs; but at the same time the lime ii3 redissolYed, 

as follows: (3) CaC03+ H 20+ C02 =H~Ca(COJ ~ making a bicarbonate 

of lime. No precipitation has yet occurred. But if to the double earbonate of lime we add milk of lime the following action takes place: 

(4) H 2Ca(C03 ) 2+Ca02H 2 =2CaC03+2H20. Repreeipitation now takes 

place, carrying down the straw and calcium. The flakes are very large 

and the downward velocity is exceptionally rapid. In five minutes the 
SACKETT.) METHODS OF PURIFICATION. 23 

liquor has cleared at the top and in twenty minutes the process is 

completed. 

CARBO~ DIOXIDE AKD JIILK OF LIME. 

As abo\Te indicated, it is not sufficient to apply limewater or carbon 

dioxide alone, but upon first saturating the liquor with C02 and then 

supplying the proper amount of milk of lime the result is very satisfactory. It will be observed that not only is the straw removed, but 

the water conH'A out soft; that is, the calcium also is removed. None 

of the previous treatments will precipitate the lime. 

1 t i:..; observed that the amount of C02 required for the previous 

reactions is two molecules per atom of calcimn in the waste liquor. 

From ( ±) it appears that the amount of calcium added as milk of 

lime equals the amount present in the waste liquor. Assuming that 

the finished straw board does not contain more lime than is in the river 

water used, there are needed 1g,800 pounds of lime as precipitant. 

The :following analyses, made by E. J. Macy under the direction of 

Prof. \i\T. D. Collins, at Earlham College, will present the important 

facts in conerete :form: 

TABLE 3.-Residue contaiw>rl ·in sfiYunboard 1raRfe liqllol'. 

[In grams per 100,000 !•ubil' !'L'ntimeterl'.] 

---------------------

1 After precipitation with co" and milk of lime. 

Raw liquor. - --~-~~--­

Filtered af- , Filtered af- ter Rettling ~- ter ,;ettling 1 hour. 24 hours. 

G-rams. Grams. 

Total residue. __ .. __ .... _._ .. __ ._ _. __ . _. ____ . _ _ _ 293. 66 13i. 59 

Combustible residue_. ___ ... _ ......... _ .. ____ .___ 134. 63 G5. 6:3 

Absolute residue .. _. _. ________ .. _. __ . _____ .. _ _ _ _ 159. 03 i1. 50 

I 

Grams. 

38.325 

31. 250 

1. 800 

The absolute residue is a white powder, principally calcium oxide. 

The above results were obtained by treating 350 cubic centimeters 

in a tube seven-tenths of a meter high. This :form was chosen in 

order to approximate the depth of tank whieh might be employed on 

a larger scale. The proportions. of height to cross section were not 

those whieh would be used commercially, and hence. the :fall of partides was hindered much more by friction against the sides of the 

vessel than they would have been in a larger container. After 

settling one hour, 53 per cent of the total solids are removed and 55 

per cent of the absolute residue, principally lime. After settling 

twenty-four hours, 89 per cent o:f the total solids are removed and 98.8 

per cent of the absolute residue. 
24 STRA WBOARD WASTE. [No.ll3. 

EXPERIMENT STATION. 

A light structure, 8 by 12 feet in plan and 14 feet high, with 

three stories or platforms, wa~ erected on the grounds of Earlham 

College, Richmond, Ind., for the treatment of straw board waste in 

FIG. 2.-Carbon-dioxide distributor. 

larger quantities. The filters were on 

the lower platform and were provided 

with sewer connection. Above the platform was the barrel in which the precipitants were added to a given quantity of 

liquor. On the upper platform was the 

limewater and a tank for generating gas 

under sufficient pressure to force it 

against a head of 3 feet of water. 

The gas tank consisted of a steel cy linder with a screw top closing on a gasket. 

A valve connection was made at the 

upper end and a standpipe by which to 

add acid. The tank was charged with a 

quantity of limestone. Then the proper 

amount of hydrochloric acid was turned 

down on the limestone from a reservoir 

within the tank. The quantity of acid 

was made sufficient to generate and to 

deliver to the waste the required amount of C02 • A charge of 35 

gallons of waste as fresh as could be obtained was saturated with C02, 

the gas being distributed through the waste by means of holes in a eoil 

of half-inch gas pipe placed near the bottom of the 

tank. (See fig. 2.) The coil could be raised or 

lowered, and, as was expected, the best results were 

obtained with the gas distributor as low as possible. 

The limewater was discharged through perforated pipes, shown in fig. 3, radiating from a central 

vertical main. The holes were arranged in such 

manner as to cause a swirl of the waste, which 

produced a very thorough mixture. 

The order of procedure was, first, to measure a 

certain amount of waste in the calibrated precipitation tank; second, to charge the gas generator, 

which delivered the proper amount of C02 in about 

ten minutes, and to apply the limewater-about 5 

gallons. The resulting action was immediate. A 

heavy cloud of large particles formed and began a FIG. s.-Milk-of-lime disdescent which indicated a speeific gravity much tributor. 

·larger than unity. The surface began to clear at once, and after settling 

from five to thirty minutes the process of siphoning the clarified liquor 

onto the filter below was begun. 
SACKETT.] EXPERIMENTS IN PURIFICATION. 25 

The filters consisted of barrels filled with varying quantities of 

coarse gravel, fine gravel, and sand. These were operated at different 

rates, and the efficiencies were determined from analyses. Samples of 

the effluent and of the filtrate were taken from each barrel, and the 

results are recorded in table 4 (p. 27). These samples were taken when 

about one-half of the barrel had been treated. Five gallons of sludge 

were left in the bottom of the precipitation tank. This was a thick, 

sirup-like mass of dark-yellow straw, slightly whitened by the excess 

of lime that was sometimes present when a surplus of milk of lime 

was used. 

Two molecules of carbon dioxide are required for each molecule of 

lime present. The strawboard company reported that 2,000,000 gallons of water were mmd t9 carry away the 19,800 pounds of lime 

witsted. This is equivalent to 66 grains per gallon, or about 100 

parts per 100,000. The quantity of C02 needed was, presumably, 

200 parts per 100,000 of waste. 

An amount of lime should be added equal to that present in the 

waste, or the total lime thrown down should be about 200 parts per 

100,000. As shown in table 3 (p. 23), the absolute residue in one sample 

of untreated strawboard waste, taken at random, was 159.13 parts per 

100,000, showing an increase of 50 per cent in the proportion of lime. 

There is some variation in the quantity of lime used, depending on 

the quality of the straw, and a still greater range in the volume of 

water wasted. 

A standard treatment was decided upon, in which the proportions 

were 200 parts of C02 and 5 gallons of limewater (or about 150 parts 

of lime) to 100,000 parts of waste. The color of the solid matter 

thrown down showed that the precipitants were sometimes used in 

excess. 

DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENTS. 

SINGLE BARREL TESTS. 

Tests were first made by single barrels, in the manner and with the 

results shown below: 

Barrel No. 1. 

Thirty gallons of waste. 

Carbon dioxide equal to 200 parts per 100,000. 

Five gallons of limewa(er. 

Stirred and allowed to settle thirty-five minutes. 

Biphoned 30 gallons off in thirty minutes onto filter composed as 

follows: A barrel with 9 inches of very coarse gravel in the bottom; 

then 5 inches of gravel from one-fourth to 1 inch in diameter; next, 10 

inches of coarse sand, and finally, on top, 7 inches of fine washed sand. 

IRR 113-05-4 
26 STRA WBOARD WASTE. [NO.l13. 

The area of the surface of the filter was 4.50 square feet, or about 

one nine thousand six hundred and eightieth part of an acre. 

The rate of filtration was about 13,000,000 gallons per acre daily, 

which was, of course, too fast to accomplish much. Both filtrate and 

effluent were colored, strong in taste, and smelled of lime. No samples 

were tP.ken. 

Barrel No. fJ. 

Thirty-five gallons of strawboard waste. 

Carbon dioxide. 

Five gallons of limewater (milky). 

Settled twenty minutes. 

Siphoned 30 gallons onto filter in 1 hour and 52 minutes. 

The precipitated matter, 4 inches deep, was light yellow. Free 

lhne present. Sample after precipitation 50 per cent cleaner. 

The effluent was still clearer, with bitter taste and some odor, and 

was still yellow color. 

Filtration was at the rate of about 3,500,000 gallons per acre daily, 

which removed about 16 per cent of the lime that came to it (see 

sample 2, table 4). 

BarrelmJ. 3. 

Thirty-five gallons of strawboard waste. 

Carbon dioxide. 

Five gallons of limewater. 

Fourteen minutes to charge with gas. 

Settled six minutes. 

Time of filtration, two hours and twenty minutes. 

Rate of filtration, 2,780,000 gallons a day; 

Filter, 9 inches of coarse gravel in bottom, 2 inches of fine gravel, 

16t inches of fine washed sand on top. 

The liquor from precipitation tank showed 244.18 parts per 100,000 

of lime. Afte1· filtration it showed 177.68 parts. Efficiency of filter 

equals 27.6 per cent. Color and taste noticeable. 

BmTel 1Vo. 4,. 

Thirty-five gallons of strawhoard waste. 

Carbon dioxide. 

Five gallons of limewater. 

Took seventeen minutes to charge with carbon dioxide. 

Settled six minutes. 

Time of filtration, three hours and forty-five minutes. 

Rate of filtration, 1, 730,000 gallons per acre daily. 

Filter, 2 inches of very coarse gravel in bottom, 2 inches of gravel, 

then, on top, 22 inches of medium washed sand, which passed sieve of 

one-eighth inch mesh. 
SACKETT.) EXPERIMENTS IN PURIFICATION. 27 

It will be noticed in sample 4, table ±, that the effiuent from the 

precipitation tank contained only 85.12 parts of lime per 100,000, or 

about one-third that found in the previous cases and about 53 per cent 

of the absolute residue in the untreated sample of table 3. It is certain 

that more than 50 per cent of the absolute residue was removed by the 

process of precipitation. On the other hand, the filter apparently 

accomplished nothing. This result is probably due to lime which was 

carried over in the previous work and which was washed out of the 

filter with the present filtrate. 

TABLE -!.-Amounts of calcium, free ammonia, and albuminoid ammonia contained in 

e.ffiuent of strawboard fl·eated 1cith carbon dio.ride and lime water in e.r::perirnents at Earlham College, Indimw. 

[In parts per 100,000.] 

Sample No.2. Sample No.3. Sample No. 4. 

Before fil- After filtra- Before fil- After fil- Before fil- After filtration. tion. tration. tration. tration. tration. 

-----------------------------1--------

Calci um ____ .... _ . . . . . . . . . . 283. 02-! 

Free ammonia ... __ .. _ ... _. 1 1. 675 

Albuminoid ammonia .. _. . . 1. 125 

236.868 

.7 

1.336 

----- ...... -

. 835 

1.0 

TEN-BARREL TEST. 

........ -... -... - R5.12 89.78 

.8 2 .. 50 3.0 

.7 1.0 

I 

1.15 

In order to approach commercial methods as closely as seemed possible in a small experimental pla:nt, a test of 10 barrels of strawboard 

waste was arranged to close the work. , 

First. Three barrels of waste were run through the precipitation 

tank, filling it and two other barrels, which served as reservoirs. The 

milk of lime and C02 were fed continuously and in proportion to the 

rate at which the waste flowed. It \Vas difficult to regulate the flow of 

the waste by valves, as the straw would choke them, thus varying the 

discharge. It was therefore necessary to make the rate of flow into 

the precipitation tank high. Automatic floats could not be used to 

properly proportion the waste and lime, as the volume discharged 

was too small to overcome the friction of such devices. 

The two reservoir barrels were allowed to 8tand twelve hours; then 

samples were taken from the top of each. The fir8t barrel was 

siphoned onto a coke filter, consisting of a barrel with 2 feet of fine 

coke breeze, the top 6 inches of which consisted of particles onefourth inch in diameter. 

The second barrel was siphoned onto a sand filter having 6 inches of 

fine gravel in the bottom and24 inches of fine sand on top. The latter 

passed a sieve of one-eighth i~1ch mesh. 

. . . . . . . . . . . 

: .. 

. . •• c • 

. .... ~ .. · ...... ;:·· ..... :. : . . . . . . . ... 

•, .· .. :: . · .. : : .. · .. : · .. · .. : · ... : . ·. : .. 

•"~· ::"··. ::···.: •e: •••• • • •-' •j• 

: :. ·- :. : :. : ·: · ... : .... (,. . . . . . . : ...... . 
28 STRAWBOARD WASTE. [No.ll3. 

The rate of filtration was 50 gallons in twelve l!ours. As the filters 

were approximately 0. 0001 of an acre in area, the rate of filtration 

through the coke was 1,000,000 gallons per acre per twenty-four 

hours. The rate through the sand was hal£ as rapid, or 500,000 

gallons per acre daily. 

Precipitation and settling in the first barrel removed 47 per cent, 

and in the second barrel HO per cent, of the suspended matter. The 

coke filter accomplished practically nothing. The sand filter removed 

25 per cent of the suspended matter reaching it, making the total 

removal by precipitation, twelve hours' sedimentation, and sand filtration, 92.6 per cent. The greater efficiency of the precipitation into the 

second barrel was due to a better adjustment of the proportions of 

lime and C02 to the waste. 

Second. Two reservoir barrels were again filled in order by the 

effiuent from the precipitation tank. Each settled one hour. Then 

one filtered through the coke, the other through the sand, each at the 

rate of 50 gallons per twelve hours, or 1,000,000 gallons per acre daily. 

The efficiency of the precipitation and settling one hour was 20 per 

cent; of precipitation, settling one hour, and sand filtration, 90 per 

cent. 

Third. In another and similar case the efficiency of precipitation and 

settling thirty minutes was 75 per cent; of precipitation, settling thirty 

minutes, and sand filtration, at the rate of 50 gallons in six hours, or 

2,000,000 gallons per acre daily, 80 per cent. 

Fourth. Similarly the efficiency of precipitation and settling fifteen 

minutes was 80 per cent, while the addition of sand filtration at the 

rate of 4,000,000 gallons per acre daily removed 86 per cent of the 

suspended matter. 

Fifth. In another case the efficiency of precipitation and settling 

twelve hours was 92 per cent; of precipitation and settling eighteen 

hours, 86 per cent. 

Sixth. The precipitation tank was run continuou~ly, and two samples taken from the top showed 47 per cent, and fifteen minutes later 

60 per cent, of the suspended matter removed. The gas bubbled up 

throughout the entire cross section of the precipitation tank. This 

constant ebullition prevented the suspended matter from settling as it 

should and as it would in a tank described later, in which the ebullition is confined to the delivery pipe, in which the flow is downward to 

the bottom of the precipitation tank. 

Seventh. The waste and milk of lime were delivered at the bottom 

of the precipitation tank, where the gas was added, at the rate of 100 

gallons in twelve hours. The effiuent taken from the top was delivered into the bottom of a reservoir barrel. From the top of it ran 

two siphons-one to the coke and one to the sand filter-each discharg-

!n~ at the rate of 50 gallons per twenty-four hours, or 500,000 gallons . .. . .. : . .. . ·. . . ... . . . . . . . ... . ....... ·• ··: : : .. :.··· .... ·:·.·.:· ... · .. :· ... ·.· .. :·.-.: .·· .. .... ::·: :. :·::·:: • • • • • • •J •••• 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . 

. .. . · .... .... · ··:· ....... ·:: ...... ••• ........ s : ••• 
SACKETT.] DISCUSSION Oli' EXPERIMENTS. 29 

per acre daily. The precipitation removed 36 per cent of the suspended matter, and the coke filter removed 42 per cent of the remainder. 

At the same time the sand filter removed 66 per cent. The total 

efficiency with the sand filter was 79 per cent. 

Eighth. The sludge drawn from the bottom of the precipitation barrel showed 9,88± parts per 100,000 of suspended matter, or 40 tunes 

that in the untreated waste. 

DISCUSSION OF TESTS. 

The above efficiencies are all figured on the basis of a single sample 

of untreated waste which contained 238.9 parts per 100,000 of suspended matter. To have taken a sample from each barrel would have 

increased the number of analyses by ten, and would not have effected 

the results materially. As it was, 21 analyses were made. Different 

barrels differ in the quantity of suspended matter, of total solids, and 

of calcium present. The quantity of lime was sometimes too great, 

and at other times the quantity of C02 may not have been sufficient. 

These facts account for the discrepancies that arise. The averag·e 

efficiency of precipitation in removing suspended matter from 10 cases 

was 63 per cent. The average efficiency of precipitation, settling for 

various periods, and sand filtration was over 85 per cent. 

TABLE 5.--Analysis of sample of w1treated ·u•a.ste from fou?·th bar1·el. 

[In parts per 100,000.] 

Suspended matter: 

Organic residue _ ......................................... _ .......... 149. 8 

Inorganic residue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88. 8 

Total residue ...................................................... 238. 6 

Total solids: 

Organic residue ..................... _. _____ . ___ . __ .. _______ . _ . ___ . . . 362. 5 

Inorganic residue ..... _ ............ _ ... ______ ... ___ ........... _.. . . . . 181. 0 

Total residue._. ____ ......... _._._ .. ____ ... _ .... _ .. _ ............. _. 543. 5 

Calciun1 _ ....... _. _ ... _ ........ _ ......... _. _. ___ .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160. 6 

Nitrates _ .......... _......................................... . . . . . . . . . . . None. 

Nitrites._ .. _...................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . None. 

Chlorine ........... _ .............. _ ........... ___ ..... _......... . . . . . . . . 71. 8 

Ammonia, free .............. _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4 

Ammonia, albuminoid. ___ .. _ .. _______ ....•. _____ ...............•. _ •. _. • . . 60 

Reaction, alkaline. 

Coloring, organic. 
30 STRA WBOARD WASTE. [No.ll3. 

TABLE 6.-Residue contained 'in suspended matter in samples 2 to 21. 

Sample. 

No.2----------------------------------------· __ No. 3 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______ . __________________ _ 

No. 4. _________________________________________ _ 

No.5------------------------ ____ --------------- No. '6 __________ . _______________________________ _ 

No. 7 ___________________________ . ______________ _ 

No. 8 __________________________________________ _ 

No. 9 ___________________________________ . ______ _ 

No. 10 _____ " ___ · ________________________________ _ 

No. 11. ________________________________________ _ 

No. 12. ________________________________________ _ 

No. 13 _________________________________________ _ 

No. 14 _________________________________________ _ 

No. 15. ________________________________________ _ 

No. 16 _________________________________________ _ 

No. 17 _________________________________________ _ 

No. 18. ___ . ____________________________________ _ 

No. 19 _________________________________________ _ 

No. 20. ________________________________________ _ 

No. 21. _ ~ ______________________________________ _ 

i 

Total residue. 

125.8 

128.7 

23.5 

17. 7 

200.0 

215.0 

62.0 

24.0 

60.5 

48.0 

195.8 

33. s I 

152.0 

88.8 

50.0 

126.5 

89. 5. 

19.0 

33.6 

9,884.0 

Organic I Inorganic . residue. residue. 

57.2 

86.5 

16.0 

11.0 

133. 7 

160.3 

43.9 

14.0 

36.8 

29.3 

123.5 

24.4 

105.3 

61.0 

35.0 

75.3 

51.5 

12.5 

11. 1 

5, 361.6 

68.5 

42.1 

7.4 

6.7 

66.2 

54.6 

17.9 

9.5 

23.5 

18.6 

71.9 

9.3 

45.6 

27.6 

14.9 

51. 1 

37.9 

6.4 

12.3 

4, 501.5 

Samples 2 and 4 were taken from the topR of the reservoir barrels. 

Samples 3 and 5 are of filtrates from the eoke and sand filters, respectively, taken at the middle of each test. The barrel from which sample No. 2 was taken was run through the coke filter. The barrel 

from which l-lample No. 3 was taken was filtered through sand. 

Reservoirs Nos. 1 and 2 were filled and permitted to settle one hour, 

after which samples Nos. 6 and 7 were taken from reservoirs 1 and 2, 

respectively. Reservoir No. 1 was then run through the coke filter 

and No. 2 through the sand filter at the rate of 1,000,000 gallons per 

acre a day. Samples 8 and 9 are from the filtrates through the coke 

and sand, respectively. 

Reservoir No. 1 was filled and allowed to settle thirty minutes. 

Sample No. 10 was then taken from the top. It was siphoned onto 

. the sand filter at the rate of 2,000,000 gallons every twenty-four hours. 

Sample 11 is from the filtrate. 

Reservoir No. 2 was filled and allowed to settle fifteen minutes. 

Sample 12 was collected as the liquor was siphoned from the top of 

reservoir No. 2 onto the sand filter, through which it passed at the 

rate of 4,000,000 gallons per acre daily. Sample 13 is from the filtrate. 
SACKETT.] DISCUSSION OF EXPERIMENTS. 31 

The precipitation tank was run continuously, discharging into reservoir No. 1. From the top of the latter siphons led to the coke and 

sand filter. The rate of discharge from each was 50 gallons in twelve 

hours, or 1,000,000 gallons per acre daily. Sample 1± was taken from 

the top of the reserv0ir. Sample 15 was from the filtrate through 

the coke, and 16 from the filtrate through the sand. 

Sample 17 was taken from the top of the precipitation tank during 

its operation, and sample 18 was collected fifteen minutes later. 

Sample 19 was obtained from the top of the precipitation tank after 

it had settled for a period of twelve hours. 

Sample 20 came from the top of the precipitation barrel after it had 

settled eighteen hours. 

Sample 21 is of sludge drawn from the bottom of the precipitation 

tank. 

The effect on solids in solution, especially on the calcium, was not 

so satisfactory, owing to the lack of sensitive apparatus by which to 

gauge the proper proportions of milk of lime. There was either an 

excess or a deficiency of lime, leaving an undesirable amount in the 

effluent. So long as the quantity of C02 is sufficient to saturate the 

liquor no variation in it is needed, but for the most successful operation of the process the volume of lime should be automatically regulated by the rate of flow of waste. 

1\'IIXING APPARATUS. 

English and American experience .suggests that the waste, C02 , and 

milk of lime should be brought together during a downward flow, 

and that the precipitation should take place during a following slow, 

quiet, upward movement. 

The milk of lime may be proportioned to the waste by a float in the 

cham her leading to the waste weir. This float would vary the length 

of a weir of constant head which feeds the milk of lime to the waste. 

The mixture should then travel down a central shaft through a nest 

of tubes perforated on the lower side, from which C02 issues under 

about 2 feet of head. The treated waste now travels down the central shaft to the bottom of the tank, where the flow turns upward with 

a very low velocity. The less the upward velocity the greater the 

efficiency of precipitation. The effluent would be collected at the top 

in semicylindrical troughs. 

In the tests ahove reported 50 gallons were run through a tank of 

50 gallons capacity in one hour. The cross section of the bn,rrel wns 

649 square inche:-s, making an upward velocity of 0.005 of an inch per 

second. To treat 1,000,000 gallons a day with the same upward velocity would require a tank of 83,300 gallons capacity, or 25 feet square 

and 15 feet deep. In the tests made the C02 was distributed throughout the barrel, and the violent ebullition kept the precipitation from 
82 STRA WBOARD WASTE. [No.113. 

being satisfactory, unless 15 to 30 minutes be given or the effiuent be 

run into settling reservoirs. By confining the ebulliijion to a eentral 

small cylinder, where the downward flow takes plaee, the efficiency of 

the precipitation would certainly be increased. 

PRODUCTION OF CARBON DIOXIDE. 

The most important problem in the application of this method of 

purifying strawboard waste is the production of the required amount 

of carbon dioxide in an economical and practical manner. Two methqds of producing this may be considered. 

J?irst metlwd.-Carbon dioxide may be produced by burning lime 

in closed kilns, such as are used in the manufacture of beet sugar. In 

the typical factory which we have assumed~ using 50 tons of straw a 

day, nearly 10 tons of lime are needed in the process of manufacture, 

and an additional 10 tons are required for purifying the waste. A 

closed kiln of 20 tons daily capacity~ with rock hoist and gas pump. 

would cost $10,000. The operation would require 4,800 pounds of 

coke a day and the attendance of three men on each shift. Figuring 

intere:-:;t~ depreciation, lahor, and coke, the daily cost of C02 produced 

' would be $31. HO. Neither profit nor loss is figured on the lime. 

Finally, the quantity of C02 would be only about 25 per cent of that 

required. To produce 80 tons of lime a day would necessitate a correspondingly great outlay and the production of 60 tons of lime for 

which a market must be found. Manifestly the method does not 

recommend itself, especially in comparison with the following one. 

Second metlwd.-At the plant which has been cited, where 50 tons 

of straw are used each day, about 80 tons of Brazil (Ind.) bituminous coal are burned every twenty-four hours. This coal contains 

about 70 per cent carbon. Consequently, 70 per cent of 80 tons, 

equaling 56 tons, or 112,000 pounds, of carbon are consumed each day. 

About 12 pounds of air per pound of carbon are necessary for combustion. In the average hand-fired furnace an excess of 50 per cent 

of air is supplied, making 18 pound:.; of air per pound of carbon. In 

the above ease there would be 1S timeH 112,000, or 2~016,000, pound.-; 

of air needed. A serie:s of 16 te:..;b., reported shows that the per cent of 

C02 in the chimney gases ranges from 8 to 19 per cent. Assuming 

10 per cent as a conservative amount, there would be 10 per cent of 

2,016,000, or 201,600, pounds of C02 available every twenty-four 

hours from the flue gases. The maximum amount of carbon dioxide 

needed in the precipitation is twice 19,800, which equals 39,600 pounds. 

Only 20 per cent of the chimney gases would be needed in the process 

of purification. Gas pumps capable of delivering 250,000 cubic feet 

per twenty-four hours, under the pressure of 2 feet of water, would 

be required. 
SACKETT.) DISCUSSION OF EXPERIMENTS. 33 

The cost for gas pump and installation would be $2,500, with no 

additional attendance above the usual engine-room staff. Figuring 

cost on the same basis as before, it would amount to $1.35 per diem, 

as compared with $31.90 in the previous case, a saving- of $30.65 a day. 

The actual cost of producing the necessary lime and C02 would be the 

cost of 10 tons of lime at $5 per ton, or $50, plus $1.35 for pumping, 

making a total of $51.35 daily. 

The cost of installing a precipitating tank and mixing apparatus is 

so dependent on local conditions that no figures can be given unless 

the conditions be known. In almost all cases the design could be 

adapted to the topography, so that it would be unnecessary to pump 

either the waste, the effluent, or the sludge. 

While it is believed that under average conditions filters are not 

needed, if a higher degree of purification is required at times of very 

low stream flow than the normal operation of the precipitation tank 

provides, gravity filters could he e'rnployed. Under some conditions 

tt second settling tank, or two precipitation tank8 with a reduced rate 

of flow, might he the more economical. To operate a filter requirPs 

an available head of about 3 feet from the surface of the tank. To 

operate two tanks either in series or in parallel requires practically no 

additional head. 

TREATMENT OF SLUDGE. 

Would it pay to treat the sludge in order to recover the lime? Take, 

for example, the 50-ton mill wbich wastes 19,800 pounds of lime daily. 

Assuming an efficiency of 75 per cent in the purification by precipitation alone, there would be present in the sludge 75 per cent of twice 

19,800, or 29,700, pounds of lime. Only about 85 per cent of this is 

recoverable, i. e., 26,700 pounds. 

No more economical method of drying the sludge is known than that 

employed in the manufacture of strawboard itself. Hence the cost 

may be considered the same. An official of a strawboard company 

states that the hot rolls receive the pulp from the wet end, press it 

while it is about 66 per cent water, and deliver it with about 10 per 

cent of moisture remaining. The cost of removing this 56 per cent 

of water present is the principal item in the expense of drying. The 

company estimates that it requires 11 horsepower for twenty-four 

hours, or 2!34 horl::lepower hours, to dry 1 ton of board. lf we 

take 30 pounds of steam as equivalent to 1 horsepower hour, then 

11 X 24 X 30, or 7 ,£WO, pounds of steam are required per ton of product. 

If 7 pounds of steam be generated per pound of coal burned, 1,27 4 

pounds of coal are consumed, which, at $3 per ton, makes the cost 

$1.91 per ton of product. One-half the cake is straw and one-half 

carbonate of lime, hence the eost per ton of lime present is $3. 82. 
34 STRA WBOARD WASTE. [No.113. 

After the sludge is dried to the <·onsistency of strawboard it would 

Htill contain 10 per cent of moisture. To remove the remaining moisture and make the lime available as an oxide the cake must be burned 

in a limekiln fired with coke, in order that the calcium carbonate shall 

be reduced to the oxide, thus completing the cycle through which the 

lime has passed. The cost would be greater than that of burning 

limestone, because of the greater moisture present. In addition there 

would be a conE~iclerable quantity of the silica present in the ash of the 

stra·w. The ash is about 5 per cent of the weight of the original straw, 

and of this 73 per cent, according to Remsen, 'vill be silica. The major 

part of the ash would be accumulated waste material unseparated from 

the lime. It would evidently cost more to recover the lime in the 

sludge than it is worth. 

The particles of straw are so fine that they will not work up into 

even a second-grade board. In fact, no use for this material has been 

discovered, hence its waste. The process of manufacture is so very 

wasteful, then, partly because present methods can not make this finer 

portion into salable stock. 

The question of making a separate proCluct from the sludge was 

raised. This material contains lime and silica principally. Would it 

make boards similar to asbestos board::-; to serve as nonconductors to 

heat~ Whether or not the material, pressed and bonded by cloth, 

would make a nonconducting article like felt has not been carefully 

considered. 

Eng·lish patent No. 16966, issued August 6, 1898, covers a process 

of fireproofing wood or straw by treatment with carbonate of potash, 

boric acid, sulphate of magnesia, and sulphate of ammonia (see Jour. 

Soc. Chern. Ind., August 31, 1SHH, p. 763). The method would not 

he commercially applicable in thi::-; case in view of the ruling prices of 

felt and asbestos. At present it seems that the only rational way to 

dispose of the sludge is to run it out on the ground. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

1. Strawboard waste is an extremely stable substance which does 

not degenerate when kept in dean containers, but when mixed with 

other substa11ee;, of a putrescible nature, such at~ sevmge and otber 

organic matter in streams, it becomes very foul and objectionable. 

2. Simple sedimentation is not effective in the purification of strawboard waste. · 

3. Chemical precipitation appears to be satisfactory from every 

standpoint except that of cost, which makes it commercially impracticable. 

±. Filtration without previous sedimentation is impracticable, but 

combined with sedimentation is an aiel to the process. 
lUCKETT.] SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE. 35 

5. The sulphates of iron and alumina are the most effective chemical 

precipitants for the pnrifieation of strawboard waste, but so large are 

the amounts which it is necessary to use that the cost is prohibitive. · 

6. Lime is of no value as a precipitant. 

7. Carbon dioxide has no effect upon the suspended matter in 

strawboard waste. 

S. The combination of earbon dioxide and milk of lime is effective 

when properly applied~ and the process can be economically maintained 

if conditions are favorable. The refmlts of experiments indicate that 

75 per cent of the suspended material can he removed by precipitation 

with carbon dioxide and milk of lime at high speed of treatment. 

Higher efficiencies <·an be obtained at lower speed and by the combination of sand filtration. It is believed, however, that the latter would 

be necessary only in extreme eases. 

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE. 

The objection raised hy the official~':! of the United Box Board and 

Paper Company to the purification process described in the preceding 

pages is based upon its cost. It is maintained thn,t the different kinds 

of box board now upon the market are so evenly balanced in cost of 

production and competitive selling price that the additional expense 

incurred in manufacture, which would result from the adoption of 

this process, would drive strawboard from the market. Nevertheless, 

it is hoped that the experiments here recorded may stimulate interest 

in the question considered nncl aid in directing research that will lead 

to a satisfactory solution of the problem. 
DISPOSAL OF OIL-WELL WASTES AT MARION, IND. 

By IsAIAH BowMAN. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Since 1886, a date which marks the beginning of the oil and gas 

iQdustry in eastern Indiana, there has been more or less speculation 

concerning the pollution of wells and streams in the oil fields in so far 

as such pollution impairs the purity of drinking water or damages 

water for domestic and industrial uses. Within the last few years the 

matter has assumed a more serious aspect. Considerable litigation 

has resulted from attempts to collect compensation for damages to 

surface wells by this form of contamination. 

In the following pages the manner in which such pollution occurs 

is shown, and a remedy is suggested for the conditions. The data presented relate to the city of Marion, this city having been chosen as 

the place of inquiry because it is situated in the center of the oil 

fields of eastern Indiana and because many cases of well and stream 

pollution are known to exist there. 

Aeknowledgments are due to Mr. E. Hulley, superintendent of the 

Marion waterworks, and Messrs. tT ohn E. Weigel and W. L. Benson, 

well driller8, for assis'tanee rendered by them in preparing this paper. 

TOPOGRAPHY AND DRAINA.GE OF THE REGION. 

The city of Marion is located on Mississinewa River. This stream 

is tributary to the Wabash and has a length of about 100 miles. 

The general course of the stream is northwestward, and the channel lies just outside the Mississinewa moraine. Above 1\'Iarion 

the river swings against the moraine, eutting steep bluffs into the 

clay; but near the Arcona bridge, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets, it cuts into a gravel terrace formed outside the moraine 

by the stream when it was overloaded by material derived from the 

ice which then rested against the moraine. Just opposite J\iarion-onthe-River, and again near the Washington Street Bridge, the Mississinewa flows over rock. This greatly impedes the dissection of the 

till plain and terraces in which the river valley has elsewhere been 

36 
BOWMAN.] GEOLOGIC FEATURES OF THE REGION. 37 

incised. The difference in the character of the material that the 

river must remove has resulted in alternate straight and meandering 

~tretches. Each outcrop of rock in the channel is generally indicated 

by a marked sinuosity of the stream above it. 

Baek of the river bluffs, which have an average height of about 50 

feet, the surfaee of the eountry to the southwest is extremely level, 

and drainage, espeeially on the fiat and wide divides, is sluggish and 

ineffective. Northeast of the river the J\tlississinewa moraine gives 

some relief to the surfaee, although that part of the moraine near 

Marion has an average height of not more than 20 or 30 feet. · 

The valley bottom varies greatly in width. In plaees it is hut little 

wider than the river, while in the vicinity of the pumping station it is 

from a half mile to a mile ~ide. The bm;iness part of the city and its 

more thiekly settled portions lie on an old flood plain of the Mississinewa. The oil wells are scattered over the whole region, alike in 

valley bottom and in the country baek of the river bluffs. Occasionally, where the bluffs have a gentle descent, oil welh; may he found 

on them, as well as on the lmver snrfaees nearer the river, positions 

whieh have the advantage of rapid drainage, while the others have the 

association of stagnant pools of waste oil. 

GEOT--OGIC ~'EATURl<JS. 

PLEISTOCENJ<:: DEPOSITS. 

At the place where Sixth street ascends the river bluffs in the 

western part of the city there is a typical 30-foot section of the till 

plain. Beneath a eovering of till about 10 feet thiek is a layer of 

gravel, whieh in turn overlies a layer of iron-stained bowlders several 

feet thick. Below this is a promiscuous deposit of clay and gravel, 

underlain by cross-bedded and fine-textured sand. 

The upper covering of till is persistent throughout this region, 

varying in thiekness from several inches to 15 feet. It is, of e,ourse, 

absent in the valleys where the river has undercut it. Where it is 

thin it is very porous, because of oxidation and the action of vegetation, so that it offers no obstruction to the free passage of percolating 

water. Along the present stream channel and over the older flood 

plain that lies between the bluffs are scattered bowlders 1vhich the 

river has been able to undermine and dislodge from the bowlder bed 

previou:::;ly mentioned, but which it is not able to earry downstream. 

In places the till is so free from pebbles that it is used in the manufacture of brick. 

A number of well sections are given herewith, since they represent 

the character of the glacial deposit~, an understanding of which is 

essential to an appreciation of the conditions of water contamination. 

The best well section procured in the vicinity of 1\'Iarion was that 
38 DISPUBAL OF OIL-WELL WASTES AT MARION, IND. L:\o.ll3. 

obtained at the pumping 1-ltation of the city waterworks. At the 

request of the writer samples of the hor.ings were saved by Mr. E. 

Hulley, :mperintendent of the waterworks. The well was drilled in 

Oetoher, lHO;). In studying· tlw section it must be remembered that 

the pumping station is in the valley of the l\iississinmvu and that the 

bluff section given above must be added to the well section in order to 

get u fair notion of the character of the deposits from the surface of 

the till plain to the rock. 

The samples were examinecl both microscopically and macroscopically. A description of them follows: 

Section r~fwdl at city watencorks, .Marion, Ind. 

Thickness ~~~~~ tgf of. stratum st~a tum in m feet. feet. 

I. Fint~ sa.Hd and black loam (a peaty deposit in a. part of the 

river channel now abandoned) ..... _ ..... _ .... __ ...... _ ... . 

2. Ve.ry fi11e, y·el1o,v, ~ltari), ferrugi110li~ f-tand. _ .. ____ .... _ .. _ .. _ .. _ ........ 

3. Coarse gray ~awl, the grains heing runwle<l through water a(~tion ................................................... . 

4. Fine gravel, made up mostly of erratic material and quartz 1-lan<l. 

5. Pale redrlish-brown ela v with many AtoneH and considerable 

gravel, also some irori concretions: The stones and pebbles were of chert, limestone, trap, t-<hale, and quartzite. (Limestone, shale, and chert pebbles seem to have been derin-\d 

from the underlying rock) ............................. _ .. . 

6. <:Tray clay, very plastic when wet and containing no pebbles. 

This clay is remarkably pure and is distinet from the clay 

bed above it in containing no pebbles ·whateyer in its middle 

portion, though it merges gradually into the pebbly clay above._ 

7. Limestone (Niagara). The limestone is water bearing from the 

top to the last depth given and presumably beyond, but the 

best supply comes from a subporous and greatly fissured , layer 38 feet below the rock surface .............. _ ......... , 

q 

i) 

28 

]f) 

4 

54 

26 

58 

3 

31 

46 

50 

104 

130 

This is a flowing well~ the water rising (when the well i:-; piped up) 

to a height of 18 feet above the surface. 

The following boring records were kindly furnished by 1\ir .• John E. 

'Veigel~ of J\llarion~ Ind. They show the character and depth of the 

material overlying the rock at the various plaees indicated by the 

corresponding numbers on the accompanying map (fig. 4). 

"flfaterial overlying 1'ock at certain localities indicated by numben-J on fig. 4. 

;: ~=:~ ::~ :~: ::~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 3. Sand and gravel .................. _ ... _ .. _ ... ____ .................. . 

''Blue'' clay .. _ ..................................... _ ............. _ 

4. Sand and gravf'l ................................................... . 

"Blue" clay ...... _ .............................. _ ...... -. _. _ .. _ .. . 

Feet. 

0-30 

0-17 

0-37 

37-45 

0-57 

57-65 
BOWMA:S.] GEOLOGIC FEATURES OF THE REGION. 

G. Gravel. __________ . __________________ . ___ .. ____ ._ .................. . 

lHixture of gravel, sand, and clay. ______________________ . __________ . _ 

fi. Gravel and saml.. __________________________ . __________ . ______ . ____ _ 

Till as in No. 5. ____ . ____________ . _______ . _ . ____ . ___ ..... _ ........ - -. 

7. Rock in river bottom ______________ . ___________________________ . ___ _ 

8. Till, sand, and gravel ______________ . ____ . __________________________ . 

\1. Sand and gravel _____________ . __ . ________ .. _ . _____ ............. ----. 

10. Sand and gravel ________ . __________ .... _._. _____ . ___ .... ____ ... ----. 

11. Gravel. ______ . __________ . _____ -------- ... -.. - -.- ... --- ---.-------- Till .. _____________________________________________________________ _ 

\ Surf"ace extremely f"lat_ here 

FIG. 4.-:Map of Marion, Ind. 

12. Till, sand, and graveL ____ . ___ ... _._ .... _ .. _.... ________________ . __ 

13. Till, sand, and gravel. __________________________ . __________________ _ 

14. G-ravel. ___________ ... ________________ . ____________________________ _ 

THl ___ .. __________________________________________________________ _ 

15. Sand and gravel _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___________________________ _ 

Till. ______________________________________________________________ _ 

16. Quicksand _____________________ . ____________________ . _____________ _ 

Till (mostly gravel and some brO\vn clay) _______ . ________________ . __ _ 

17. Gravel, bearing salt water. ____________________________ . ____________ _ 

Till. _____________ . _______________ .- _ _ _ _ _ __________________________ _ 

18 and 19. (The samples previously referred to are from these two wells.) 

N 

3H 

Feet. 

0-50 

50-105 

0-50 

50-60 

0 

0-100 

0-32 

0-60 

0-40 

40-100 

0-200 

0-200 

0-50 

50-105 

0-60 

60-198 

0-55 

55-200 

0-40 

40-177 
40 DISPOSAL OF OIL-WELL WASTES AT MARION, IND. [No.113. 

20. Sand and gravel _____________________ . _____________________________ _ 

Till _______ . ________________________________________________________ _ 

C+ra vel ______________________________ . _____________________________ _ 

Clay • _____________________________________________________________ _ 

(This well was drilled 118 feet into limestone, making a total depth of 

287 feet, but no water was encountered, and the well was abandoned.) 

21. Sand and gravel ___________________________ . __ . ____________________ _ 

Till _______________________________________________________________ _ 

Feet. 

0-40 

40-50 

50-70 

70-169 

0-60 

60-117 

GraveL_---- -- _____ ---- _______ --- _________________________________ 117-127 

Clay _____ ----- _________________________________________ • ___________ 127-216 

While the last clay bed is extensive, it by no means covers the 

entire surface of the rock, for well sections frequently show glacial 

gravel and till all the way to rock. No bowlders are known to occur 

in it, and the deposit may he nonglacial. Gravel is said to underlie 

it in places, but none of the gravel was obtainable, and its nature is 

therefore uncertain. 

In the foregoing records no distinction was made between this clay 

bed and the pronouncedly glacial material overlying it, although an 

examination of the samples showed that such a distinction exists. 

The well seetions show that there is an extensive area of rock surface not covered with clay, the entire section yielding only sand and 

gravel. It also appears that the upper layers of clay, or more properly, of till, and the layers of gravel are in many places differentiated, while in others there is a more or less intimate mixture of 

these two materials. Such a mixture must not be regarded as impervious to water. There is undoubtedly a more or less free circulation 

of subsurface water throughout this entire mass of glacial material. 

This conclusion is warranted not only by a determination of the frequent high porosity of the till and its consequent permeability to 

water, but also by underground observations on percolating water. 

In assisting Mr. A. C. Veatch, of this Survey, in work done on Long 

Island, New York, during the summer of 1903, the writer had occasion, 

through the kindness of Mr. ~T. C. :Meem, consulting engineer for the 

Borough Construction Company, to examine a sewer tunnel in course 

of construction between Sixty-fifth street and Fort Hamilton avenue, 

South Brooklyn. Different working faces were closely examined, and 

it was found that even in those plaees where the till was most clayey 

in composition the water at a depth of 90 feet from the surfaee had 

occupied the pores of the till in such manner and to such a degree 

that constant pumping was necessary to keep this part of the tunnel 

dry enough to permit work. The sand and gravel distributed through 

the till was Rufficiently abundant to allow a constant flow of underground water. This fact must be regarded aR important, inasmuch as 

a number of apparently anomalous cases of contamination no doubt 

depend for their explanation upon this quality of the till. 
BOWMAN.) HROLOGIC E'J;~ATTTRER OI<~ THR REGION. 41 

HAHD ROCK FORMATIONS. 

The hard rock formation:-; \Vith which this report is concerned arc 

the ~ iagara JimPstonc, the shall'S and 1 imcstone:-; formerly known as 

the Hudson River liniestonc and Utica shale, and the upper Trenton 

limestone. 

XIAUARA LDIESTONE. 

Into the Niagara limestone pre-Glacial streamR cut valleys seyeral 

hundred feet deep. This depth was :-;o great that the ice sheet was jm~t 

able to cover the valleys and divides evenly with drift, and so enabh~ 

the post-Glacial streams to take an initial course independent of the old 

rock valleys. The depths to rock at various places in :Marion and in tile 

region east of that city indicate that the pre-Glacial drainage was along 

n,. northeast-southwest line, almost at right ·angles to the genera 1 direction of the course now taken by the J\IIississinewa. In some of tlw 

deeper parts of this old valiey the limestone has been completely 

eroded and the shale beneath uncovered, while over a eon:-;iderahle 

area near the bottom of the valley the limestone i:-; but a few feet thick. 

Tmvard the divides it becomes thicker. reaching a maximum thickness 

of about 350 feet at the quarries indicated on the map. 

The upper layers of limestone are weathered to a depth of 6 or 8 

feet, the result being the formation of a dirty yellow and partially 

oxidized clay. In most plaees t'his elay is porous, usually covering 

the rock to an insignificant depth. 1\iost of this clay was removed 

during the advance of the ice. It. occurs at the present time only in 

patches, which furnish all the evidence that is available concerning 

pre-Glacial conditions. 

The limestone lies in nearly horizontal layers. It is extensively fisstued, the breaks being more numerous near the top of the section, 

presumably from pre-Glacial vveathering, the weight of the once overlying ice, and the extremes of temperature to which the rock was 

subjected and the water which it contained. This condition of tlw 

limestone permits surface water to have easy access to the rock for 

some depth, and rock we,ll:-; and spring·s (the latter where the rock outcrops in a favorable way) are therefore to be expected. Such springs 

exist in all the quarries, and the ehie,f source of the eity water supply 

is from wells drilled into the upper limestone rock. 

It is maintained by the writer that the water occurring in the upper 

limestone rock is not derived from some far distant sonree and transmitted through possible porous layers of limestone, but is essentiall.Y 

of local derivation and is supplied from rainfall percolating through 

the glacial deposits above. This emwlusion is supported by the follmving considerations: 

1. Water must enter the limestone where it is not covered with clay. 
42 DIRPORAL OE' OIL-W:ELI" WASTES AT MARION, IND. [~o.l13. 

':!. O!l<~P in rock which i~ fis~m·ed and to a Hlight Pxtent porou~, t!Jp 

watPr llllL~t ultimately O('enpy en'n tho1"le part:-~ of the rock that are (~0\·­

cred with elay. 

3. Tlw g'l'L'atest supply of watPr ito~ found near the top, where the 

limet-~tonc is mo:;;t highly fissured and where, therefore, the transmission 

of pressure i:-; most quickly aecomplished. 

4. The deep valleying which the lime:-~tonn ha:" suff'ered and the conRequent rPlation of tlw snperimpo~ed elay heds to the shale and tlw 

Proded t>clges of the linwstone prPVPnt the \viclf~ distribution of JWreolating water through possible porous limestone layers. 

5. The rock is unevenly fissured. If there is any connection between 

the fissured condition and the supply from a hove, we should expect the 

greatest supply where the rock is most highly fissured; also a considerable disparity in the depths of wells, even though such wells are within 

~hort distances of one another. J\!Iany examples of the latter condition 

are found among rock wells. 

H. The rock being unmTenly fissured and of different degrees of 

porosity, a combination of nnfayorahle conditions may result and no 

water may hf' procurahln from the rock in some places. Kuch conclitions have been known to occur, although the number of cases is ran'. 

One of the mo;-;t notable occurred in November, 1H03, when a boringwas m:ule for water hy the city waterworks company. On the map 

thP well is indicated by the number 2~. Tlw following material 'vas 

encountered: 

SPrtion nf d1·y l101'ing at 1lfarifm, Ind. 

Feet. 

( 1 ) Ra111l and gravel. ___ . _ . ________ . _ . _________________________________ . 0-!10 

(2) Mixe<l grayd an<l clay __ . ______ . ____ . ________ · ________ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 50-HlH 

(8) 1 -imestom~ (Niagara) ___ . ___ . _ . ___________________ . ____________ . _ _ _ _ _ 169-287 

~OTE.-No water was obtaine<l and the hoL was abandoned. 

7. So far as the \Vrltl'r has been able to determine, there are no successful wPlls in the limestone at an~T depth where the limestone comes 

very near to the surface, while in the valleys the wells in the rock are 

scarcely ever unsuccessful and they nearly always flow. 

HUDSON RIVER LI:\IESTO~E AND l"TICA SHALE. 

This gTonp occurs about 3fl5 feet below the surface and is about 560 

feet thick, the Trenton limestone beginning at about H25 feet. The 

shales are somewhat calcareous, and near the top and bottom of the 

series there are frequent intercalations of bluish thin-bedded limestones. The formation is not water hearing except near the bottom, 

where water, saline in quality, sometimes occurs. 

TRENTON LIMESTONE. 

This limestone is dull gray in color, except where it is most calcitic, 

and there it is nearly white. Oil oecnrs near the top of the forma-
BOWMAN.l ~OTTRORR OF CONTAMINATION. 43 

tion. 'vhere tlw, rock is Pxtremely porous. Beneath tlw oil is salt watPr, 

which i~ pnnqwd out with tlw crude oil in largo quantitie~. If pmuping i:-; <·ontimwd irregularly the oil well may he pcnmu1Pntly injnrPcl 

hy the inflow of saJt water. In the earlier clays of oil well:-; tlw driller 

frequently drilled to too great a depth and the inflow of brine was so 

strong that the well became useless. In orde.r to form a reservoir for 

the collection of oil the limestone must be entered some distance, and 

tlw most successful wells are those which are drilled deep enough to 

allmv a large amount of oil to collect and still be some clistance n,hove 

the upper level of the brine. The oil wells are usually about l/l50 

feet deep, the oil rising to within 600 or 700 feet of the surface. 

SOURCES OF CONTA~1INATION. 

Scarcely a week passes but the boring of an oil well near ::\'!arion is 

completed and the 'vell is "shot'' with nitroglycerine. The shooting, 

no donlJt, breaks up the porous Trenton limestone and forms fissures 

and small caverns, which act as rese1Toirs into which the oil will fimv 

if thi ., :·mbstance occupies the pores of the rock at that place. The 

surface cti'ect of the shooting is the ''iolent ejection of salt water and 

oil, oftpn to the estimated amount of thousands of gallons. The oil 

aml salt water sink into the :-;oil, where it is sufficiently porou:-;, and 

finally reach the :·mrface zone of nnderground flmv, where they partake of tlw g·eneral movenwnt of the water toward the main line of 

underground drainage. 

\Yell:-; reaching· this saturated zone and lying between the oil well 

and thi:-; line of drainag·p, or thalweg, lw<'onw polluted. Thi~ takPs 

phwe enm thcmg·h the amount of oil contrilmtccl <luring a week or a 

month should be :-<mall~ for the oil, heing lighter than the water and 

having g;reatL•r \'iseosity, i:-; subject to le:-<H favorable conditions of 

lateral How, and the ratio of the amount of it in the well to the hei~ht 

of the vertical 'vater eolnnm of which it forms a part tends to be 

greater than the ratio expressing· a normal condition elsewhere in tlw 

1-\atnrated zone. 

By a similar process of reasoning we arc led to believe that the 

hrim•, hut not the oil, shoulLl pollute 'veils 'vhich derive water from 

Ll<'PpPr hone:-; of flow or from the bottom of the surface zotw. This 

will be true especially whPrc df'pressions ocenr in the clay of tlw 

drift, or along the main line of underground drainage. This con-

<·lu:-;ion seems to be supported, in part at least, by the records gin·n 

ebewhere in this paper, it:-; final justification depending on its accordance with a larger amount of data. The slope of the ground being 

u:-;tmlly indicative of the direction of fimv of nndPrgronnd watcr, an 

examination of the .':-lurfaee slopPs with reference to a near-by water 

well 1-\honlcl indicate whetlu•r or not pollution may ari:-;c in a gin•n 

loeality through the cireum;-;tmwe:-< attending the sinking and working 
44 DTRPORAL OF OTL-"'TRLL W ARTER AT MARION, IND. [xo.IH 

of au oil well. In :-;inking· water wells, (lepressions in tlw drift ::-;lwuld 

he a\·oide<l, as wt>ll as tlw dPPper parts of the yalley. A:-; will appear 

more dearl~' later in this di:-;<·.u:-;:..;ion, howon'r, the burden of responsibility for contamination rest:.; not on the owner . ..; of water wells hut 

on the owners of oil wells, for the latter are usually in the field 

later than the former and locate their \Yells often with no regard to 

tlw rights of others and in contempt of ·well-established theories of 

contamination. 

If the contamination of wells were due alone to the oil and Halt 

water which is thrown out at the shooting of a well the number of 

cases of pollution mig·ht be much smaller than it is. now, for a great 

l1eal of the liquid thrmvn out runs off quickly into the creeks, and only 

a part of it, exeept where the surface is level or the gi·ound porous, 

sinks into the soil. Therr is another and more prolific source of contamination. The brine and oil pumped from an oil Wf'll are cleliYered 

to a tank having a capacity of 1nn barrels or more. Near the bottom 

of the tank a pipe leads up at an augle with the l"'ide~ and it il"' through 

thiR pipe that tlw salt water is allowed to escape. (See Pl. IV.) A 

little below the level of the top of the liquid in the tank another pipe 

leads oft'. It is through this one that the oil ii-3 conducted. The adjustment of these two pipes is made with reference to the capacity of the 

well~ so that hut little 'vaste of oil occtH'I"' from this source. Some~ 

however~ does find its \Yay out of the pipe intended to convey only snJt 

water, and this oil, together with that which is derived from various 

lraks in the tank and from pumping, result in a constant flow of brine 

and oil from the well and tank. In many case:-; the owners of these 

wPlls pay no attention to the disposition of this refuse~ but allow it to 

lie in pools or to run slmvly over the adjoining fields. Some of it 

finds its way into the creeks and so into the river~ while :-~till another 

part sinks HlO\vly into the gTmmd. In some eases the attention of 

owners has b('en called to the danger of pollution, but only a fe\v of 

them take the precaution to construct a ditch from the well to the 

nearest ravine or creek. 

It is instructive in this connection to note the manner in which pipes 

are inscrtecl into the bore holes in rock and the danger of pollution 

resulting from this method. An t-1-inch pipe, called a drivepipe, is 

driven down through the \Tarious materials above the rock as rapidly 

as tlw material at the bottom of the pipe cnn he removed by means of 

a sand bucket~ and is then forced into the upper limestone to a distancf' 

of from 5 to 15 feet. 'Vith the largest drill that will work in the casing 

the hole i;;; continued down through the upper limestone as far as the 

shale overlying the Trenton limestone. Here the size of the bit is 

n~dueed, and, after the holP is drillf'd some distance into the shale. the 

holP is eased with a 5~-ineh pipP. Tlw shale itself eontains no water, 

PXCPpt yery small amounts near its hase. but the limestone overlying 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 113 PL. IV 

RE CEIVING TANK WITH DISCHARGE PIPES. 
llOW~IAK.} SOURCES OF CONTAMINATION. 45 

it i~ saturated. It is the effort of the driller to ~o tightly fit the casing 

into the shale that no water from the overlying limestone ean follow 

down the pipe to its open lower end. Sueh a passag·e along the pipe 

would either allow the oil to escape upward~ or the surficial waters, 

with sand, clay, etc., to pass downward into the oil, according to the 

direetion of eirculation. 

The space between the ea:-;ing and the sides of ·the hole in the limestone permits such oil and brine as han' passed downward through the 

soil to have easy aeeess to the water:-< in the limestone. This takes 

plaee oftenest \vhere the limestone is near the surface and where the 

material above it com.-ist:-; 'vholly of sand and gravel. The water in 

this loo,-;e material will tend to move nearly ,-ertically downward, but 

contamination will occur with almost equal certainty 'vhere the direction of movement has a strong horizontal component, the wells being 

so numerous and crowded that the refuse from one readily contaminate.s the water in the roek adjacent to others. In the vicinity of the 

Thirty -eighth Street Bridge the water table stands from 30 to 35 feet 

below the :-\ttrfaee, shmving that the movement of whatever additions 

it may be receiving by downward percolation from the surface must be 

nearly vertical, as evidences of lateral movement, as expressed by any 

rise of the water table, are absent. The water level in the rock at this 

and similar places seems to supply additional proof of the local sources 

of the water. The flowing wells in the valley are at least 50 or 60 feet 

lower than those about Thirty-eighth Street Bridge, and the height to 

which tlH· water will rise in thn strongest of the flowing wells seems to 

be always :-\omewhat les:-4 than the height of the water level in adjacent 

areas. Precise level:-\ nm to the various welb; would furnish data of 

great value in ::-;ettling que:-:;tionable points of this nature. 

vVhere artesian effect is pronounced pollution from the source under 

consideration may not be aecompli:-Jwd as readily, though it seems that 

in time the inflow of salt water ncar the head woulcl.contaminate most 

of the water in the rock. The likelihood of such an occurrence is 

being strengthened eontinually because of the constantly ine.reasing 

number of oil 'veils. The water from many rock wells shows at the 

present time an extremely high percentage of chlorine, and it b quite 

possible that it is now derived from that source, though, because of 

the relatively small amount delivered, diffusion does not allow the 

result to be so noticeable as it may in time become when the f-lnpply is 

increased. 

It has been shown before that a differentiation of the re.fnse from an 

oil well may Le expected to takP phlCP, the oil remaining undiffused 

and comparatively ncar the snrfacP, while the fo<alt water sinks down 

until diffusion destroys the disparity existing between the specific 

gravities of the brine and thP 'vnte.r derived from rainfall. There i:-4, 

thcrdorc, more danger arising· from the complete contamination of 
46 DI8P08AL Ul!' OIL-WELL WA8'rE8 A'L' MAl{lUN, IND. [~u.113. 

wells near the surface by means of oil than in the ease of deeper 

wells from brine. This is true especially where the water table is 

lowet'ed through excessive pumping. Any oil near the surface will 

he induced to a~~ume lower and lower levels until, as pumping- increases, 

it is drawn into the pipe. The example of this occurrence quoted helow 

is all the more interesting when it is known that the above deduction 

was reaehPd before examples of this sort of thing were known. 

"'On December 1,'' writes :Mr. Hulley, '"the water wells[~± on the 

map] of the Indiana Brewing Association, at .Niarion, began pumping 

oil. They are H30 feet deep and in gravel. The,y are flowing welb, 

but the flow not being sufficient, pumping hy means of air lift is 

resorted to. \Vhen the amount of oil in the water becomes too great 

the pumps are :-;toppeLl, and after standing for ::-~ome ti111e, ~o that the 

wells begin to flow, oil eeases to oL·cnr in the water. \Vhen pumping 

is resumed no oil is noticeable until the water level is lowered considerably through pumping.'' Mr. Hulley says further that the oil is without odor, showing· that it has been purified by passing through sand 

and gravel and that it has evidently gotten into 'the ground from some 

di:-~tant source, as there are no oil wells near by. 

There are thus seen to lJe two chief sources of danger of contamination. Oil and brine may escape between the casing and the shale and, 

rising to the porous or fissured layer~ of limestone, may contaminatl' 

the water therein, or they may sink down through the soil from stag·-

nant pools of refuse at the surface. The danger arising from the 

former source :-;ecms to be very small~ for, considering the height to 

which the oil will naturally rise and the fact that the oil wells arc frefptently not pumped for a day or two, the return of tlw oil from the 

outside of the casing into the well would be aecompankd by an intlow 

of :-;and which ''nmlcl he destructive to the well. This is probably hut 

seldom tlw ('.a:-;e. '\1 herc wells luwc been sand choked it has not as 

yet been definitely proved whether the source of the sand was from 

above or below, the difficulty being that in hoth cases it would be 

derived from limestone. Until this danger ha:-; het'n proved to he 

. actual no regulation by law will or should be attempted. 

Regarding the latter source of danger, from water seeping through 

the soil from abon•, there i:-; pretty conclusive proof. l\1oreovcr, the 

evil efl'ects of the condition are so widespread and the remedy is so 

simple that the disposition of oil refuse should be made a subject of 

legislative enactment. In the country distriets there is little need for 

vigilance beyond :-;ccnring· the quick removal of oilrt-fusc to the nearest 

fo'tream hy mPans of ditches and tlw intelligent selection, ·with reference to the prohahle movenwnt of the undPrground watPr~ of sites for 

oil wells. It is in the thickly sdtlP<l part~ of the State, in villag·p:-3 

and eitic~ where watPr wells are more mtmcrous, and where they can 

not always be properly located, that the need for ~~ reme<ly is most 
BOWl\IAN.l SOUIWES UF CONTAMINATION. 47 

urgent. The oil "\Veils are, us a rule, yielding a lavish return to their 

owners, and there is no reason why these owners should not be compelled within proper limits to join in the construction of sewers which 

will convey oil refuse to the river. 

The streams in this region are all more or less polluted, the water 

having an exceedingly unpleasant odor and rt yellowish-white color. 

This is the color of the brine as it is pumped from the wells and is due 

to the presence of sulphur. From time to time public interest is 

aroueed by the unsightly condition of the streams and there is much 

discussion in regard to the disposition of the water. In Marion the 

lliscm;sion centers about Boots Creek, for it is this creek which runs 

through the eity and is thought to endanger health. At the present 

time there i:-~ under consideration the building of an aqueduct for the 

transportation of thi::-~ water to the Mississinewa. 

Hegarding the healthfulncs:-; of these streams, it is noteworthy that 

before the beginning of the oil and gas industry they ·were :-~o sluggish 

that in the dry season, when they were a mere stu·ce:.;sion of pools, the 

stagnant condition of the water~ aided hy the arldition of sewage and 

foul vegetable matter, resulted frequently in typhoid fever, while at 

tho present time, owing to the steady contributions from oil and gat-~ 

wells, there is active circulation of water throughout the entire year. 

Dr. ,V. A. Fankboner, of Marion, has this to say about the condition of Boots Creek: "Its condition now is more healthful than before 

oil refuse was turned into it. To be :-~ure, to f40lllC people the odor is 

unpleasant, hut the stream i:.; not overgrown with weeds and covered 

with slime, as it formerly was at em·tain times of the year; and the oil 

has made it unpleasant as a breeding place for mosquitoes." He alHo 

says that there is no ground for the charge that more cases of typhoid 

fever have occurred along this creek than along other creeks but 

slig·htly polluted. 

The consideration of all the foregoing possibilities, together with 

the fact that the l'ity of ~larion clqJends for its water supply upon 

roek wells (the :-~urfacl' \Vl'lls not supplying an adequate amount), 

makes the danger seem very gra\'e. 

There arc at lea:-~t 75 oil wells in a few :-~quare miles of territory 

near Thirty-eighth Street Bridge, where clay docs not overlie the 

rock. The amount of oil refuse that finds its way into the limestone 

is enormous, 200 or 30( I surface and roek wells i1: this area, aecordi11g 

to l\lr. "T eigel, suffering contamination, and unless this refuse is 

drained off into the ri\'er and not allowed to sink into the soil the 

gravest fears may he entertained for the l'Ontinuecl purity of the city 

of l\larion':-; water supply. A number of tlwBe wells wert> visited and 

the water examined. Among them were those belonging to Doctor 

~nodgrass and 1\icssrs. Vansky and KeetH'. Tht> location of these 

three wells is indicated on the map by the number ~3 (p. 39). In other 
DISPOSAL OF OIL-WELL WASTES AT MARION, IND. [Nu.ll3. 

place~, where day overlies the rock to some thickness, the present 

danger may not be so great, although ultimately, because of the 

nature of the sonrc·e from which all the water in the upper limestone 

ito~ derived, the water will become contaminated even at these places. 

vVith reference to this point, it has too long been the custom to 

make light of a situation that in a year or so may become very grave. 

Deeppr sourees of good water are unknown in this part of the State. 

The shale beneath the Niagara limestone yield~ practically no water, 

the little it doe:-3 yield being saline, whilP still deeper is the Trenton 

limestone, full of oil and brine. Neither can the water from the 

streams he utilized, the constant inflow of hrinc and oil from adjacent 

oil 1vells rendering· this plan impossible. Here practically the single 

t-~ource of the water t-~upply of 27,000 people ito~ threatened, and yet no 

adcqnate interest i:-:; aroused and no means are taken to prevent the 

danger. 

The plea has heen made that it is a necessary evil. The recent epidemic of typhoid fever at Butler, Pa., was due to j u:-~t as ''necessary'' 

an evil, hut that outbreak not only made the so-caJled necessity appear 

diminutive but made the neglect of such conditions seem criminal. 

It is not inferred that the same disease will follow the contamination 

of water through oil and brine, but it is inferred and emphasized that 

the discomfort and expense attending such contamination and the con1':lequent lack of pure water may result in evils quite as great. 

It is not sufficient to begin a study of remedies after misehief ha~ 

been done. If even the probability of pollution of eity 'vater IS 

proved, prompt means should be taken to prevent such pollution. 
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE. 

By MARSHALL ORA LRIGHTON. 

To carry oil-wt>ll wastes as directly a~ possible into running streamf.\ 

of water in accordance with the plan recommended in the preceding 

pages for the relief of gTomul-water supplies from pollution by oil and 

brine involves the clireet pollution of the streams to an extent even 

greater than they are nmv contaminated in the oil fields. The question immediately presented i~ ~whether it is better from an economic 

standpoint to preseiTe local ground waters at the expense of surface 

watPrs which in flowing downstream affect wide areas, or to conserve 

tllf' interest8 of many riparian owners below and, so far as may be possible, to retain these wastes in the immediate localities from which they 

are derived. It may he argued that any locality in which oil wells are 

developed ha14, by rr.ason of that development, ~ncb extraordinary 

ecomonic advantages that it may wPll afford to suffer for any incidental 

loHf.\ whi('h may arif.\P from waste oil and brine. And is not the 

pecuniary advantage which follows the discovery of oil entirely compensatory for the loss of water resources'? On the other hand, if the. 

polluting matter is turned into the streams it destroys the value of 

water to lower riparian owners, who at common law have a right to 

that water in it~ purest natural state. The result of sueh procedm·e 

would he to rf'lieve the fortunate oil region from an unfavorahle 

feature which it is amply able to bear-in other words, to enahle 

it further to enrich itself at the expense of districts that are unaidNl 

by the pre~ence of oil deposit::-;. Yet with reference to the other side of 

the question, it may be said that if all po.-;sihle precautions were taken to 

hold oil and brine waters within the oil regions there would still he a 

pollution of rivers nearly if not quite as complete as would ari:-;e from 

carrying out the plan suggestPd by Mr. Bowman. There is no donht 

that where oil clepo~it~ are developed stream po11ution is inevitable. 

Tlw rain which falls upon the earth will earry 'vith it oil and brine 

which it encounters on the earth's surface. In addition to this, the 

percolating water will reach the lowest level, and whether this water 

be rain or oil and brine the stream1'4 will still be polluted. 
50 DISPOSAL OF OII~·WELL WASTES AT MARION, IND. (~o.ll3. 

On the other hand, the people living in the oil regions must have 

sweet water for domestic purpose:-;. This is a necessity which transcends all other economic demands. As shown in Mr. Bowman's discussion, the rivers in the 1\Iarion region are already unavailable as 

sources of pure water supply. and the only supply remaining is ground 

water. Therefore, as 've ean not save the stream and can save the 

ground water, there appears to be no question concerning the wisdom 

of accomplishing the latter end. Stream pollution in this case, as in 

certain others, is a part of the price paid for the accumulation of 

natural wealth. It can be l'Onsidered an inevitable loss with equanimity, as it is only a temporary loss. Oil fields in time become exhausted and in due season the rivers will regain their pure condition. 

It would require an incomparably longer time to redeem an oil and 

brine besodden earth. 

All thing:-; considered, the recommendations set forth in the foregoing paper seem to be the wisest and most expedient that present 

themselves at the present time. 
INDEX. 

Page. 

Alum, use of, in chemical precipitation ..... 21,:~;, 

Americ·an Strawboarcl Company, settling 

basin,; of ..... ····----------··-· 11i--17 

vat used hy, for removal of susvPnded 

matter. __ .... __ .. ______________ 17-18 

Barley straw, composition of ___________ ._. 1::? 

Bauxite as source of alum. ______ . ____ .. ___ .· :!1 

BPneclikt, Hans, on downward velocity of 

suspended matter ______ . __ . _ _ _ _ ::?0 

BPVPrPdge. James, composition of 8traws, 

given by ________ . _____ .. ___ . ___ _ 12 

RrinP and oil, pollution of water hy. nrar 

.Marion, Ind ___ .. _ .. _. ___ .. __ .. _ 43-50 

('a rhon dioxide as a precipitant_ .. __ ..... _. :22, ::;;, 

mrthocls of producing __ ... __ .. ____ ... _. :l:!-:l~ 

< 'arhon dioxide and milk of lime as a precipitant of straw board refuse ... __ . 2~, ;;,; 

f'arhon-dioxide distrihutor, figurP showing. 

< 'f'llnlose, chemical formula for_ .. ____ .. __ .. 

24 

11 

in straws, percentages of_ .. _._ .... __ ... 12 

Cl1emical precipitation as means of purifieation of water _______ ._. 20-2:), 27-::l2, :14 

Coagulants uspcl in chrmieal prC'cipitation . 21-23 

Cop]JC'ras, use of, in ehemical1•rreipitation. 22 

nisposal of strawhoar<l waste,'expPriments 

on .............................. 18-35 

of strawboard waste, methods of.. __ .. 15-18 

Distributors, figures showing .... ___ ....... 24 

Drying, process of, in making strawboard .. H-1fi 

Esp:uto grass, use of, in making straw board 11 

ExpPrinwnt station at Earlham College for 

treating straw hoard waste ..... 24-25 

ExperimPnts in treatment of strawboard 

wastP. __ ...... __ . _ .... ___ .... __ . 2!l-29 

Filter l>eds, plate showing................. 1r. 

FiltPring as means of clisposal of straw hoard 

waste .. ____ .... _ ..... _ ... _ . . . . . . 16-11 

Filtration as means of purification of water. Hl-20, 

34 

Fireproofing wood or straw, process of. .. _. 34 

Fish, destruction of, by strawboard waste. 16 

<1Pologic features of region about Marion, 

Ind. _ ... _____ ... _ ... ___ . _____ ... 3i--43 

Great Britain, legislation by, against pollution of rivers_ .. _. ________ . _. _.. 10 

Hudson River limestone near Marion, Ind., 

character of. ... _ .... _____ . ____ . 42 

Illinois, strawboarcl statistics (1900) for... 11 

Indiana, straw board statistics (1900) for .. _ 11 

Leighton, M. 0., note by, on disposal of oilwell wastes. _____ .. ___ ... _ .. _ ... 49-.50 

Linw, inf'tfectiveness of, as chemie:tl precipi- t:wt. ... _ .. _____ . _____ . ___ . _____ 22,:{,j 

l'ng-P. 

Marion, lnrl., geologic features of region 

a!Jout. __ . _. _____ . ______________ :~i'-4:l 

pollution of wat.Pr at, h~- oil aJHll>rillP .. 4:~-r.o 

sketch map of.. _______ .. ___________ ... _ :l\l 

topography and clra.inagP of rPgion 

about. ........ ___________ ... ____ :w,..:~7 

Massachusptts, legislation ]Jy, against pollution of streams .. ______ .______ 10 

.\filk of lime and carbon dioxide as a preriJ•itant of Rtra,vboard refuse ______ 2::l, :l;, 

Milk-of-lim~~ distributor, figure showing.___ 2t 

Mine drainage, allowance of, by Pennsylvania courts ______________ .. ____ 111 

.Mississinewa Hiver, Indiana, rotuse and 

character of .. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ;;r.-:;-;-

Mixing apparatus for treating 1'1tmwboar1l waste ... _. _________________ . ____ ::1-:tl 

Moisture in straws, clitferenees of __ .. __ . ___ 12-1:1 

1\Hiller,---, composition of straws given hy. 11-1::? 

Newell, F. H., letter of transmittal by_._._ 

Niagara limestone nPar Marion, Ind. __ ... _ 41-12 

Oat straw, composition of_ ... ___ . ____ ... __ 12 

Ohic•, strawbmtrd statistics (lfl<KI) fnr. _.... 11 

Oil ancl brine, pollution of wa t.Pr hy, ncar Marion, Ind .. __________________ ·l::l-.'iO 

Oil wrlls near Marion, Incl .. boring and 

shooting of._ . ___________ .. _ _ _ _ _ -t:l 

Paste.board. 8c< f:trawboard. 

Pleistocene depcsits near Marion, Ind ... ___ :ll--ltl 

Polluted water, methods of purifieation of_ 1\1 :!:: 

Pollution of streams hy sewage, remn.rks 011 

of streams hy trade waste .. __ . ___ .... _ 11111 

legiRiation against, by Great Britain 111 

by MassaclmRP.tts _ . ___ .. ___ . _ _ _ 111 

sourees and effcets of __ . ___ . __ . ___ .. \I 11 

of water by hrinP, near Marion, In1l. ___ -l:l ;,11 

by oil ncar Marion, Ind _ .. ___ .. _ _ _ _ _ l:i-;"•11 

Precipitation, chemical, as means of purification of water ________ 20-2~,~7-:l::?,:l-1 

Pulp washers, plate showing ......... _ ... _ 12 

Purification of polluted water, mPthods of.. Hl-2:i 

Residue contained in strawboard-waste 

liquor. __ . ___ .. ___ .. __ .. ___ . _ _ _ _ 2:1 

Rock formations, hard, near Marion, Ind ... 41-4::l 

Rotaries, action in, nature of ..... ______ .___ 1:~ 

steaming in, process of.. ___ .. ___ .. _ .... 1.'3-14 

Rotaries and stock piles, plate showing..... 12 

Rye straw, composition of................. 12 

Sections of wells at Marion, Ind .. __ ...... 38-40, 12 

Sedimentation as means of purifieation of water _______________________ . ___ 1\1,::-1 

8Pttling an<l filtering a>1 means of 1lisposa l of 

strawhoard waste .............. lli-17 

51 
G2 INDRX. 

Page. 

Settling basins, plate and figure showing .. l-t. HI, 17 

8ewage pollution, course of events leading to U 

:·iludge, strawboard, treatment of .......... 33-34 

Steaming in rotaries, process of. ............ 13-H 

Btock piles and rotaries, plate showing .... _ 12 

Strawboard, manufacture of, description of. 11-15 

manufacture of, in United States, statistics of ..................... _ _ 11 

Straw board mill, capacity of the aYe ragA . . . 1 ± 

Straw board rotaries, plate showing........ 1:.l 

Strawboard settling basin, plan nf, fignn• 

showing ......... _ ...... _. _. _. 17 

Strnwboard waste, analysiR of treated and 

untreated ......... __ . _ 1:", :39 

eomposition of, before and after passing 

from washers to Ynt.... 18 

disposal of. experiments 011......... J.<; :l;'i 

experiment station at J•:arlham ( 'nllngP 

for treating ... _ _ _ :n-25 

experiments in treating. 2!i-2!J 

methods of disposal of . _ .... _ 1!i-J :-: 

mixing apparatus for trPa ting. _ :n-:::3 

removal of, by vat...... 17-18 

Strnwhr,ard-waste liquor, rPsiduP c·ontained 

in .. _._ _ ____ ......... . . 2:1 

Straws, commercial rating of ........ _.... 12 

PagE.. 

StrawR, composition of ................. _ .. 11-1:: 

moisture in, differences of ...... _ ...... __ 12-13 

Sulphate of iron, use of, in chemical precipitation ....................... 21-22,35 

Tank, receiving, with discharge pipes, plate 

sho\Ving... ......... ........ ... . 44 

Till, permeability of, to water.............. 40 

Trade waste, pollution of streams hy ....... 10-11 

Trenton limestone near Marion, Ind., character of. ...................... _ . 42--t:l 

near Marion, Ind., nil in ............. _._ 4:1 

Utica shale near Marion, Ind., character of.. 42 

\Vashing, process of, in ma.king strawboard. 14 

waste resulting from. volume of. . . . . . . . 14 

Waste re.sulting from washing, volume of... l4 

\Vaste, industrial. classes and sources of.... 10 

·waste, strawhoard. See Strawboardwa~<te. 

"'aste, trade, pollution of streams by ... _ ... 10-11 

\Vater, pollution of, lJy oil and brine near 

.Marion, lnd ........ _ ........... 4~h'ifl 

\Vater, ground, near Marion, Ind., ~ource of 41-42 

Water, uollui<:'rl, m<:'tlwds of purif1eation of. 1!1-::?3 

\Vater snppliP~. pure, importance of, to 

mtmieipalitieH ..... _ ........... . 

Wells, section>l of. at :Ma rinn, lnrl. ____ ... :3~--to. 12 

\Vhent straw, compo,;itinn of ....... _...... 1::' 

0 
LIBRARY CATALOGUE SLIPS. 

[l\Iount ea('h slip upon a St'l'arak card, r,lal'ing tlw :"nhjPd at the top of the 

seeoncl slip. The name of tht• seriPs !"honl<l nut he repeated on the series 

card, hut the additional Immben: should be added, as received, to the 

first en try. ] 

Sackett, Robert Lemuel. 

... The disposal of strawboard ~ntcl oil-well wastes, 

by Robert Lenn1el Sackett and Isaiah Bo\vtnan. vVashington, Gov't print. off., rgos. 

;)~ p., 1 l. illns., lY pl. ~3w'. ( U. ~. Geologieal :::;nrvey. Watersupply and irrigation paper nu. 11:).) 

~nbject sc·riPs: L, t[uality of water, :-1. 

I. \Vater, Pollution of. ~. :-;trawboard wat:~tL·. :::>. Oil-well war.;te, Bowman, Isaiah. 

Sackett, Robert Lemuel. 

... The disposal of strawboard and oil-well wastes, 

by Robert Letnuel Sackett and Isaiah Bowntan. vVashington, Gov't print. off., 1905 . 

• '1~ p., I I. illns., IY Jll. ~;;em. (C. ~. (_Teulogical survey. \Yater-

:o:npply alHl irrigation paper no. 113.) 

~uhjt•d series: L, Quality of water, K. 

1. Water, Pollution of. :2. ~trawboard waste. :1. < )il-\vell wastL·, Bowman, Isaiah. 

U.S. Geological survey. 

vVater-supply and irrigation papers. 

no. 113. Sackett, R. L. The disposal of strawboard 

and oil-\vell wastes, by R. L. Sackett and I. 

Bowtnan. rgos. 

U. S. Dept. of the Interior. 

see also 

U. S. Geological survey.