The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-04-13
OF NATURES GAS.
AND HOW THEY ARE DEVELOPING A
NEW INDUSTRY.
Manufacture of Observation-Disclosures
Process Of Producing and Collecting the
Soot--Iight md Fuel from the Pipes.

A P%ittsburg penn. letter to the New
York HerdH says: The natural gus
wells in Western PENNSYLVANIA are de-
veloping an industry which will some
day be of vast Importance to this
try. 1t is the manufacture of lamp
black. To n large number of people
the existence of this industry in the
United States is comparatively un-
known. The fact that hundreds of
thousands of dollars in profits are re-
allied annually in Pennsylvania by
simply gathering the SCOT which is con-
densed from the flames and smoke at
these wells is something that very few
persons have ever thought about. For
years past the business has been rather
obscure, but of late it has BEEN grow
ing in size and Importance, and no lit
tie public attention has been attracted
by it. New gas wells are beng bought
or leased in this region by Eastern
capitalists for the purpose of extend
ing the industry and utilizing the gas,
which otherwise would only go to
waste. The quality of carbon black
that is made from natural gas has been
found to be so much superior to that
manufactured by other methods that
it Is in demand everywhere, and il is Il
significant fact that nearly the entire
product in this State goes direct to
Germany and other foreign countries.
This finer grade of the article is q pig
ment Of great value in the arts and is
expensive, bringing the highest prices.
The process 10y which lampblack is
made would at first thought appear
very simple to the casual reader, but
its details are novel and interesting.
A carbon-black factory at the side of a
roaring gas well is wonderful place.
There is one at Saxon station in But
Ter county, about thirty-eight miles
from P~ittsburg, which is the most ex-
tensive in this country. The modus
Operandi of the manufacture of lamp
black, in brief, is the burning of gas
against sheetiron plates. In this
factory at Saxon 10000 gas Jets are
burning day and night. The building
is about 175 feet square. From the
gas well, a few yards distant, Il four
inch pipe extends to the factory. At
the main entrance it branches off in
two directions, and from these two
distributing mains eight long pipes.
running the entire length of the build
ing, draw their supply. Along
each of these pipes are small Jets,
thin and very close together.
AS stated above, they number fully
twenty thousand. Over each bench"
on which the long pipe rests are con-
tinuous plates of sheet iron, and it is
against these that the tiny flames from
the myriad of Jets burn. The windows
and doors are always kept tightly
closed with close-itting shutters, so as
to prevent the admission of too much
air. The temperature of the interior
must be sufficiently regulated to avoid
perfect combustion, and thus save the
carbon. Little by little the lampblack
forms on the sheet iron until a small
mass not larger than Il cherry, per-
haps, hangs over each jet. At regular
intervals of twenty minutes a small
iron carriage" or a sort of scraper is
run along each of the rows of iron, and
the matter thus collected is emptied
into a receptacle in another depart
ment. Frequently water is run over
the top of the iron to keep it cool. The
heat of the place is intense and cannot
be endured long.
When this finely divided carbon is
removed from the sheet iron it is ready
for packing. This is the most diff
cult part of the work. Being such an
extremely light substance it would re-
quire but a very small quantity to fill a
barrel if it were thrown in loosely.
Ingenious machinery has been invent
ed, however, to obviate this difficulty
in a measure. AS it is dropped in by
the painful heavy rollers and stampers,
run by a steam engine, press it down
as tight as possible, but notwithstand-
ing all this labor only fifty pounds of
lampblack can be put in an ordinary
sized barrel. The capacity of the fac
tory at Saxon is $50 pounds per day,
or only five barrels. 1t is stated that
all the lampblack manufactured there
goes direct to Germany. There it is
used for various purposes. 1t forms
the principal part of coloring matter
for paints. Printing inks and mark
ing inks are also made from it, and it
is becoming a desirable article for the
polish and preparation of shoe leather.
ihO S0o NNli ~ ChAOl SlillOll ID III
itself a wonderful curiosity. 1t has
now been burning for nearly twelve
years. Originally the well was sunk
in search of oil, but a gas vein was
encountered instead. 1t is 1850 feet
deep and the casing is six inches in
diameter, and, accordingly, that is the
thickness of the volume of gas which
comes Kissing out of the interior of
the earth. The well docs not supply
the lampblack factory alone, but fur
nishes light and heat for half of the
little village. In a number of dwell
ingS wood and coal are unknown, and
they have not been under the neces-
sity of building a fire for years. Pipes
from the gas well II into their
houses. The same pipe that supplies
the chandelier overhead passes
down under the open CRATE, and
from it four jets enter between
the bars. These are constantly burn