Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1886-11-10
The Alpena Paper Pulp Works.

The paper pulps works of Fletcher,
Pack & Co., on Fletcher street, COM
menced operations this week. and we
believe il will be of interest to our
patrons to give short account of
how pine refuse is made into first class
paper pulp.
The first thing necessary is to make
the acid to convert the wood into
pulp. For this purpose a sulphur
furnace house was erected, in size
24x16 feet. Sulphur, which comes
from Italy, is placed in the furnace
and heated to high temperature. A
certain quantity of air is admitted to
the sulphur while it is being heated.
The heat causes the sulphur to form
gas. This gas, mixed with right
proportion of air, escapes up iron
pipes, into the tower frame close by,
to a height of about so feet. 1t then
descends to the bottom of the towers,
which it enters. The gas is sent up
and down the pipes for the purpose
of cooling it.
The towers are of wood, like long
barrel, and are 10 feet in height and
five feet in diameter. There are
three of these towers, and fourth
one can be placed inside the tower
frame if it is needed. The top of the
tower frame can readily be reached
by means of stairways, and from the
summit there is a fine birds eye view
Of Alpena city. The three towers
arc filled with soft limestone which is
brought from near Sandusky. Water
is sprayed OH to the stone from the
top of the tower and the sulphur gas
enters at the bottom. The water as
it drips down between the stones,
becomes somewhat saturated with
lime, and this limewater mixing with
the sulphur gas, forms the required
acid. 1t is called bisulphite of lime.
The acid then runs down pipe from
the towers to wooden tub 1878 feet.
1t then goes into an iron boiler, from
which, by aid of an air pump it is
forced up into vats near the top Of
the boiler pulp house. There are
three of these watts, each 24x12 feet.
Two are for holding the acid and one
for water. Pipes extend from the
vats to the pulp boilers.
Having followed the acid to where
it is in readiness to be flowed into the
pulp boiler, we will now 60 to the
saw house. This building is 40x30
feet. In the lower story are the
shafts, pulleys and betting, and in the
upper are the saws and bankers. The
slabs are first cut into pieces two
feet in length. The pieces are then
taken to the barker and all the bark
removed. The barker is circular
wheel in which are fitted several
plane knives, and makes 500 revolu-
tions per minute. The barked slabs
then 60 to another saw and are cut
across the grain into pieces II inches
in thickness. They then slide down
q shute to the outside of the saw
house, and are conveyed by machin-
cry into the upper story of the pulp
house.
The pulp house is 90x90 feet and
two stories in height. At present
there are two boilers, although there
is room for two more. To make n
solid foundation for the pulp boilers,
there were first driven many spiles
several feet into the sand, on which
was built .stonework. On the stone
was erected a prick wall about four
feet thick and six or seven feet high.
There are several Of these walls par
allel to each other and distant from
each other about the width of the
pulp boiler. On the top of the walls
are laid massive iron beams, from one
wall to the other, and on the iron
beams rest the pulp boilers.
The pulp boilers are of iron and
are each 13x40 feet. They arc made
from plates one inch thick, and each
boiler, when empty, weighs SO tons,
When full they each weigh $50 tons.
The acid soon destroys iron, there
fore it is necessary TO protect them.
The inside Of each boiler is first coy.
cred with sheet lead and then two
layers of bricks, completely covering
the inside. In each boiler is laid
some 5000 feet of lead pipe. The
bricks are acid proof and were i'm
ported from Germany. The $4,000
bricks cost $4,000, including duty.
The pulp boilers are now filed with
the. pieces of wood, and then the con-
tents are steamed for six or seven
hours. The steam is then let out
and bisulphite of lime is run into the
boiler from the acid vats, The pulp
boilers are now as full of the steam
ed wood and acid as they can hold
Steam Is now let into the lead pipes
that are inside the boiler. The steam
this time does not touch the wood OF