Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
REFRIGERINE FAILS.
A Practical Test of Commissioner
Raum's Salt and the Result.
NAVY DEPARTMENT CANNOT USE IT
The Committee Finds q Good Many OBJ
jections to the Scheme.
USELESS FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES.

missioner Raum has failed in his endeavors
to have his refrigerator scheme adopted by
the Navy Department for the new cruisers
A committee was appointed to investigate
the claims made for the s'Refrigerine." 1t
consisted of Captain Montgomery Sicard,
Medical Inspector H. M. Wells, Chief En-
gineer David Smith and Paymaster j. @.
Barton.
The report states that the board met at the
office of the company in this city, where the
appliances were set up for exhibition. Raum
claimed that the wonderful refrigerine salt,
when mixed with IN times its weight of
water, would form the refrigerating brine
which would do the work. and could be re-
covered by evaporation over and over again
without material loss of quantity or efficacy.
The report minutely describes the ap-
pliances, and says that after Raum's form
ula had been worked thin layer of ice was
formed on the surface of the molds, and
that the formation soon ceased. 'Ten
pounds more of the salt were asked for"
/ says the report, ''and after long delay OBJ
tained." This gave an opportunity to ana
lyze the stuff the result being stated in the
following language:
"An analysis of the 'refrigerine salt
shows that it is composed Of nitrate of am
Inonia, 97.67; water, 1.33; insoluble matter
(oXide of iron, etc. .73; sulphate of mag
nesium and sodium, .27; chloride of ammo
mia, trace; total, 100 per cent. The nitrate
of ammonia is the active agent, and the re-
naming constituents have little or no re-
frigerating effect"
SEVERAL EXPERIMENTS WERE MADE.
All sorts Of experiments with the salt
were tried. The tests were conducted with
great care and exactness. In the first series
of tests the lowest temperature of the brine
was found to be 31.2o, and in the second
series 81. 10; the lowest mean temperature
40 and 1880, respectively. The differ
ence between mean and lowest temperature
in the first instance is $50, and in the Sec
ond $3.50.
'The results, continues the report, 'show
that the water added to the brine in the
first test was lowered in temperature 0.6o.
In the second 200 the mean being 20. 800,
or equivalent to 50.8 thermal units per
pound of the salt, This refrigerating effect
could. not be realized in practice, as the
water dissolves some of the surplus salt in
the brine and lowers the temperature in the
first test 5000 and in the second 3A5o, OF
a mean OF 20. Sc per cent, as computed from
the specific heats of the constituents
"Again, the loss due to transmission of
heat through plates or pipes was avoided by
bringing the particles in intimate contact
by mixing, and the time of absorption of
heat from external causes was reduced to
minimum. Had no dissolution of the surplus
salt taken place and no loss of refrigerating
effect from transmission or absorption of
heat occurred, the mixture of five pounds of
water at the temperature given with the
original brine would have raised the tenn
perature of the final mixture in the first test
col s,,I IL 80
computed from the specific heats of the con-
stituents.
WHAT THE REPORT SHOWS
These results show conclusively that after
cooling down the salt and water necessary
to form the brine for the second stage of the
work, and allowing for unavoidable losses,
no greater refrigerating effect can be OBJ
tained from the brine than has already
been found from the tests. When
water was added to the brine the mean of |
two trials gave a total refrigerating effect of |
sos thermal units It was found that |
90 Sc per cent of the effect was due to |
the dissolution of the surplus salt in the |
brine, which could not be utilized without |
greatly increasing the cost of evaporation of |
the water from the brine. Deducting this |
from the above amount leaves 402 thermal |
units as the refrigerating effect of salt dis !
solved In the brine. But there are un-
avoidable losses due to the transmission and |
absorption Of heat, the amount depending
upon the difference of temperatures, thick |
ness of the metal, character and thickness !
of protecting covering, etc., that must be |
allowed for, and it is believed that % per |
cent is a low estimate for these losses, when |
it is remembered that nearly all ice machines |
lose one-half or more of their efficiency in |
tropical climates"
The report concludes as follows:
First-That there is nothing now in the |
use OF refrigerating mixtures for producing |
cold, and that nitrate of ammonia has been |
used for the purpose for over so years, but |
has never heretofore been able to success |
fully compete with other methods of refrig-
Grafton.
Second-That the system is cumbersome |
and not adapted to icemaking.
"Third-That the space occupied by the |
material alone precludes its use for refriger-
ating purposes on board ofnaval vessels
"Fourth-That its cost for refrigerating
purposes on board of naval vessels would be |
nearly double that Of the devices now in
use.
1.-THE board, therefore, does not recon-
mend that it be adopted for use in the naval
service"