The Washington times., 1894-08-12
SANITATION AS A FINE ART
Practiced More Generally in Europe
Than in America.
PURlFIcATION BY ELECTRICITY
Results Of Experiments at Havre-Danger Of
Using Unpurifed Sewage for Fertilization
How Electricity Has Simplihed the
Great Question Of Treating Garbage.

How to clean streets cheaply and filciently,
how to purify the supply Of water, and how
to dispose of sewage salubriously is the triply
difficult problem which sanitary science has
not yet unriddled to the satisfaction of largo
communities. During the past five years sew
eral experiments have been made with elec-
tricity, but up to last summer it was not
demonstrated that electricity could render
any great or valuable service to sanitation.
1t was then shown, in test conducted before
the New York board Of public works that salt
water through which electricity had been
passed could make polluted water or sewage
odorless and sterile.
More recently at Havre and L'Orient, In
France, similar experiments were accompa-
MED by similar successes. Speaking OF those
experiments before a society Of engineers,
Professor Drown, Of the Massachusetts Insti-
tute Of Technology, declared that such meth
DDS Of disinfecting could not, in the strict
sense, be called electrical. The action Of cleo
tricity upon the properties contained in sea
water merely prepares hypochlortte Of soda,
and hypochlorite of soda has long been
known as a disinfectant. His conclusion,
therefore, is that the systems tried in New
York and Havre should not be termed cleo
trical. They are nothing more than hypo-
chloritical, for the agent which produces the
effect can be as well prepared without the
aid OF electricity, and, however prepared, Is
just as capable But whether electricity is the
direct or only the indirect agent the fact re-
mains, and is of interest and importance,
that by the use of electricity and sea water
results that appear to be most beneficial have
been certainly achieved.
HOW SEA WATER Is TREATED.
Sea water Of itself is very powerful SOL
vent and antiseptic. Before any shell, large
or small. reaches the bottom of tho great
abysms it is chemically eaten up, literally dis
solved; and when, according to recent dis
coveries sea water Is subjected to the infiu-
ence OF an electric current. change is
brought about which makes the electrolyzed
sea water fatal to all forms OF bacteria with
which 1t comes in contact both the species
that require oxygen for their existence and
those that do not.
In chemical terms the decomposition Of a
solution of salt by electricity causes the liber-
alton OF sodium at one pole and of chlorine at
the other. As the sodium is Immediately
oxidized, and combines with the water pres
ent. solution Of caustic soda is formed. If
the chlorine gas liberated at the opposite pole
be not conducted away, but allowed to re-
combine with the caustic soda, several COM
pounds are produced, but the principal one
ordinarily is sodium bypochlorite. When the
electricity has prepared sufficiently con-
centrated solution of sodium hypochlorite
this solution is mixed with the water or sew
age to be purified.
1t is reported by N. Rigaut. in La Lumiere
Electrique. n Partisan technical journal,
edited by NJ. Herr, that at Havre it was de-
monstrated that sewage treated with this pre-
paration may not only be permitted 10 fall di-
rectly into river without the slightest danger
of contamination. but thatit will even pro-
mote the purity of the stream through the
disinfecting power it still possesses. And
still the sewage is not used as a fertilizer,
which is a recommendation of the system to
persons who fancy that the sewage of great
towns can be turned to good account"
EPIDEMIC FROM SEWERAGE.
Unless previously disinfected the output of
a sewer cannot be spread upon the land with
out menacing the public health. Epidemics
of cholera have been caused by sewage so dis
tributed without having been deprived of its
bacteria. In England. N. Ri9aut says. they
have so well comprehended the inadvisability
of spreading out the sewage as it comes that
to-day a number Of cities do not practice it
until preliminary disinfection. Processes OF
disinfection are numerous, but the electrical
processes, which electrolyze the chlorides,
and above all that one in which sea water is
employed, seems very practical"
VI. Eigaut's article, as it is written, will
describe the experiments at Havre better
than words of ours, and will, in addition.
convey feeling Of verify which a rehash
would not do. Here is n translation:
At Havre NJ. Hermin has undertaken the
purifying of the st. Francis Quarter Gn-
habited by some II. 900 people of the poorest
classes. and very hotbed of disease. and the
disinfection OF the toilet rooms of the city
hall. For this last machine of three horse
power works n dynamo coupled to the
electrolyseur containing the sea water. This
sea water, transformed into chloretted So
luton, was driven back into an upper reser-
voir. from which it distributes itself in the
ordinary manner through lead pipes to the
cabinets.
1t was so arranged that after passing ont of
the cabinet matter and liquids flowed into
trench in the open air. All who visited this
exposition have authenticated the perfect de-
odorzation of the sewage
As nobody doubts the germicidal powers of
electrolyzed sea water ii is not needful to
quote NJ. Rigaut's observations. strengthened
by other authorities. further than to say that
what he called the Liquid electrolique" ab-
solutely and completely destroyed all bacilli,
and it was so affirmed by NJ. lie DR.. Chaute-
messe, one of the most eminent of bacteriolo-
cations"
EFFECTS OF THE SYSTEM.
There was then established In Havre, on
the quay Lombardie, near Angonleme bridge,
a central station for the proper electrolvzing
of sea water. Pipes in connection with it |
were laid through all the streets of the dirty
quarter of st. Francis. The plant consists Of
two "Weyher and Richmond" steam engines |
of twenty-five horse power, loaned by the |
Of bridges and embankments. |
Forward of these engines are two groups Of |
apparatus for the production of the solution |
required. Each group comprises dynamo |
of 1000 to 1000 amperes. with to volts.
At the top of each Of these six-story build |
ings was placed tank, from which pipes |
carried the solution down to flush the closets |
and sinks on the various floors. In the case of |
one ofthe houses. the now odorless refuse water
was conducted through pipes to the street
gutter, down which it ran some distance be-
fore it ultimately fell into the sewer. This
was by way of showing TO the public con-
stantly visible and olfactory roof of vessel
to hold the water, and a rotative pump. with
pipes for supply and outlet. About 600 litres
of salt r,,iDuta raunirad