Smyrna times., 1894-05-23
How Artificial Ice is Made.

telllgent persons, however, who imagine
the process to be complicated, and the
product thereby by to be very limited.
The facts are the reverse, and instead
of extensive production being in any
way impracticable, the manufacture of
artificial ice is already an important in
dustry in the cities. Enlargement of
the facilities for its production is so easy
Of accomplishment, and the demand
for the artificial article so steadily in
creasing, that experts who are engaged
in its manufacture confidently predict
that in very few years its use will
supersede that of Datural ice, except
for the commonest refrigerating pur-
poses.
In the manufacture of artificial ice
the first step is to procure an ample
supply of cold, filtered Croton water.
This is then heated to a temperature of
$40 degrees, Fahrenheit, which alb
sOlUtely destroys every trace Of bac-
terial life Boilers are used for this
purpose, and from them steam Is con
veyed in pipes to immense steam fl
ters, thence to condensers, where il is
condensed back into water, and then
reboiled, cooled and passed through
three large deodoriZers, each Is feet
high and feet in diameter. With the
can freezing machines in ordinary use
absolutely pure water with the air ex-
PEELED by boiling is required to get
satisfactory results. Some kinds of
plate freezers can use ordinary water
The water, having been made per-
fectly pure, then flows by its own
gravitation through large pipes TO the
freezing g-rOOms, where it is placed in
well-cleansed galyanized-ir cans, each
containing five and One-third cubic feet
of water. The cans are then lowered
into the freezing tanks, which have
been filled with very strong brine COM
posed Of water and rock salt, none of
which is permitted to come in contact
with the water in the cans, which is
carefully protected against the slight
est pollution from start to finish. Coils
of pinch iron pipe, filled with ammonia
run through the brine in every direc-
ton. The ammonia from COMPRISING
reservoirs expands as it is allowed to
| flow into the pipes, and, absorbing the
| heat from the brine, reducing its tenn
perature to Is degrees, Fahrenheit.
A separate trap-door in the floor of
i the freezing-room is needed for each
| can, and through. these the cans are
! lowered into and hoisted from the brine
! by means of sliding beams extending
across the room, and supplied with
numerous tackles, which enable work
men to handle the cans quickly and
easily.
The cans are kept in the brine for
sixty hours, the time required for freeZ-
ing. They are fat-sided, open at the
top. and filed to within few inches
of their brims. Contact of the brine
with the outer sides aud bottom of the
cans causes the water in freezing tC
expand upward about three inches and
the cans, being open at the top and
not quite filled, are thus prevented
from bursting.
The ice thus produced is literally a;
clear as crystal, except that, running
through the centre of each cake from
end to end, is white core about a;
thick as piece of newspaper, looking
at it from one side, and about fou
inches wide, viewing it from anothe
direction. This core is caused by tn,
fact that there is always a little air il
the water, which in the process o
freezing, is forced to the centre. Tn
core has a snowy appearance, but al
other parts of the ice are so Transparent
that, in a good light, a newspape
placed against one side of cake Of tn
ice can easily be read by person wit
average eyesight standing on the othe
side.
When the freezing cans are hOiste
| from the tanks after their sixtV -hOu
bath in brine and ammonia the ice
allowed to melt a trifle, so that the
will slip out of the cans when inverted
The cans are then slid along ,suspende
by tackles, to doors leading 10 stOI
age-rOOm, and by an ingenious cor
trivance, inverted so that the ice fal
into chute, which conveys it to tn
storage-roOms through a series of siu
ply devised cold.air automatic locks {
traps, which prevent the escape of til
cold air from the rooms, where free
ing temperature is constantly mail
tanned by means of larger iron pip'
filled with ammonia and thickly il
crusted with a snOw-like ice forme
from the atmosphere.
Each cake of ice when put into Il
storage-rOOms is 11x22x40 inches
dimension, and weighs 80 pounds.
the storage.rooms the handsome al
uniform cakes are neatly piled up, al
everything about the place is Ike
scrupulously clean. A visit to t
storage-rOoms makes one feel as thOul
he were in some mysterious grOtto
Greenland's icy mountains, inhabit
by genii who drive reindeers, but
q doesn't care to stay very long in tryi
> to solve the mystery, lest he, tC
should be turned to ice and be sent o
in a wagon to refrigerate sherry &C
blers or even plain drinking water.
Artificial ice is 6 degrees colder tn;
natural ice, the temperature of the tC
mer being 26 degrees and the latter
degrees. On account of its great
density, artificial ice requires lit
- more time to produce refrigeration tn
natural ice, which is more porous "A
melts more rapidly, aut in the end
artificial ice gives colder and more p
manent refrigeration.
- The natural-ice crop of the Unit
States is about $4,000, 900 tons, of VIII
about 9,00O,CJ0 tons melt away and
wasted in handling, leaving only alb,
100000 tons for actual consumpti
AL VI NuO utANuA al ANNf IL - oolh9 10 ht
for cooling water for drinking p
poses, as it is always more or less c,
taminated by the contents of sewC
while it is also made filthy by
horses used in gathering it, and the
men who cut it expectorating toba
juice upon it.
The product of artificial ice is
possible to determine, but it is la
and swiftly increasing, as new pla
are being started in almost every {
in the country. Artificial ice, on
count of its absolute purity, can saf
. be used to cool water or to be placed
direct contact with any food substa
which is desired to be cooled.
price of artificial ice and the best
tural Ice is the same, but cold-stor
warehousemen, butchers and otf
who can use inferior ice are supplied
the natural icemen at lower rates b
artificial ice, which is always good,
be sold to them. There is no dc
that artificial ice will reign suprem,
- a short time for the use of hot
,c hospitals, families aud all consun
'S, who must have pure and wholes'
refrigerant.
Nm The public debt increased ten
NE lion dollars last month. This is n
/. particularly good showing,