The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1894-12-22

room Tor storing bags. From the
two pulverizing machines down.
stairs the guano is carried by an
endless chain of buckets to ano-
Their disintegrator or sitter up
stairs. This machine consists
chiefly of a revolving chamber with
sieve walls set parallel to the
shaft, into which the ground ma
terial is precipated. Through No.
80 meshes, containing $500 holes
to the square inch, the material is
sifted and comes out in powder as
fine as dust. 1t is carried to con-
tainer ct heavy timber walls,
where it receives its quota of sui
phuric acid from the acid works.
DIR. Averdam removed panel
from the sitting machine, when
the air was instantly filed with
the dust. He said it was not in
furious to the lungs From the
mixer the result is conveyed to
the large chamber below already
mentioned.
On the way across the lot to the
acid works the tall chimney, that
makes a conspicuous new land
mark for many miles around, is
passed. 1t is q circular pyramid
1O4 feet high, built of hard brick
from design from G. b. Ripley,
architect. A divergence to the
right leads into the drying room.
where on an iron platform crude
material that has been damaged
by wet is dried. At one end of
this room is the boiler room, and
at the opposite side the engine
room. There is fue boiler 25
feet in length with double furnace
underneath. The engine is a
horizontal one of SO horse power,
with fy-wheel about 10 feet in
diameter. II il fitted with the
latest improvement in governors,
OF which description would only
be Ineligible to a machinist.
Boiler and engine were made in
Bremen, Germany, from whence the
greater part Of the plant came. A
minor portion of the apparatus is
of English and French invention.
The acid factory forms a distinct
branch Of the works, accounts
being kept on the books between
il and the superphosphate factory.
On entering q large building de-
voted to this branch, the visitor IL
introduced to six sulphur ovens.
These are charged with sulphur,
which being ignited mingles its
fumes with those of saltpetre.
The snltpetre is inserted in the
ovens in metal containers by
means Of swinging brackets.
Steam is introduced at a later
stage from the boiler room across
the lot through pipes. The three
elements unite in forming sui
phuric acid. The ovens are
charged alternately at intervals Of
one hour. The worthless resi-
dunn il raked out from beneath.
From the ovens the mingled fumes
ascend into two immense lead
chambers, having n combined
length of $50 feet, depth Of 20
feet and width of 81 feet. Here
they commingle and become sui
phuric acid in a crude form.
Gauges are set in the sides of the
chambers to show the depth Of the
acid and its strength. At the end
OF the process, not yet fully des-
cribed, DIR. Averdam showed the
reporter a sample Of the first sui
phuric acid ever manufactured in
the Hawaiian Islands. There are
escape valves for superhucus sui
phur fumes. BY ladder the tops
OF the lead chambers are reached.
Here is the system of pipes intro
ducing the steam, which enters ut
a safely low pressure. The three
ingredients of nitric acid, aqueous
vapor Tor steam) and sulphur
fumes form crude nitric acid.
This is led through two filtration
towers one an English invention
called the Glover, the other a
French one called the Gay Lussac.
There is a device for retaining
valuable fumes which would
otherwise escape through the
smokestack.
| At the downward end of the
attic window reveals a magni-
ficent view of Honolulu and adj
jacent mountains, including Dia-
mond Head, with refreshing
sight of apparently unbroken
green forest between.
A revolving distributor like a
lawn sprinkler sheds the acid into
the tops of the towers. The
supply from receiving tanks con-
nected with the lead chambers il
regulated by automatic valves,
Cold water introduced in coils il
used to cool the acid, and the
escape pipes are hotter than the
hand can bear. Air pumps are
used to force the acid through it,
different stages and into the super
phosphate factory. If the acid
were pumped directly it would
quickly eat away the interior OF