The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-02

many products not essentially chemi
cal, such, for instance, as sugar, mo
lasses, beer, starch. beet-root juice, il
now accomplished electrically. Cottol
is picked and bleached, leather i:
tanned, white lead is made, meat i:
preserved, ozone is generated, acetylint
gas is produced, safes are broken, cal
wheels are tested, graphite is formed
and diamonds are manufactured by
either the direct or indirect action Of
the current. Gold. silver, iron, zinc
lead, copper. tin, aluminium, nickel, bis
muth, anthony, are either mined, re-
fined. separated from their ores, and in
some cases actually produced by the
magical properties of electricity Power
is transmitted, farms are worked, boats
are propelled, oil wells are made to in
crease their flow. the stage is made
more spectacular, water courses are dis
infected and hitherto impenetrable sub
stances are rendered transparent, all by
means of recent electrical development.
The list is not carried beyond the
achievements Of a year or two past
nor is it meant to include the miracles
of the telegraph, telephone, phono-
graph or other widely spread factors
of electrical development which have
been on everybody's lips. The purely
industrial progress is the most notice
able just at present
bow ELECTRICITY PRODUCES
CHEMICALS.
The list OF chemicals now produced
by electrolytic means offers attractive
data for review. There are, for in
stance, nine electrical chlorate of pot
ash and soda factories now in exist
ence- 1t may be said that there are
nine electrical processes, each factory
pursuing q specific mode of treatment
The annual output of these foctories
combined is 5000 tons. The total yearly
output of the world is 10000 tons. so
that at least 80 per cent of all the chic
rate of potash and soda manufactured
is produced by electrolytic means. The
largest plant is located at Niagara and
offers more than successful COMPETE
ton with foreign plants, because of the
magnitude on which it is operated. The
potash and soda are turned out at a
rate of over six tons a week. A process
has lately been invented for extracting
caustic soda and glycerine from soap
Ives. which in a measure fulfills the
desire TO obtain something from moth
ing. SoaD Ives have heretofore been |
left as a waste product. but now. by 1
subjecting them to the action of a spec |
ial kind of battery it is found that the |
current decomDoses the caustic soda. /
forming sodium hydrate at the negative !
pole. The glycerine is set free, while |
the albumlnold and coloring matters
are rendered insoluble and are easily |
removed by filtration. After this the
soluble matter is separated out and
the LIQUOR is distilled, forming a per-
fectly pure, clear, glycerine. The caus-
tic soda is practically pure and can be
used r. the soap maker.
BLEACHING BY ELECTRICITY.
The great demand for good bleaching
solutions or powders has inspired the
professional inventor TO perfect cleo
trolytic processes. which take the place
Of the older methods. Incidentally this
need has brought about an improve
nent in ozone production, the latter
making under certain conditions a
good bleach. The electrical preaara-
ion of chloride of calcium is carried
1E in Germany, and a bleaching solu- |
ion is formed which is used very. sat
sfactorily for cotton and linen fab i
les. 1t is rapidly supDlanting the old {
Methods. as it produces Durer white l
han il has been possible to obtain {
heretofore. Under the old method il I
vas necessary to boil the fabric in
Lcids and to bleach twice. This was 1
lot only expensive, but destructive to
he fabrics. 1t is estimated, on the
Iher hand, that the electrolytic meth T
d is from 10 to IS per cent more ef- i
ective. There are several electric i
leaching processes in use. but they 8
II. or nearly all, comprise the electro =
vic treatment of chlorine. The cleo d
rical preparation of chlorine is car O.
led out on a large scale in Stassfurt. O
ermany. The Kellner process is ex- D
ting the most interest among elec o