The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-02-11

acid; and why turn back to sulphur
when you have already gone over half
way towards the desired goal. The pill
ing up of the sulphur around promiscu-
ously, or the turning of the acid into
the streams need not worry the city en-
gineer or the committee one instant /
will go farther in my offer and guaran-
tee that ] will take all of the acid or
sulphur which they will make and will
give 500, 900 bonds for the careful safe
and satisfactory removal from the city
of Butte-the only place in the world of
my knowledge where the great COM
mercial product, sulphuric acid, is a
despised product They will not be
obliged to pay $l.45 to get the product
to 6oc market, a statement which
shows as little business insight as it
does lack of common sense
The meaning of all this is, that the
removal of this sulphur from the fumes
must come along the lines of its ulti-
mate traasposition into sulphuric acid,
product of great commercial value in
any part of the commercial world: that
any talk about changing into a gaseous
product like the ultimate product of the
burning or combustion of carbon, car
bon dioxide, is first impossible; and
second, If it We're possible, a product
would result that is worse than the sui
phur dioxide in its present Objectionable
form.
A removal of the fumes il their pres
ent form by means OF piping them over
the mountain might be offered as one
means, providing it was thought mad
visable to establish work for their
transposition into the acid.
One idea of Mr.. Mitchell may need an
answer, and that is that he would, il
seems, suggest the solution of the sui
phur divide as it is III water pei baps
and remove it ~ running Il away in
form of this solution, really sulphu-
rous acid. This idea nigh. be enter
tanned If the sulphur was SO despised
except for the one property of suipfa III
d1oxide of being quite or ar least some
what lnsoluble in water and would re-
quire volumes of water not ut present
supplied to all Butte to dissolve all of
the gas providing there is the amount
or sulphur escaping into Butte atmos-
phere that IS credited l,y the wiseacres,
proposition net aeceptei by the writer
at present.
1t is to be expected shat no one will
believe what is 1larein stated and a st:ll
poorer opinion VIII be formed about the
lmpfacticable. worthless profession
known as teaching, but nevertheless
this paper is submitted as a matter Of
record, and 20 YEARS from now ii win
be interesting Ia dis over which was
the lmpracticaoia, The professor or tae
Messiah
G. w, Stickney, metallurgist, submits
the following communication as his
contribution to the solution OF the
smoke problem:
happened to see copy of your
paper of Jan. 81, and therein | notice
that the old question of Butte sulphur
smoke is again to the front, and | note
letter from Prof. f. u. Smith of your
state university. Evidently he has not
given the subject the attention that |
nave since l first began experiments
at Butte in 1890. The ground he dis
at
with chemical and business accuracy.
ana even as distinguished a metaliur-
glst as Louis Janin, jr.. advocated an
excellent and cheap method of convert
ing the fumes into sulphuric acid as
the only feasible solution. The posi-
bilities in the case are very limited. as
even the most unlearned can under
stand, when confronted with the facts.
The first proposition l will make will
be recognized as true by every one.
The sulphur is taken out of the ore.
and therefore it must be either in gas
eous form in the air, or in liquid or sol
ia form on the ground. Therefore,
there are but two ways to 40 away
with the gaseous form, which is the
nuisance. First, liquid form; second,
solid form. Listen. The only liquid
form possible is sulphuric acid. Now
every ton of sulphur will make three
tons of acid of the greatest possible
concentration, say Sc degrees Baume.
or specific gravity IS4, but it is not
possible to make this acid directly. The
first acid made from the fumes would
be very dilute, much more so than the
first acid made directly from brim-
stone, as at the East.
What will you do with this acid?
If run to waste down the natural wat
er shed into Clark's Fork and on into
the Columbia river it would be stopped
as nuisance by other communities
For II would kill all fish and render the
water undrinkable for man or beast
clear to Portland. But suppose you
concentrate the acid to a saleable pro-
duct. 1t would require a vast guam
tlty OF coal to evaporate the water and
a very expensive plant of platinum
vessels attached to each smelter What
would be done with the product? 1t is
safe to say that not less than 500 tons
of ore are roasted daily at Butte. aver
aging 40 per cent sulphur, equal to 200
tons sulphur suppose we say only 100
tons sulphur. This would make 300
tons saleable acid. All the country
west of the Mississippi would not buy
a twentieth part of this daily product
What is to be done with the remain
der? The works using large quantities
of acid are all in the Eastern states
the freight on acid to that market
would be $1.45 per 100 pounds and it
sells there from 75c to 81 per 100
pounds. How would the Butte manu-
facturer get even2 No doubt a small
acid works would pay in Butte. as it
does in Denver. but the difference in
the quantity of smoke, after such
works took all they wanted would not
be perceptible.
The only remaining method is to
roast so as to lay the sulphur down in
"A solid form. 1t is only one-third the
weight of the acid and far easier to
handle. Having been some seven
years working at this problem, | can
speak somewhat definitely. In 1892
raised a sum of money bx Subscripfion
from citizens in Butte to build a fur
mace to demonstrate my process. The
sum raised was inadequate and the
smeters defeated my attempts to raise
enough. because they thought it might
cost more to roast ores that way and
did not want the citizens to see that
it could be done No doubt it would
cost somewhat more. not much per-
haps, nevertheless I went to Chicago
where material and shops We're plenty