The age-herald., 1898-10-13
SLAG GAN BE MADE TO PRODUCE GAS n Form Of CarbOlit0 It Is no Longer
 Waste. AsGREAT SAVING SECURED It Mill no Longer Be a Loss to Iron
 Manufacturers.
AgGREAT SAVING SECURED
WILL REDUCE THE COST OF IRON
As Well as Expense of Artificial Lights 13,OOO Pounds of Substances Now Wasted for Every D.
 900 Lbs. Pig Produced.

There are a number of iron men in the Birmingham district who are watching a new process now being tested in the north to turn slag into profit.
 A Chicago iron worker claims to have found a new use for slag, waste product in the manufacture of iron. By utilizing it, he says, the cost of pig iron will be re- duced one-half which will effect a saving in a years output of upward of ,O00
 In few weeks there will be in operation at Hammond an establishment for the manufacture of carbolite, which is com- bination of carbide, calcium, aluminium and silicon. Carbolite will produce ethylene gas, which is defined as an improvement on acetylene. The manufacture of carbo- lite, it is said, will revolutionize the manu- facture of iron by making the waste slag into carbolite, thereby reducing iron to the state of bi-product. Ethyene gas will cosot 50 per cent less than acetylene and will produce much better light.
 On January 4, 1898, the United States pat ent office issued to Herbert l.. Hartensten three patents covering "processes for util- izing waste products of blast furnaces" By methods protected by these patents it is PiopOoCo u Oludhe dH reQuC- tion in the cosot of iron and artificial light.
 It is known that about 13,OO0 pounds of substances are wasted in the blast fur mace for every 2,OOO pounds of pig iron pro- duced.
 A Waste Product
 For every 2,000 pounds of pig iron there is obtained 1,500 pounds of blast furnace slag. This is not only waste product, but its removtal is usually charged up to the cost of iron. It has been used somewhat for the adulteration of the cheaper grades of ce- ment and to manufacture mineral wool, but its success for these purposes has been limited By Hartenstein's process this slag is combined with carbonaceous material such as coke, and a new product, known as carbolite, is produced. In bringing carbo- lite in contact with water or other liquid, a gas Is instantly generated which, when used in suitable burners, gives white flame of great steadiness and remarkable luminosity
 The method of producing carbolite is as follows: Slag being a combination of all the non-volatile substances contained in the charge except iron, and being lighter than smelting iron, floats on the top, and is drawn off through an aperture in the fur mace at the upper line of the molten iron into suitable receivers so constructed as to retain the great heat. Being at high tenn perature 1t is almost as fluid as water, and by means of great ladies, operated by hy- draulic power, is passed into converters similar to those used for the manufacture of Bessemer steel. Except that their tops are somewhat closed, the opening being much smaller than the central diameter, these converters may be likened to great elongated iron kettles hung on hollow shafts or trunnions, so as to easily tip or turn Through these hollow shafts or trunnions iron pipes are run leading to and connecting with number of small tubes which perforate the bottom of the convert CTS. These pipes and tubes are so arranged that finely pulverized coke may be fed through them. Before the slag is poured into the converter a strong gas blast is forced through the pipes to keep the molten mass from running into and filling them up. As soon, however as the slag is poured into the converters the pulverized coke is fed into the molten mass. This is continued until the slag is thoroughly impregnated with the coke. To insure uniform mixture the converter may be tipped back and for ward as desired, thus increasing the agita- tion.
 An Electic Current
 When the mixture Is complete the con yerter is turned on it's shaft as to allow the mass to flow between a series of carbon bars or electrodes, which serve to intro- duce a powerful electric current. Coke is an excellent conductor of electricity, while slag is a resistant The result is that the particles of slag, in connection with the particles of coke, form innumerable electric arcs producing a most intense heat within tse mixture. In the course of about twenty minutes the mass becomes so superhea ted that the slag Is deoxidized, and becomes fused or carbureted with the coke. When this fusion is effected the material is fin- ished. It is then poured into molds of any desired form or size When cool it is of crystalline formation, has a metallic glitter and is nearly twice the weight of coal. The finished product is carbolite, which can be kept indefinitely and transported without difficulty. Protected by woodjacketed tin cans from water and air moisture, 1t can be kept as a common article of merchandise and supplied to the consumer with much less difficulty than illuminatin oil. Each pound of carbolite will produce five feet of gas Each cubic foot is equal in illuminat- ing power to fifteen feet of ordinary coal or water gas. By little calculation it will be seen that at $50 ton, or s1kc pound, 95c worth of carbolite will produce as much light as 1000 feet of gas, costing S1 The same amount of light produced by sixteen candle power ncandescent electric lamps, at 1c an hour will cost $2.
 City Court Continued All cases set for October in the second division of the city court have been con