The suburban citizen., 1901-03-30
AUTOMATIC STEEL MILL
THE MOST EFFICIENT CONCERN IN
THE WORLD.

From the Time 1t is Mined Until 1t I'm
ters the Packing Room the Product is
Not Touched by Human Hands
Model Plant.
The most efficient steel mill in the
world is that at Ensley, Ala. There
are larger ones in the North, but none
which uses such remarkable modern
methods in all the processes of pro
duction. Every step Is automatic,
from the time a miner picks up piece
Of coal in the mines and places 1t in his
barrow, it is not touched by human
hands until it is ready to be packed
and shipped as finishedproduct. Mean
time It has undergone all the various
operations Of the furnace and mill.
The building in which the steel fur
naces are located is so by 736 feet, 1t
contains ten basic, open-hearth fur
naces, gas heated each Of fifty tons
capacity and having stack $50 feet
high The material is charged into
the furnaces by two charging ma
chimes The charging boxes, each hold.
ing two tons, are run up to the doors
OF the furnaces on cars carrying four
boxes each, and the machine takes one
of these boxes, thrusts it into the fur
mace, inverts it, and then places it back
on the car. The machine and cars are
operated by electricity, and controlled
by the mere touching of button.
The casting side of the mill is at a
lower level. When the mass Of molten
metal has reached the desired condi-
tion, the whole furnace is tilted, and
the fiery liquid poured off into wheeled
ladies'. which roll up on tracks under
the lips Of the furnace to receive the
splitting and sputtering cascade Of fire.
The metal is then moulded into ingots,
and subsequently rolled into billets.
The blooming MILL where the latter op-
Grafton is accomplished, is forty-four
inches in diameter, and the largest but
one in the country. The shears then
receive the metal; they can cut a piece
ten inches thick and thirty inches wide.
The coke used in the iron furnaces
is made in the most approved man
nar. Coal straight from the mines Is
passed through 100000 plant, which
saves all the volatile portion. The tar
and ammonia are washed from the
smoke. The latter is crystallized into
| sulphate Of ammonia, and the tar is
made into pitch and creosote. The gas
from these furnaces is then conducted
to the blast furnaces, where, in the
process Of iron making, it is forced
! through the molten metal Even then
| it is not allowed to escape; 1t Is made
TO do service in heating boilers for
generating power. Each ton of coal
thus treated yields 10000 cubic feet of
gas. twenty pounds of ammonia, and
| 100 pounds Of tar. The ammonia is
used for refrigeration and fertilization
the tar is taken by a roofing concern
which has a plant near by. Another
industry allied to the steel and iron
plant is the one which utilizes the Stag
refuse from the furnaces in the manu-
facture Of cement.
This concerns full capacity will be
15OC tons. The Alabama Steel and
Iron Works adjoin 1t; these, when in
full operation, will take a large part
of the product Of the mill. With ca
pacity Of 500 tons, these works will be
the largest of their kind in the country.
Iron has long been manufactured at
Ensley, but the making Of steel is
new development, and a very impor-
tant one to the South, where its sue
cess will establish a vast new industry.
Many of the improvements which
have been introduced in this model
plant were put in as experiments
Their operation has been watched by
other concerns, and they are likely to
be introduced soon in other places, for
the iron and steel trade is now in most
satisfactory condition, and everywhere
active, None of the numerous big iron
furnaces, idle two months ago, Will
long remain out of blast, for the pres
ent heavy demand for new material
must soon exhaust the stock on hand.
Wherever plants are in process Of con-
struction or alteration, the object les
son Of the Ensley Mills will yield their
beneft.-The Worlds Work.
Trade in Veillngs Amounts to Millions
"a faint idea of the immense busl-