The Washington times., 1901-09-22
INDUSTRIAL OXYGEN.
The Worlds Trades Are to De Revo-
lutiOnixed by a Discovery.

1t was recently announced that the new
Swiss method of producing oxygen for
industrial purposes had been taken up by
powerful English syndicate. The inven-
tor, NJ. Raoul Pictet. who claims that his
process enables him to obtain unlimited
supplies of the gas from the atmosphere
at nominal cost, has supplied our Geneva
correspondent with additional particulars
of his great discovery-a discovery which,
it is asserted, will completely revolution
ize the metal trades. and have a vast in
fiuence on chemistry. lighting and hygi-
ere.
The details given are for the most part
in NJ. Pictet's own words. and the conclu-
sions he arrives at are for experts to con-
slider. There is no doubt as to the fact
that the discovery has been widely taken
up in England.
1t took the inventor twenty-one years of
experiments to find out that the usual
method of extracting oxygen from the air
| by chemical means was impracticable for
| commercial purposes on account of the
enormous cost of the chemical process.
| Taking for a starting point the results
obtained in 1871 by scientists. conclusively
proving that the point of iiquefaction of
oxygen under atmospheric pressure is mi
nus 1S3 degrees. while that of nitrogen un-
der the same conditions is minus 1875 de-
grees. he constructed an ingenious appa-
| ratus by means of which he was enabled
| to gradually extract the nitrogen, leaving
the oxygen in the apparatus practically
| pure.
The apparatus is divided into ten equal
| parts separated from each other by a
metallic plate, to which is attached a ba-
| sin containing a certain amount of ncue-
| fed air A spiral tube conducts the HQue-
/ fiaI ir- m he t1Ib
| called the exchanger, is continued. under
the name of interior tube, within the APP
| paratus, and winds round the metallic ba-
! sin.
When a slight pressure is applied to the
! liquefied gas by means of the exchanger,
| nitrogen of 30 per cent purity is liberated
| This action is continued In each of ten
! divisions until in the bottom only
| pure oxygen remains and is drawn of
| in n gasometer.s
The cost of the operation is less than
the tenth of a penny per cubic yard OF
| oxygen.
NJ Pictet claims that the results of the
| application of this system to metallurgf-
| cal work will be extraordinary. He
| maintains that the enormous waste oil
coal in the working of metals will be done
| away with. and that Immensely greater
| temperatures will be obtainable by the use
| of industrial oxygen
| Soldering large masses of iron and steel
| will be an easy matter, and riveting will
| be done away with, The plates Of vessels,
| the beams of bridges. railway lines. etc,
may be constructed in future in one piece
| Industrial oxygen Will reduce the
| hardest rocks such as quartz to liquid
| state In a short time, and the mining in
| dustry will be revolutionized, and crush
| ing superseded by melting.
| The practice of chemistry will be i'm
mensely benefited. says NJ. Pictet. The
cost of innumerable chemical products
will be greatly reduced. One of the chief
| instances of this will be water gas. so
much used in chemical industries, which
will be obtainabie at a cost OF tenth OF
penny per cubic yard. The result OF
this for lighting purposes will be tremen-
dous.
| 1t is only a question of time, says the
inventor before. every public building VIII
he supplied with oxygen pipes. and stuff
finess'' in theatres, schools, and other
| buildings will be unknown.
| For hospitals. and especially in the ope-
rating ROOM oxygen, which on account OF
its prohibitive price could not be put into
general use, will be employed more free
| ly. Every town will have its oxygen
manufactory in a few years. Mr.: Pictet
adds, and coal will be superseded by oxy-
| gen.
A large oxygen mandatory Is being
| built at Manchester under the superin-
tendence of Messrs. Galloway. in which
I IL will be possible to produce 5000 cubic
yards Of Industrial oxygen" per day
| London Mail.