El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-17

attendance upon the ZlSJ geueral meet
ing of the American ElectrO-chemicaI
society. which Will begin in Boston
tomorrow, there are few organizations
which contribute in more practlcal
manner to the industrial Development
of the country. There is hardly a trdue
or an industry which has not been ben
efitted to some extent by the discover
ies of the men VINO compose the mem
bership of this OrganiZa ton 1t was
said recently that the consumption OF
suIphurfc acid mea sures the degree OF
culture and refinement Of country.
This is truly the golden, bronze ana
iron age rolled into one and the de-
velODment of new means OF producing
these metals is only one of the benefits
the recent discoveries in electrO-chem-
istry are giving TO the world.
No Longer Experimental.
A few wears agO each new event OF
progress in electro chemistry had an
almost sensational character The IN
, stalarOn Of new electric furnace
often meant the foundation of Whole
new industry. but IL is quite dlILeEenI
now. Electro chemical processes are
no longer in the experimental stage
The electric furnace plants OF Niagara
Falls, the eleCtrOlytic copper reIlnerles
of New York harbOr the elecrrOly TIC
caustic and chlorine plants, the alum
mum iudustry-an are now estaDllsheQ
! industries working prof1tabIy eacl
sul VI sOUBApB 9IBs SuIMoqs puB LbSA
cOnQuests of the MARKET Many or tnese
processes at the beginning seemed not
to be feasible. but with their successLul
operation there came recognition on
the part of conservative business pto-
pie of the practical commercial Falue OF
the scientific work Of the eIectro-cneIll-
lists.
EIectro-chemistry may be defined as
the art of applying electric energy 70
aid work of the chemist 1t is cnemls-
try facilitated by electricity Inc dp-
plicatiOn Of this new agency to cneml-
cal operations has not only been sue
cessful in facilitating many OF the most
difficult and costly Of them. but IL mas
also in many cases replaced them Dy
quicker, simpler and more direct meth
DDS In many instances electro-cneIn-
istry has produced new materials Whlch
were not otherwise capable OF being
made. For example, caustic soda or
chloride OF lime, used for bleaching
purposes, are made from common salI
by a series OF processes DuL the e4eC-
trio process performs this chemical op-
Grafton so much more cheaply ana
quickly that the production IS greatly
augmented. Lime and carbon do not
react by ordinary Chemlcal processes
but in the electric furnace they react
at once TO form calcium carbide, which
has become so necessary Tor various
purposes.
Aluminium One of Products.
A branch of electrO-chemistry IS
electro metallurgy, which apples cleo
trio power TO solving many Of the PROP
lens Of the metallurgist- 1t Is OF re-
cent origin but il has already rendered
invaluable service. 1t has produced
--everal metals at a fraction OF their
forl-e. cost and has placed at our
( disposal in commercial quantities ana
at practical prices, metals Wnlcn
were formerly unknown or else were
mere chemical curiosiues- ALUMINIUM
is one of the most important Of these
newer products. The chief natural COM
pounds OF aluminium are four in num-
Der. of which Corundum, which IS IOunQ
in a number Of parts Of the United
States and India, contains the nignesI
percent of the metal CryOlite is found
chiefly along the western coast OF
Greenland and has not yet become eA-
tensively used because Of its inaccessl-
bility. BauXite is Migrated oxide OF
the metal which is found in Alabama,
Georgia and Arkansas in the United
States and in France, Austria and sew
eral other countries kaolin, or china
clay, which is found in most parts OF
the world. seems to be the best ore
Each of these has some qualities re-
Quiring special chemical treatment ana
until the introduction of electricity 70
the processes of publication OF THIS
metal aluminium could not be produced
in any commercial quantities. The
first aluminium factory was established
in America by @. NJ Hall, near Jitts-
burg i'm 1SSS but was removed TO Nj
agara Falls s few years later in order
that the water power Of the falls could
be utilized to supply the electricity re-
quired.
Water a Raw Material.
The operating agency In electro
chemistry is electric energy which may
be supplied by three classes Of appa-
ratus. namely electrOlyt1c apparatus
electric ares and electric furnaces The
electrolyttc apparatus utilities the sep
arating or decompOsing powers Of the
electric current. An electrOlysis OF
water has been the base Of several new
industries Water as a raw material
ns~-e- n % ri o.
rent TO it in the right way and ii Is re-
solved in its constituent gases, hydro
gen and oxygen, as Clearly and perfect
" as could be desired These gases
have many uses and have CONNER
cial value. Europe possesses many
manufacturing plants devoted to this
industry.
Another natural chemical which Is
very cheap as the base Of manufactures,
is common salt Centuries ago, chem
lists and alchemists devised processes
for Transforming il into other sodlum
salts such IS caustlc soda or SODA I'VE
Tor soap making. soda ash OF oicarooh-
ate for washing or glass making, and
several other forms, 1t is SAID that IN
Great Britain alone over S9oUOO,UUO +
was invested in this industry With
in the past 20 years, the eiectrolysls OF
salt has come into use and II IS not
only holding its own with the older
process. but IT is advancing so rapidly
that it is believed that within the next 1
~ years IT VIII enLlAtl4 super oclu
them. BY this process, the salt is dis
solved in water and by the action OF }
the current il is converted into caustic |
soda a one electrOde and into chlorine {
gas a the other. BY some device these
are kept separate from each other and Z
the process is complete It Is s1mplici- /
ty itself as compared with the older I
chemical methods. The only agent I
consumed is electric energy and the !
products are clean and pure.
Ozone the Great Purifier.
Electric arcs and high tension dis !
charges through gases compose a |
branch of electro-chemistry which is /
as vet comparatively undevelOped. I
Ozone is being made from air by the {
dis charge OF high tension electric cur /
rent. Ozone is used extensively for I
purifying air and drinking water. 1t /
makes impure water safe TO drink and /
purifies the air of assembly halls and \
sick rooms. According to all appear
ances. this electrO-c chemical doubling /
up of oxygen into q more efficient OK
idiZing form is developing into q simple
and highly efficient aid to healthy liv-
ing.
Chilli saltpetrr has secured hundreds |
OF millions of dollars by supplying the /
nitrate acid needed by farmers for fer
tllzer. Tt has been shipped 10 all parts