The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1912-10-03
That We
Annually
Conservation Would Save Mil.
lions of Dollars to
.,.' + the People.

ing place in the flue dusts and nue
gases. w.. = ~sa
I'm proportion to output the losses
of zinc are probably greater than those
OF any other metal and are especially
important because there is almost no
recovery Of zinc from manufactured
products and almost no conservation of
zinc by accumulation. Besides these
losses in the mining and concentration
of zinc ores, there are incalculable
losses, which without question run into
many millions of dollars and undoubt-
edly exceed the total value Of the zinc
mined, in slags and waste products
from other processes. Zinc has been
and in general still is considered about
the worst impurity to be found in tue
ores of copper and lead, for it has al
ways given trouble in their metallurgy
I'm combined but unfortunately in
relatively insoluble form there are I'M
limited supplies of potash in this coun-
try. Because no methods are known
for economically obtaining the potash
we are obliged to import from Ger
many about $150OO,O0O worth each
year. Potash is absolutely essential,
and unless methods can be found for
obtaining it from domestic supplies we
shall be obliged to purchase it from
Germany at price at least 400 per
cent more than the cost of delivery in
New York
Waste of Nitrogen.
"Our waste of nitrogen, worth in
combined form about Is cents per
pound, is almost inconceivable, and
no calculation can give us a real idea
of what this loss means. Although
we produced last year over 4O6, OOO,O 900
tons of bituminous coal, we recovered
only $3,80O,O0O worth of the $3.50 OOO, 900
worth Of recoverable nitrogen in the
coal. g..
"Of course it is entirely impracti-
cable under present conditions to re-
cover as ammonia all of the nitrogen
that might be obtained, but it does
seem most regrettable that of 3O0OO 900
tons Of coal converted into coke in
1910, containing $22,0OO,OOO worth of
recoverable nitrogen, only about one
sixth was treated in ovens or retorts
which could make that recovery pos
sible. The rest of the nitrogen in the |
coal went off as free nitrogen in the |
air.
1T is estimated that since the first by |
product coke oven was built in this |
country in 1898 and up to the present |
finn tho oOl-o on1-o1 In 4ho o11 foc
Toned beehive ovens where the nitrogen |
was ruthlessly wasted in fire has |
amounted to about S1OOO0,OCO tons.
Had this been cooked in byproduct |
ovens the volatile nitrogen Of the coal |
would have yielded twenty-three |
pounds Of ammonium sulphate per ton,
ora total of 9,31500O tons, which at $50 |
a ton would have had value of $685.
100000. But this would not be all. !
Had this ammonia been recovered it |
would have been used on the soil as a
fertilizer, and the crops would have in
creased fully 20 per cent, and the say
ing would have been many millions
more
Facts as Regards Sulphur.:
''The waste and the utilization of
sulphur are both enormous and de-
pend largely on local conditions. We
produce sulphur cheaper than any
other country in the world. sell it at
perhaps the highest price and in the
form of sulphur dioxide discharge it
in the air from the stack of single
smelter in quantities almost as large as
those utilized throughout the country
from sulphur and domestic pyrite put
together. If the sulphur discharged
into the air from this one smelter
were converted into sulphuric acid it
would furnish more than enough sui
phuric acid for the total fertilizer in
dustry Of the United States.
'This country is producing annually
about 100000 tons of sulphuric acid
the basis of all chemical industry
Of which approximately one-half is
used in the manufacture of fertilizers.
The total amount of sulphur dioxide
discharged into the air in this country
would unquestionably suffice to make
more than 100000 tons of sulphuric
acid"