The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1918-05-08

or the country how to perform the
same trick. He does this by means of
devices which, through electrical pre-
upltatlon, not only reclaim vast
wealth from the smoke, dust and
fumes Of shelters and other plants,
Dut at the same time redeem thou
sands of acres of nearby land. AS a
matter of fact, the curb which he has
put upon the smoke and dust nuisance
his original aim-nOw actually bids
falr to be, in some directions, the pri-
mary reason for the running of certain
of cur industries. The smoke wizard
who has accomplished these remark
able things is DIR. Frederick G. Cot
trell, chief metallurgist of the bureau
of mines
Doctor COttrell's experiments began
several years ago when, s,s a member
| of the staff of the University of Cal
ifornia, he was called upon to solve
the problem of helping a smelter locat-
ed on San Francisco bay. The waste
gases and vapOrs from this smelter, re-
sulting from the sulphuric acid part
ing process used in treating gold and
silver bullion, were declared a nuis-
ance by neighboring farmers and
seemed likely to provoke costly liti-
CATION and possibly lead to a shut
down of the plant.
The gases discharged into the air
amounted to substantially 5000 cubic
in on
an important proportion of sulphuric
acid in the form of a fine mist. The
| corrosive action of the Sulphuric acid
was shown throughout the entire zone
swept broadcast by the shifting winds,
and both the agriculturists and the
people generally had ample reason for
| complaint. The smelter was a profit
able one and the management was
anxious to find some way to abate a
nuisance that was both a menace to
health and hurtful to vegetation.
Laboratory Meets Industry.
Doctor Cottrells preliminary work
brought up some puzzling situations
Tn TO a certain stage matters went
we'll enough on the miniature scaLs
of the inveStigational tests. but BE-
vond this was the question of meeting
the practical situation presented by .
large commercial smelter. A big pas1
Of Doctor Cottrells achievement lay
in spanning the gap between the IA
boratory and the industrial plant aIt
in finding ways to control the enorri
ous pressures of the necessary ele )
tric current, mounting up to 1OO,ON
volts.
The problem was solved, however
and so well was the precipitator in
rallied at this smelter designed thai
n has been doing its work satisfactOr
ily ever since. Further, by mere
chance Doctor Cottrell attacked a
that plant what is commonly admitted
TO he the most difficult of all problems
of smoke or fume abatement. viz, tn
nrecipitation Of acid mist.
The good results obtained In thi
FIRST instance soon became widel!
known and a new line of application
was opened few years later when tn
great copper smelter at Balaklala, Cal
was threatened with fume litigation
wv the United States forestry service
"Fume," or fine particles in the form
If smoke, and sulphur dioxide gas
Invisible 10 the eye, given off from tn
stacks of the smelter, had swept tn
neishboring country bare of vegetation
for miles. and it WAS case OF eithe
. shutdown or suppression of thes
destructive discharges.
fulr-sized plant of the Cottrel
t>,,. was. accordingly, installed. TIL
volume OF the gases treated average