Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1918-04-19


engaged teaching the rest
of the country how to perform the
same trick. He does this by means of
devices which, through electrical pre-
cipitatiOn, not only reclaim vast
wealth from the smoke, dust and
fumes of smelters and other plants,
but 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
fair to be, in some directions, the pri-
mary reason for the running of certain
of our industries. The smoke wizard
who has accomplished these remark
able things is DR.. Frederick G. Cot
trell, chief metallurgist of the bureau
of mines.
Doctor CottrelI's experiments began
several years ago when, as 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-
SuIting from the Sulphuric acid part
ing process used in treating gold and
silver bullion, We're declared nuts
ance by neighbOring farmers and
seemed likely to provoke costly Iiti-
CATION and possibly lead to shut
down of the plant.
The gases discharged into the air
amounted to substantially 5000 cubic
feet per minute and held In suspension
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
nuisance that was both a menace to
health and hurtful to vegetation.
Laboratory Meets Industry.
Doctor Cottrell'S preliminary work
brought up some puzZling situations
Up to a certain stage matters went
well enough on the miniature scale
Of the inveStigatiOnal tests but be-
yOnd this was the question Of meeting
the practical situation presented by
large commercial smelter A big part
of Doctor COttrell'S achievement lay
in spanning the gap between the la
boratory and the industrial plant and
in finding ways to control the enorm-
Gus pressures of the necessary cleo
trio current, mounting up to 100000
volts.
The problem was solved. however,
and so well was the preciptator in
stalled at this smeter designed that
It has been doing its work satiSfact0r-
fly ever since. Further, by mere
chance Doctor Cottrcll attacked at
that plant what is commonly admitted
10 be the most difficult Of all problems
of smoke or fume abatement, viz, the
precipitation of acid mist
The good results obtained in this
first instance soon became widely
known and new line Of application
was opened few years later when the
great copper smelter at Balalilala. Cal,
was threatened with fume litigation
by the United States forestry service.
"Fume," or fine particles in the form
of smoke, and sulphur dioxde gas
invisible to the eye, given off from the
stacks Of the smelter, had swept the
neighboring country bare Of vegetation
for miles, and it was a case of either
shutdown or a suppression of these
destructive discharges.
A full-sized plant OF the Cottrell
type was, accordingly, installed. The
volume of the gases treated averaged