El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-05-25
by
Frank G. Carpenter
Copyright. 1918. by
Frank c. Carpenter.


: the shape and size Of a small empty
watermelon. From this float gigau
] tic leaves spread out over the Watel
I In every direction. covering the sur.
{ face like a field of pond lilies and
sometimes impeding navigation. Thi,
plant is known as kelp. II feeds upor
the waters and absOrbs the potash
. When the plants are taken out and
dried about One-fourth Of their con-
| tents is chloride Of potash.
KeIp Fields to Yield Potash.
The department Of agriculture has
surveyed several hundred square
miles Of these kelp Yields off the
coast Of California and the bureau Of
soils has erected an experimental
plant at Summerland. TO determine
the best methods OF harvesting the
kelp and extracting the potash. Three
or four large companies have been
formed which have turned out a pro-
duct Of several thousand tons OF
potash during the past year. One OF
these IS the Hercules Powder com
panys whose plant has a capacitv OF
l5Oe tons OF wet kelp per day, and
another, Swift & Co., which ships its
product to its fertilizer plants in the
east 50 Tar the output Of potash from
the kelp fields has disappointed the
operators.
The story Of the potash we are get
ting as a by-product from our cement
mills and iron ore furnaces is more
gratifying. In fact. It is so encour-
aging that the experts believe that IL
all our cement mills were equipped
with by-product plants they could an
nually save more than $4,000 tons
Of potash, and that, with a slight
change OF operation, this amount
might be so increased that Il would
equal .one-half Of the supply we have
been importing from Germany. This
potash would come from the flue dust
which has been floating away on the
air from the chimneys Of the cement
mills, poisoning much OF the veEeta-
tion about. It comes from materials
that in most mills are still going to
waste and whose saving would great
" better the conditions nearby
Damage Suits Lead to Discovery.
In fact the origin Of the invention
Tor saving this potash came from fhe
injury done TO the orange trees by
the dust from a cement plant at
Riverside IN southern California This
plant was making Portland cement
in large quantities, and the dust from
its chimneys so affected the citrus
fruit orchards nearby that their own
ers brought damage suit after dam
age suit
AT first the company tried TO buy
NJ the orange groves, but they could
not take in all Of the adjoining terri
tory, and they finally sent for F. G.
Cottren who is now the chief metal
lurglst OF the bureau Of mines Of the
geological survey, and asked him to
experiment on getting rid Of the dust
He succeeded in doing so by means
OF electricity, and upon examination
found that the dust contained a large
Of potash, which could be
easily saved. He found that more
than two pounds OF potash were lost
in making each barrel OF cement and
that this was carried away in the dust
OF the flues. The total loss OF potash
in the kilns was more than 1900
pounds every day. The saving by this
new process was so great that at the
high prices brought about by the war
the by-product potash Of the plant
money than the cement itself. The
process was introduced in 1913 and
since then a large amount Of potash
has been saved. The Security Lime
and Cement plant near Hagerstown.
Nd, has recently installed the Cot
trel process and is saving almost 5000
pounds Of potash a day.
There is more potash in some Of
the rocks used for making Portland
than in others. The bureau
Of soils has analysed the materials
used in the hundred or more cement
plants Of the country. and II finds
that every one Of them is losing thou
that many have losses which amount
to from five to IS tons every "a hours.
have seen the Cottreu process
working at Uncle Sans experimental
laboratory on the Arlington farm. The
3y-prOduct plant consists OF a series
)f concrete pipes which extend 70 the
height Of a five or six story house
end ia q
per Into this hopper the dust from
me cement flues is drawn. II is now
almost SIS and many OF the par
-lcles are so fine they cannot be seen
Ihey 80 from the hopper into the
pipes and are there precipitated by
means OF an intense electric current
which IS carried through each pipe
By a wire as fine as a sewing thread. I
II costs something like 500, 900 20
EQUIP the average cement factory
With the process, and all the plants
n the country might be supplied at
b cost OF &l0,000.Q00. If the instala- .
ion OF such a system would furnish /
leii or our potash supply. and make I
IS Independent OF Germany. IL might ]
Jay the government TO give material I
assistance toward its installation.
since the war the Cottrell process /
las been applied also 10 saving the
potash in the flue dust from the iron
'last furnaces. The Bethlehem Steel I
company was the first to experiment I
is TO this saving. II has found that I
{ could get $4,000 per annum from
he potash from one furnace and that I
he saving from its 25 furnaces would I
.qual s750.00O a year.
It is estimated that ten pounds Of I
potash can be saved from every ton ]
II iron that comes from the furnaces
T this is correct, the $4,000. 900 tons
We annually smell yv0r1d mean q cav
ne OF $4,000. 900 pounds or $4,000 .
ons Of potash. which added to the .
vurO4o tons that might be had from
ur cement mills would make US prac-
ic9llT Independent OF Germany. This /.
s by the saving only Of what until "
low has fl0ated away on the air. 7 .
m told that even at the normal I
rices Of potash this could be done
c a profit
Frank G. Carpenter.
(