Polk County news. [volume] (Benton, Tenn.) 191?-1983, 1920-01-01


this process. conceived the germ o.
the idea IN the early nlue.I5s while IN
South AEeDIea as consulting engines
IN connection with the production anf
shipping Of Chilean nitrate Of soda
Nitrogen compounds are an essential
/ part OF all commercial fertilizers. The
Ully uss nitrate deposits
In large quantities are in Chile. This
supply WIGS diminishing. Germany,
which had been taking about one
third OF the Chilean nitrstes. was al.
ready eyper' menting With processes
for their artificial production. In 1907
Mr.. WasLbu.a secured ia Germany
tho American rights ~ the cyanar.i
pr,>s which lad been invented In
that country.
Turning Air Into a Weapon.
BY this process air, which is a mix,
ture Of about fngr-ffths nitrogen gas
and one-tirth OK gen, is placed in con-
tainers and subj o~tcd 10 pressure and
cold until it turus to liquid. Then
the nitrogen is distilled I'm much the
Same manner as alcohol is separat led
from water. But before this nitrogen
can be used as ii fertilizer # must be
combined with a chemical combina on
Of lime and carbon known as calcium
carbide produced by burning ordinary
limestone in big rotary kius and com
bining it in the electric furnace with
carbon supplied in the form Of ordi-
nary coke.
Cyanamid thus produced contains
the elements OF ammonium nitrate, one
OF the most powerful Of modern explO-
sives. BY one process ammonia is eX-
tracted from the cyanamid. BY an
other process nitric acid Is extracted
from another batch Of this same sya-
namid. Then the ammonia and nitric
acid are combined and there you have
ammonium nitrate ready for packing
into shells with INT
There are three kinds OF explosives
used for bursting shells in modern
warfare-TNT, picric acid and ammo
mum nitrate. The United States was
equally deficient in raw materials and |.
plants for manufacturing all three of |
these explosives Under the best of ,
conditions 4 Z" 10st of either INT or /
nitric aciu $ about two and one-half |
the cost of ammonium nitrate. But !
the United States was wholly depend
ent upon Chilean nitrate of soda as .
raw material for ammonium nitrate,
with the exception of a small produc-
ton of nitrogen from the cokin& Of
coal The Chilean supply was $500
miles away from New York City by
way OF the Panama Canal, and the
route by way of the Straits of Magel-
Ian is nearly twice as long.
A Record Building Operation.
Shortly after the war began in Eu-
rope the German government entered
into the ,flxation of air nitrogen for
military explosives on vast scale. 1t
was not, however, until the fall of 1917
that the United States government
took it up.
The Ordnance Department asked Mr.
Nashhprn's company to organize a
subsidiary corporation, known as the
Air Nitrates Corporation, with Mr..
Washburn as president, to act as
agent If the government for the con-
Btruction and operation of the air nj
trates plant at Muscle Shoals, Ala
bama. This corporation provided the
DESIGNS erected the equipment in the
chemical plants and supervised all the
other work 1t also operated the
camp, the town and tie plant Other
work liz sublet to several Of the best
known organ "a tons in the United
States Westinghouse Church Kerr
built the plant buildings, the
amp. the permanent city and utilities,
The j. G. White Engineering Corpora
don designed and built the nitrate
,cid plant The NJ w. Kellogg Com.
oany furnished the piping and built
he chimneys. On February 16, 1918.
ground was broken and eight months
md eight days later the $50, 00O0C0i
Muscle Shoals plant began producing
ammonium nitrate. In that brief pc
'iod 22O00 men had completed tho
1lant and around It, where not
house stood before, had arisen a city
# % 900 inhabitants.
This plant when in full operation
vas ready TO provide Is per cent of ali
explosives to be used by all the allies
III all the allied fronts during the eX
,ectad Spring drive Of 1919.