Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1920-06-24
HAD Sold 70 America Secret
q Making Explosive
From Air.
GIG NITRATE PLANT RESULTS.
oy GARNET ssa,rn.

h the story Of how the Ordnance D.
partment Of the United States Army
made 4 possible for America. until
thea utterly lacking h ammunitio0
ana h facilities for making Il, 70 man.
ufacturs unlimited quantities ~ pow.
erfnl explosives out Of air and rock.
Il was largely the knowledge Of this
fact that forced Germany to surrender
when she did.
Tho secret was secured from Ger
many herself. Il was an open husi-
nep transaction between business
men. whereby We apparently acquired
nothing moro military than . process
for making = high grade fertilissr
known ~ cyanamid.
Fraak Sherman Waahburn. head Of
the group Of business men who bought
this process, conceived the germ Of
the idea In the early ninettes while II
South America N consulting engineer
IN connection with the production and
chipping Of Chilean nitrate Of soda.
Nitrogen ,compou9ds are an essential
part Of all commercial fertilizers. The
only available natural nitrate deposits
h large quantities are In Chile. THIS
supply was diminishing. Germany.
which had been taking about one
third Of the Chilean nitrates, was a.
ready experimenting with processes
for their artificial production. In 1907
Mr. Washburn secured In Germany
the American rights of the cyanamid
process which had been invented II
that country.
Turning Air into . Weapon.
BY this process air, which In Q mig
ture Of about four-tifths nitrogen gas
and one-ffth oxygen, IL placed In con-
tainers and subjected to pressure and
cold until 1t turns to . liquid. Then
the nitrogen In distilled In much the
same manner as alcohol II separated
from water. But before this nitrogen
can he used as fertilizer Il must b.
combined with . chemical combinati
Of lime and carbon known ~ calcium
carbide. produced by burning ordinary
limestone In big rotary kilns and com
bining II In the electric furnace with
carbon supplied In the form Of orii.
nary coke.
Cyanamid thus produced contains
the elements Of ammonium nitrate. one
~ the most powerful Of modern explo-
sives BY one process ammonia II ex
tracted from the cyanamid. BY On.
other process nitric acid Is extrSteed
from another batch Of this same aya-
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 kinda 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 ell three Of
these explosives Under the best Of
conditions the cost of either INT o.
nitric acid II about two and one-half
the cost Of ammonium nitrate But
the United States was wholly depend
ent upon Chilean nitrate Of soda ~
raw material for ammonium nitrate.
with the exception Of q small produc-
ton of nitrogen from the cOkiDg nj
coal. The Chilean supply was 400
miles away from New York City by
way OF the Panama Canal, and tho
route by way Of the Straits OF Magei-
Ian Is nearly twice ss long.
A Record Building Operation.
Shortly after the war began In Eu-
rope the German government entered
into the fxation OF air nitrogen for
military explosives on q vast scale II
vas not. however, until the fall OF 1917
that the United States government
took II up
The Ordnance Department asked Mr..
Washbmrn's company to organize q
subsidiary corporation. known NJ the
Air Nitrates Corporation. with Mr.
Washburn as president, to act a.
agent Of the government for the con
struction 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 ali the
other work 1t also operated the
camp. the town and the plant Other
work IL subIet to several Of the best
known organizations In the United
States Westinghouse Church Kerr
Company bniir the plant buildings. the
camp. the permanent city and utilities.
TIE J. g. White Engineering C0rpora-
don designed and built the nitrate
acid plant The N w. Kellogg Com
pany furnished the piping and built
the chimneys. On February ia, 1915,
ground was broken. and eight months
and eight days later the s6O. OO0.O 900
Muscle Shoals plant began producing
ammonium nitrate. 10 that brief pc
Rod 1900 men had completed the
plant and around II, where not .
house stood before. had arisen q city
Of $1,000 inhabitants.
This plant when In full operation
was ready to provide II per cent Of iii
explosives to be used b. aIl the sliiea
q ali the allied fronts during the n
oeeted spring drive At 1914