Show the smelter smoke problem upon solicitation the following interview on the question of smelter and the removal or reduction of its bad effects was accorded the mining review by charles colcock jones until recently engineer of the mountain copper company of keswick cat cal and now a consulting engineer with offices in this city answering briefly your request on the above subject it is unnecessary for me to dwell on the effects of smelter smoke that branch oi of the inquiry has been fully covered in the experiments of dr J B aids ace and concisely stated by him in bulletins the smelters shelters sm elters are here and to run must make smoke the great bulk of the ores being sulphides sulp sulD hides the sulphur must necessarily go into the smoke during the smelting smelling sm elting or roasting operations largely as sulphurous oxide and in that form it becomes harmful to vegetation As it is not practicable to remove mechanically chani cally the sulphur in the ores before smelting smelling sm elting the problem narrows itself down to the smoke after that operation and whether it is possible to render this innocuous or to remove the injurious gases contained in it either as a loss or as a by pro duct for useful purposes the subject must be considered from two general standpoints 1 1 mechanical means to render innocuous the sulpher compounds in the smoke 2 chemical means to remove either before or after smelting smelling sm elting the deleterious compounds now in the smoke and convert the same into valuable ablo products byproducts by useful in other manufacturing lines mechanical means 1 spraying the smoke at or before entering the stack in order to absorb the harmful gases this system might be partially successful but the volumes of gas are too enormous to treat practically or with regard to the other necessary functions to be performed by a smelter and the question of the disposition of the contaminated water is an added problem 2 mechanical dilution w with ith air along this line I 1 can see some hopes of practical results if one will watch the smoke issuing irom a smelter stack he will notice how it follows for a long distance a defined path due to prevailing air currents and that it is some time before it becomes distributed through the surrounding atmosphere the dissemination des of the smoke is a slow natural process and it is in the concentrated state that the gases contained in it are injurious to vegetation 1 I have proposed the use of low pressure blowers or tans fans such asare as are used for ventilating mines on a large barp scale to be placed at the base of smelter smokestacks smoke stacks thereby making mechanically and instantly a dilution of the injurious gases that otherwise takes a considerable time by natural means the practical point in this dilution at which the gases will cease to be harmful will have to be found out by experience it might also be possible to further dilute the gases by specially constructed motor fans placed at or near the tops of the stacks the idea is 1 to do instantly by mechanical chani ch anical oal means and before the gases can reach points where damage will ensue that i which it takes a combar comparatively actively long time to accomplish by xia natural tural me means ang after all is said and done mechanical means are only expedients to alleviate not to cure and are added expenses the only side from which the problem can be attacked with any hope of permanent success is the chemical one and this will depend largely upon commercial features someone has said that the advance of the world in civilization has been marked by the increase in the production and use of sulphuric acid so greatly does the use of that commodity enter into the arts and kanuf manufactures altures ac tures the deleterious sulphurous oxide now being lo 10 lost st in the smelter smoke is capable if saved of being made the basis for a large chemical industry here in utah it is true there are difficulties of transportation and markets to be met but these will adjust them themselves selvis more anddore and more with the up building of the west two of the principal uses of sulphuric acid are in refining ning petroleum and the manufacture of commercial fertilizers from phosphate rock my investigations in northern utah and southern idaho have proved the existence of phosphate deposits of excellent quality and suitable for the manufacture of super phosphates or commercial fertilizer while a home production of super phosphates would be of incalculable value to the ch ardist and market gardener of salt lake valley the amount so consumed would not be sufficient to warrant th the large elarge investment in a chemical plant by a smelter and outside markets would have to be found in the cereal raising states to make a commercial success the world at large and the west more particularly is removing from the soil each year enormous amounts of phosphoric acid in crops without any adequate replacement this cannot continue indefinitely and this essential must be returned to the soil for plant food through the agency of phosphate rock treated with sulphuric acid 1 I believe that salt lake city can be made the center of a large chemical indusi indus i try and that the very agent in the smelter smoke n w cursed by the farmer can be made to produce one of his most valuable aids but it is a question of time markets railroad rates and erection of plants that will have to be considered by the smelter managers in their earnest efforts looking to an alleviation of the smoke trouble in this vicinity As a commercial one the question is EO important that I 1 doubt not the united and sincere efforts now being made by the smelt ermen will result in a remedy being found either on the above or some other lines the mining review invites discussion on the smoke problem and also upon other topics and questions pertaining to the mining milling and smelting smelling sm elting industries of the west ed |