Update On Snow Shed

The humid weather we have been having lately is causing adverse effects on the urethane casting resin. I have ordered some new types of resin from Smooth-On to see how they work. Have added a dehumidifier in the work shop unfortunately it raises the ambient temperature causing the resin to catalyze to rapidly. New resin has a longer pot life and slower set time.

David

1897 Niter Storage Building

The final building associated with the sulfuric acid plant is the salt peter storage shed. It is a single story building with 9 foot eaves and is 15' x 12' in size. It should be noted that this building is set apart form other buildings in this complex. This is due to the explosive nature of the product being stored.

A Google Book Reference

http://books.google.com/books?id=uRJDAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=a+treatise+on+chemistry&hl=en&ei=HZhXTKbEMNC2ngfK54CcBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA

The above link is to a Google book (A Treatise On Chemistry) that gives a very good review of the chamber process for creating sulfuric acid. The description begins on PDF page 440. It is contemporary to the time period and has several illustrations of the manufacturing facilities. I have reviewed several other period references and they are essentially the same in there descriptions of the manufacturing process. My continued discussion will utilized the information learned to make educated guesses as to how these buildings looked as I have not been able to locate any photographs of the Carbon Works.

David

1897 Chamber Building

The acid chamber building is 190 feet long and 72 feet wide with eaves 32 feet above the ground. There is a raised roof 8 feet wide and 3 feet high at the peak and it is indicated that the structure is 3 stories tall with the first story empty. A single story 18' x 50' office and engine room with eaves at 12 feet is on the end of the chamber building.

The acid chambers are voluminous lead walled rooms built on wooden frames and supported above the ground, in this case about 12 feet to match the single story eave height. If we assume that there are 10 foot walk ways around the entire interior of the chamber building for inspection purposes and that this is a three chamber process then the size of an individual cell could be 15 feet wide by 170 feet long. The height of the chamber can be estimated as 15 feet; 20 foot height of walls less 5 feet for the support frames. This calculates to be about 38,000 cubic feet per chamber which is well within the established specifications for these types of facilities.

As the acid collects in the bottom of each chamber it flows by gravity to storage tanks under the chambers. It is then pumped from the tanks to the Glover tower for concentration. The usual means employed for pumping the acid is compressed air, I speculate that the engine room has a steam driven compressor to provide this air for the entire acid facility.

1897 Acid Towers

This detail shows the layout of the acid towers and there relationship to the burner building and the chambers. An enclosed pipe conducts flu gas from the burner building to the Glover tower, another covered pipe conducts gases into the chamber building. An additional covered pipe travels from the chamber building into the Gay-Lussac tower. The drawing indicates that the towers are 60 feet tall and having a foot print of 10 feet by 25 feet. Although not clearly identified I believe that the 8 foot square below the nitrous recovery tower is the chimney.

1897 Buildings Burner House

This is the 1897 burner building and pyrite storage shed. The shed is a one story open sided building with 20 foot eaves its dimensions being 48' long by 58' wide.

The burner house is also a one story structure with 12" thick walls (brick) on all sides, 88' long and 58' wide. There are two windows indicated on the side opposite the shed, this side extending 24" above the roof line. The side walls do not extend above the roof line and are also 20' above the ground.

Why Talk About Chemistry?

Before I go further in my discussion I want to clarify how I look at modeling an industry. I believe that you need to understand what an industry does in order to model it effectively. In the case of the sulfuric acid plant it is necessary to understand how the acid is synthesized, this allows you to understand how the manufacturing process effects the building in which the process occurs.

In this case it clearly allows you to understand the relationship between the components described on the 1897 Sanborn map. The acid towers are the Glover and the Gay-Lussac towers. The modern plant has no towers shown but since they are essential in the production of the acid they must be on the interior of the building. In fact the end of the building by the burners shows alternating high and low roof elevations, the high ones most likely cover the acid towers.

David