Second Edition—Thoroughly Revised and Enlarged
M A N U F A C T U R E OF S O D A by TE-PANG HOU, P h . D .
A . C. S. Monograph
No.
65
JL H E present acute shortage of soda ash and the consequent rapid expansion of existing p l a n t facilities make the publication of this volume an event of the first importance not only to the soda industry itself, but to others closely related to it. New plants will be brought into production, older ones enlarged, and every effort will be made to attain maximum operating efficiency from all. It is in this connection that this book will be of particular value, for it constantly stresses the importance of efficiency, and explains precisely the best methods of attaining it. Since the first edition was exhausted, there has been a constant demand for its revision and enlargement. With this in mind, the author has not limited himself merely to bringing it u p to date, but has expanded it to embrace the entire field of soda manufacture, to such a n extent that the second edition is in reality a wholly new book. This is evidenced by the fact t h a t the revised edition contains nearly twice as many pages as the first. No effort has been spared to include the fullest details about all the methods of soda manufacture—LeBlanc, Trona, Solvay, and electrolytic. Production statistics, analytical methods, and detailed calculations are given in such form that they will be of ready use to plant engineers, production supervisors, and industrial executives. Special attention has been given to the mechanical requirements of the modern soda-ash plant, including one entire chapter on their layout and design, and another on the use of centrifugal pumps in the industry. Such important operating details as conditioning and control of boiler feed water and generation of power are thoroughly treated. Dr. Hou has supervised the installation of many soda-ash plants in China, and is largely responsible for the development and modernization of the industry in that country.
Chapters Introduction. Historical Survey of Alkali Industry and Relation of LeBlanc Soda Industry to Development of Other Chemical Industries Natural Soda ^ History of Ammonia Soda Process: Statistics Preparation of Brine: Rock Salt and Sea Salt Purification of Brine Burning of Limestone Ammoniation of Saturated Brine Carbonation of Ammonia ted Brine Working of Carbonating Towers or "Columns" m Filtration of Crude Sodium Bicarbonate (Ammonia Soda): Composition of the Bicarbonate Composition of Mother Liquor From Carbonating Towers Phase Rule in Tower Reactions: Graphical Representation of Ammonia Soda Process Decomposition of Sodium Bicarbonate by Calcination Recovery of Ammonia—Efficiency of Operation in Ammonia Still By-Products From Distiller Waste Allied Products of Ammonia Soda Industry
590 Pages
182 Tables
Position of Ammonia Soda Industry Manufacture of Refined Sodium Bicarbonate Manufacture of Caustic Soda—Chemical Process Manufacture of Electrolytic Caustic, Chlorine, a n d Chlorine Products Wet Calcination of Sodium Bicarbonate Generation of Power for Ammonia Soda Plants Boiler Operation and Conditioning of Boiler Feed and Cooling Water in Ammonia Soda Plant Special Requirements of Ammonia Soda I ndustry Control in Ammonia Soda Process Losses and Consumption of Raw Materials in Ammonia Soda Process^ Modifications and N e w Developments of Ammonia Soda Process Chemical Analyses and Tests in Alkali Industry Behavior of Soda Ash in Storage Layout, Design and Location of Ammonia Soda Plant Centrifugal Pumps Applied to Ammonia Soda Industry Appendix, Index
149 Illustrations
Price $9.50
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worked out for the recovery of about 24 pounds of tin oxide and almost a ton of scrap steel per ton of discarded cans. The tin oxide is readily smelted to a grade equivalent t o Straits tin, the grade formerly secured from the Malay Peninsula, now in Japanese hands. The San Francisco plant handles cans collected from the city of Oakland and nearby communities. The processing unit comprises unloading equipment, inspection station, rotary screens for dirt removal, incincerator for charring cans *to destroy fat, paper, lacquer, and other combustibles and t o separate the carbonaceous residue, shredding and pre-washing equip-
Tin Recovery A PROCESS for recovering tin and steel from used tin cans, requiring no preparation of the cans on the part of t h e householder or other users of canned commodities, can now be applied to largescale production, according to an announcement by the Metal & Thermit Corp., 120 Broadway, N e w York, N . Y . This company has been operating a test plant at San Francisco for the past five years. The pilot plant is a complete unit with a capacity of over 6,000 tons. From its operations, suitable methods have been
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