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189 views57 pages

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The document provides links to various eBooks, including 'America: The Essential Learning Edition' and other academic texts. It also includes information about W. W. Norton & Company, its history, and its commitment to employee ownership. Additionally, the document outlines the contents and chapters of the book 'America: A Narrative History' by George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi.

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W. W. Norton & Company has been independent since its founding in 1923, when William Warder
Norton and Mary D. Herter Norton first published lectures delivered at the People’s Institute, the
adult education division of New York City’s Cooper Union. The firm soon expanded its program
beyond the Institute, publishing books by celebrated academics from America and abroad. By
mid-century, the two major pillars of Norton’s publishing program—trade books and college texts—
were firmly established. In the 1950s, the Norton family transferred control of the company to its
employees, and today—with a staff of four hundred and a comparable number of trade, college, and
professional titles published each year—W. W. Norton & Company stands as the largest and oldest
publishing house owned wholly by its employees.

Copyright © 2015 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

All rights reserved


Printed in the United States of America
First Edition

Editor: Jon Durbin


Developmental Editors: Lisa Moore and John Elliott
Associate Editor: Justin Cahill
Project Editor: Melissa Atkin
Editorial Assistant: Penelope Lin
Marketing Manager, History: Sarah England
Manuscript Editor: Mike Fleming
Managing Editor, College: Marian Johnson
Managing Editor, College Digital Media: Kim Yi
Production Manager: Andy Ensor
Media Editor: Lisa Moore
Media Project Editor: Penelope Lin
Media Editorial Assistant: Chris Hillyer
Design Director: Hope Miller Goodell
Photo Editor: Nelson Colón
Permissions Manager: Megan Jackson
Composition: Graphic World, Inc.
Manufacturing: Courier, Kendallville

The Library of Congress has cataloged the full edition as follows:

Tindall, George Brown.


America : a narrative history / George Brown Tindall,
David Emory Shi.—9th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-393-91262-3 (hardcover)
1. United States—History—Textbooks. I. Shi, David E. II. Title.
E178.1.T55 2013 2012034504
973—dc23
This edition:
ISBN 978-0-393-93803-6

W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
wwnorton.com
W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
For Jon Durbin, editor and friend
About the
Authors
David Shi is a professor of history and the president emeritus of Furman
University. He is the author of several books on American cultural history,
including the award-winning The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Think-
ing in American Culture and Facing Facts: Realism in American Thought and
Culture, 1850–1920.

George Tindall recently of the University of North Carolina, Chapel


Hill, was an award-winning historian of the South with a number of major
books to his credit, including The Emergence of the New South, 1913–1945
and The Disruption of the Solid South.

Lead authors for media and pedagogy


Jon Lee (San Antonio College, Texas) served on the American Historical
Association/Lumina Tuning Project and educational commissions in the
state of Texas to establish discipline-wide historical learning outcomes. He
received the “Most Inspirational Professor” award from Phi Theta Kappa
Beta Nu. He is the coordinator of the Honors Academy at San Antonio
College.

Erik Anderson (San Antonio College, Texas) teaches American history


and is involved with the Honors Academy. He also serves as the academic li-
aison with the Travis Early College High School program at San Antonio
College. Anderson earned his doctorate at Brown University.
Contents
in Brief
Chapter 15 Reconstruction, 1865–1877 511

Part Five Growing Pains   547


Chapter 16 Big Business and Organized Labor, 1860–1900 551
Chapter 17 The South and the West Transformed, 1865–1900 589
Chapter 18 Society and Politics in the Gilded Age, 1865–1900 625
Chapter 19 Seizing an American Empire, 1865–1913 665

Part Six Modern America   701


Chapter 20 The Progressive Era, 1890–1920 705
Chapter 21 America and the Great War, 1914–1920 747
Chapter 22 A Clash of Cultures, 1920–1929 783
Chapter 23 New Deal America, 1929–1939 827
Chapter 24 The Second World War, 1933–1945 869

Part Seven The American Age   923


Chapter 25 The Cold War and the Fair Deal, 1945–1952 929
Chapter 26 Affluence and Anxiety in the Atomic Age, 1950–1959 965
Chapter 27 New Frontiers, 1960–1968 1007
Chapter 28 Rebellion and Reaction, the 1960s and 1970s 1047
Chapter 29 Conservative Revival, 1977–1990 1093
Chapter 30 Twenty-First-Century America, 1993–present 1129

xiii
Contents
List of Maps  xxiii
List of What’s It All About? features  xxv
List of Thinking Like A Historian features  xxvi
Preface  xxix
Acknowledgments  xxxviii

Chapter 15 Reconstruction, 1865–1877  511


The War’s Aftermath in the South 512
The Battle over Political Reconstruction 513
Reconstruction in Practice 522
The Grant Years and Northern Disillusionment 530
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? From Slave
to Citizen 538
Reconstruction’s Significance 539

Reviewing the Core Objectives 540

Thinking Like a Historian: Debating


Reconstruction 542

Part Five | Growing Pains  547


Big Business and Organized Labor,
Chapter 16
1860–1900  551
The Causes of Industrial Growth 552
The Rise of Big Business 558
The Alliance of Business and Politics 564
A Changed Social Order 567
Organized Labor 573
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? The Growth of Big Business and Its
Impact on Late-19th-Century America 582

Reviewing the Core Objectives 586

xv
The South and the West Transformed,
Chapter 17
1865–1900  589
The Myth of the New South 590
The Failings of the New South 593
Race Relations during the 1890s 596
The Settling of the New West 603
Life in the New West 607
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? Small Farmers and
Independence in the Coming of the Modern Age 612
The Fate of Western Indians 615
The End of the Frontier 620

Reviewing the Core Objectives 622

Society and Politics in the Gilded Age,


Chapter 18
1865–1900  625
America’s Move to Town 626
The New Immigration 630
Changes in Popular and Intellectual Culture 633
Gilded Age Politics 640
Corruption and Reform: Hayes to Harrison 643
Inadequate Currency and Unhappy Farmers 650
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? National Issues of the Gilded
Age 658

Reviewing the Core Objectives 662

Chapter 19 Seizing an American Empire,


1865–1913  665
Toward the New Imperialism 666
Expansion in the Pacific 668
The Spanish-American War (War of 1898) 669
Consequences of Victory 676
Theodore Roosevelt and “Big-Stick” Diplomacy 683
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? The American Empire: Power and
Consequences 689

Reviewing the Core Objectives 694

xvi  
Thinking Like a Historian: Debating the Annexation of the
Philippines 696

Part Six | Modern America  701


Chapter 20 The Progressive Era, 1890–1920  705
The Progressive Impulse 706
The Varied Sources of Progressivism 707
Progressives’ Aims and Achievements 715
Progressivism under Roosevelt and Taft 723
Woodrow Wilson’s Progressivism 732
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? The Expanding Role
of the Federal Government 741

Reviewing the Core Objectives 744

America and the Great War,


Chapter 21
1914–1920  747
An Uneasy Neutrality 748
Mobilizing a Nation 757
The American Role in Fighting the War 762
The Fight for the Peace 767
Lurching from War to Peace 774
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? The Great War 778

Reviewing the Core Objectives 780

Chapter 22 A Clash of Cultures,


1920–1929  783
A “New Era” of Consumption 784
The “Jazz Age” 791
The Modernist Revolt 798
The Reactionary Twenties 803
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? Cultural Clash in
the 1920s 810
Republican Resurgence 812
Reviewing the Core Objectives 824

xvii
Chapter 23 New Deal America, 1929–1939  827
The Causes of the Great Depression 828
The Human Toll of the Depression 832
From Hooverism to the New Deal 837
Roosevelt’s New Deal 841
The New Deal under Fire 849
The Second New Deal 855
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? Combating the Great
Depression 860

Reviewing the Core Objectives 866

The Second World War,


Chapter 24
1933–1945  869
The Rise of Fascism in Europe 870
The United States: From Isolationism to Intervention 877
Mobilization at Home 886
The Allied Drive toward Berlin 894
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? Contributions and
Impacts of World War II 896
Fighting in the Pacific 906
A New Age Is Born 911

Reviewing the Core Objectives 914

Thinking Like a Historian: Debating the United


States’ Response to the Holocaust 916

Part Seven | The American Age  923


The Cold War and the Fair Deal,
Chapter 25
1945–1952  929
The Cold War 930
The Containment Policy 932
Expanding the New Deal 940
The Cold War Heats Up 948
Another Red Scare 955

xviii  
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? The Cold War and the
Rise of the National Security State 958

Reviewing the Core Objectives 962

Affluence and Anxiety in the Atomic Age,


Chapter 26
1950–1959  965
Moderate Republicanism—The Eisenhower Years 966
A People of Plenty 970
Cracks in the Picture Window 979
The Early Years of the Civil Rights Movement 984
Foreign Policy in the 1950s 991
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? Political Consensus
after World War II 1002

Reviewing the Core Objectives 1004

Chapter 27 New Frontiers, 1960–1968  1007


The New Frontier 1008
Expansion of the Civil Rights Movement 1016
Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society 1025
The Tragedy of Vietnam 1034
Sixties Crescendo 1039
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? Presidential Elections in
the Sixties 1042

Reviewing the Core Objectives 1044

Chapter 28 Rebellion and Reaction, the 1960s


and 1970s  1047
“Forever Young”: The Youth Revolt 1048
Social Activism Spreads 1055
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? The Movements of the
1960s and 1970s 1064
Nixon and the Revival of Conservatism 1066
“Peace with Honor”: Ending the Vietnam War 1073
The Nixon Doctrine and a Thawing Cold War 1079
Watergate 1083

Reviewing the Core Objectives 1090

xix
Chapter 29 Conservative Revival, 1977–1990  1093
The Carter Presidency 1094
The Rise of Ronald Reagan 1099
The Reagan Revolution 1103
An Anti-Communist Foreign Policy 1109
The Changing Economic and Social Landscape 1113
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? The Reagan Revolution 1114
The Presidency of George H. W. Bush 1117

Reviewing the Core Objectives 1126

Twenty-First-Century America,
Chapter 30
1993–present  1129
America’s Changing Population 1130
The Clinton Presidency 1131
A New Century 1140
A Resurgent Democratic Party 1147
New Priorities at Home and Abroad 1151
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? U.S. Foreign Policy Post-
Cold War 1166

Reviewing the Core Objectives 1168

Thinking Like a Historian: Debating


Contemporary Immigration and the Uses of
History 1170

Glossary  G-1
Appendix  A-1
The Declaration of Independence  A-1
Articles of Confederation  A-5
The Constitution of The United States  A-11
Amendments to the Constitution  A-20
Presidential Elections  A-30
Admission of States  A-38

xx  
Population of The United States  A-39
Immigration to The United States, Fiscal Years 1820–2011  A-40
Immigration by Region and Selected Country of Last Residence,
Fiscal Years 1820–2011  A-42
Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Secretaries of State  A-51
Further Readings   R-1
Credits  C-1
Index  I-1

xxi
Maps
Chapter 15
Reconstruction, 1865–1877 528
The Election of 1876 537
Chapter 16
Transcontinental Railroad Lines, 1880s 557
Chapter 17
Sharecropping and Tenancy, 1880–1900 595
The New West 605
Indian Wars 619
Chapter 18
The Emergence of Cities, 1880 628
The Emergence of Cities, 1920 629
The Election of 1896 661
Chapter 19
The Spanish-American War in the Pacific 673
The Spanish-American War in the Caribbean 675
U.S. Interests in the Pacific 679
U.S. Interests in the Caribbean 686
Chapter 20
Women’s Suffrage, 1869–1914 714
The Election of 1912 734
Chapter 21
World War I in Europe, 1914 750
The Great War, the Western Front, 1918 765
Europe after the Treaty of Versailles, 1918 771
Chapter 23
The Election of 1932 841
Chapter 24
Aggression in Europe, 1935–1939 876
World War II Military Alliances, 1942 883
Japanese Expansion before the Attack on Pearl Harbor 884
World War II in Europe and Africa, 1942–1945 903
World War II in the Pacific, 1942–1945 909
Chapter 25
The Occupation of Germany and Austria 938
The Election of 1948 947
The Korean War, 1950 and 1950–1953 953
xxiii
xxiv Maps

Chapter 26
The Election of 1952 967
Postwar Alliances: The Far East 995
Postwar Alliances: Europe, North Africa, the Middle East 999
Chapter 27
The Election of 1960 1009
Vietnam, 1966 1036
The Election of 1968 1041
Chapter 29
The Election of 1980 1103
The Election of 1988 1118
Chapter 30
The Election of 2000 1141
The Election of 2004 1147
The Election of 2008 1151
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good or bad. Such a material, if obtained, however good, would be outside
their experience and beyond their philosophy. After the stacks have been
stripped, the gratings or buckles with their adhering coating of white lead
are moistened with water and are passed through crushing rollers to
separate the unconverted lead; then the crust which has been detached is
ground under heavy edge runners with water.
This detached crust of white lead will vary much in colour: it will be
white in some parts, yellowish or greyish in others. These discolorations
arise from various causes, but they are principally caused by the contact of
the moist wood and tan. The white lead is now a rough crushed material,
very hard, and requiring to be ground to the finest powder. It contains, also,
small fragments of blue lead which have passed the crushing rolls, and a
quantity of acetate of lead. The presence of acetate of lead is always found
in larger or smaller quantities, which vary with every operation, and which
invariably accompany white lead produced in the stack.
To remove discolorations—to separate the fragments of metal and to
dissolve out the acetate salt—much water and washing are employed. The
material is ground with water under the heavy edge runner stones, it then
proceeds to a series of horizontal mills, each succeeding mill set closer than
its fellow, and is further and further ground to fineness with water. From
these mills it runs as a milky liquid to a series of settling tanks, where it is
allowed to subside, and the clear fluid is run off to waste, or into tanks to be
used over again. This waste water will now contain the colouring matter
removed from the incrustation, and the principal portion of the acetate of
lead which the incrustation previously contained, and any other soluble
matters removed from the washed and ground material. The small
fragments of lead which passed the crushing roll and edge runner mills will
have been previously removed by subsidence in water.
The white lead deposited in the tanks is in some factories ladled out into
skips and agitated by a “dolly,” which further enables the heavy powder to
get free from the water in which it is entangled. The moist powder is next
placed on trays or dishes, and is conveyed to the stove or drying chamber.
Women always perform this work.
The drying or stoving room is a large enclosed space heated by a
“cockle” arrangement; rough scaffoldings are erected within this chamber,
on which women mount to stow the trays on shelves fitted for the purpose.
The trays and their contents remain in the heated atmosphere of this
chamber for two or three weeks, by which time they become dry and ready
for removal, to be packed in lumps for certain markets, or ground to dry
powder and packed in barrels for others.
Women are employed to fill and also to empty the drying or stoving
chamber, and during this work they are fully exposed to its contaminating
atmosphere. Hot and dry, and charged with fine dusty particles of white
lead, it becomes a dangerous trap, and contaminates the blood of those
engaged with its deadly poison. It is in this part of the manufacture that the
principal damage to health occurs. This is the most laborious work; heat
makes it very fatiguing, the atmosphere within this chamber being always
much above the exterior air.
Recent Government regulations have sought to curtail these and other
evils in this manufacture. Women engaged in these stoves are ordered to
wear overclothing, headdress and respirators. The general experience of
their practice, notwithstanding Government regulations, is this; that they
cannot work in them with ease and convenience, and more often wear the
respirator around their necks than in front of nose and mouth. The excessive
mortality in women who work in these stacks and stoving houses scarcely
requires assertion. Few, even of those who employ them, know the extent of
the deadly operation. Recently, medical men have made public that cases
are within their knowledge of children born already contaminated with lead
poison. Woman labour should surely be restricted by Government
enactments in all such deadly occupations.
We may sum up the whole matter as regards white lead making by the
stack or Dutch method in a few brief words: It is a most tedious and
uncertain operation; it is a most dangerous occupation for all concerned; it
is founded upon no true principles of any kind; and of science its whole
course is ignorant. White lead making is ruled by a “happy-go-lucky”
philosophy. The representatives of this manufacture are completely ignorant
of the scientific details relating to it, and hence we may not be surprised to
find amongst them an enormous amount of ignorance and prejudice.
Good white lead will not differ materially in its composition by whatever
process it may be made, but it may differ seriously in its physical character,
and in its fitness to produce a substance adapted to the uses to which white
lead paint is applied. Good white lead is a compound which contains
hydrate and carbonate of the metal, in the proportions either of one
molecule of hydrate of lead combined with two of carbonate, or is made up
of one molecule of hydrate with three of carbonate of lead.
If we consider the first compound roughly
PbH2O2,2Pb CO3
white lead will be made up of one part of hydrate and two parts of
carbonate of lead.
The second compound roughly estimated
Pb H2O2,3Pb CO3
will be one part of hydrate, combined with three parts of carbonate or lead.
The latter will be in the proportion of 75 per cent, of carbonate and 25 per
cent, of hydrate of lead, and this represents the composition which has been
assigned to good white lead by those most acquainted with the subject. The
amount of hydrate contained in white lead should never exceed the
proportion above named of 25 per cent., nor should its amount be much
below the 25 per cent.
The hydrate contained in the substance serves to unite with the oil in the
paint; it forms therewith a drying white and elastic varnish which embraces
and holds the particles of white carbonate and prevents their subsidence and
separation in the paint. There is a chemical action of a much more intimate
character between the components of good white lead when mixed with oil
which neither of the constituents of this compound can alone produce.
For instance, hydrate of lead and linseed oil produce a varnish-like
substance, semi-transparent and of no covering capability.
Carbonate of lead and linseed oil produce a compound which is opaque,
but has no body or covering power, and in which the white solid carbonate
is held in feeble mechanical suspension.
Neither of them constitutes a paint, but when together as white lead they
are mixed with oil, combination takes place, and serviceable paint of good
body and covering power and enduring quality is produced. Good white
lead is a dense, perfectly amorphous powder of perfect whiteness,
possessed of great body and covering power when combined with oil. When
mixed with linseed oil and used as paint it rapidly dries in the air and
assumes a varnish-like, glossy, hard surface, and is capable when once dry
of resisting the action of air and water for any length of time. It does not
weep when laid on a surface with a brush, that is, the oil does not separate
from the solid material of the paint.
Attempts have been made to produce white lead quickly and cheaply by
precipitating processes, but in all such methods the resulting compound is
deficient in certain special qualities absolutely necessary to white lead
proper and to its uses. The precipitated white lead is always of a crystalline
structure, and crystalline lead can never furnish a good body paint—no
amount of pulverising and grinding of this crystalline material will correct
this defect in its nature, and deprive it of its crystalline form.
“Once a crystal always a crystal” has an especial application to this point
of our philosophy. Pulverising a crystal will not alter its structure, but
simply reduces the size of the crystals. Crystals of white lead are unable to
effect the necessary combination with the oil and form the true varnish
which white amorphous lead so readily produces. Paint made with the
precipitated white lead lacks body and covering power, and this because of
the absence of this chemical union with the oil.
The manufacture of white lead by process of precipitation, even were the
resulting preparation suitable, does not correct the evils of the present
method by Dutch or stack process of making white lead.
A solution of lead may be precipitated in a few minutes, but it cannot be
made so quickly. The white lead, after its precipitation, has to be filtered or
separated, washed and dried, and ground to powder, which processes cannot
occupy less time than a few weeks for completion.
Precipitated white lead has been made in France and Germany for some
years, and it is now manufactured in those countries. It is now made in
England by one patent process, but the product lacks certain qualities, and
is consequently still open to the objections already noted.
Substitutes for white lead of a non-poisonous nature, or of such a nature
as not to produce such deadly effects in their preparation or use as white
lead does, have been proposed; their introduction has not, however, been a
great success. A mixture of sulphate, sulphide and oxide of zinc is a patent
white made by subliming galena in an oxidising furnace or hearth. This
compound lacks body.
All of these so-called substitutes are very inferior to white lead, not only
as to quality but as to cost. They cannot compete with white lead. A
committee of enquiry on these substitutes for white lead, reporting the
result of their enquiry and examination, stated that they found that these
were mostly prepared with varnishes before they were sold for use, and that
in most instances they were mixed with a large quantity of driers, and that
the drier invariably was a compound of lead.
The principal consumption of white lead is for paint; to produce this
paint it is ground with oil in varying proportions, about 8 to 15 per cent.
This produces the ordinary white lead in oil, and is worth from 19l. to 20l. a
ton, but often more than this amount.
Dry powdered white lead is chiefly made for and used by grinders and
mixers, who combine with it a variety of other cheaper materials—chalk,
clay, sulphate of lime, and sulphate of baryta, but principal use is made of
chalk and barytes. These are mixed with the white lead, and then the
mixture is ground with oil and formed into paint, sold under various names
according to quality: thus—guaranteed white lead, firsts, seconds, thirds,
and fourths, the proportion of white lead diminishing, and that of the
adulterant increasing, as we descend from the pure material. Guaranteed
and best white lead is not pure, and does not mean pure white lead. Pure
white lead can be purchased at some makers, but its price, if pure, can never
fall below 19l. or 20l. per ton.
To sophisticate white lead, and produce the various inferiors named, dry
powdered white lead is needed as a starting point, and for this purpose
principally arises the necessity for its production. If ground in oil the
adulterants cannot be properly incorporated with it. Dry white lead is used
for nothing else that could ever give rise to any great demand for it. We
have already observed that the production of this dry and powdered white
lead is the most dangerous proceeding connected with this industry.
Grinding in oil is unattended with any important consequence to the health
and comfort of those employed. A serious drawback to the “stack”
production, the china-like incrustation to which reference has already been
made, is that it requires crushing, grinding, washing, and drying, and a
second course of dry grinding after it is dried—the most objectionable step
in its preparation.
Could the corrosion of the blue lead be effected in such a way as to
prevent any discoloration of the material by the tan and wood—could the
corrosion be so produced as to be easily separated from the buckle or
grating on which it has formed—could this separation be so effected as to
prevent the breaking up of the lead skeleton, and the presence of small
pieces of metal in the detached crust of white lead, two principal reasons for
washing and drying are removed.
There is yet another consideration, that is, the presence of acetate of
lead, always found in varying quantities in the incrustation produced, and
remaining at the close of the operation and conversion. To remove this,
careful washing, and after-stoving and drying must be accomplished. The
amount of this salt present is found to differ with each operation, and in
various portions of the same make.
The washing out of the acetate is never perfect, and it involves a large
amount of labour.
Opinions differ as to the effect of this acetate if allowed to remain in the
product. White lead makers on the “stack” principle aver that it should and
must be washed out, lest it should damage the qualities of the paint. This is
questionable, and not one can produce practical evidence of its being the
cause of any damage if still contained in white lead. Facts seem to deny its
harmfulness in this respect, inasmuch as the best prepared samples, those
washed and dried from the most careful makers, will be found upon
analysis to contain more or less of acetate of lead.
A large proportion of this salt in white lead may not be beneficial for
many reasons, but a small percentage can do no harm; nay, for many
purposes it may be good.
There is no substance used for driers for white lead that is more
esteemed than this acetate of lead, commonly known as “sugar of lead.”
A small amount of this salt present in white lead would communicate
drying properties, and this alone is what it could do.
Granting that we can discover a method of producing white lead of
amorphous character, of good density, free from all discoloration, free from
all particles of metallic lead, and free from all but a small percentage of
acetate of lead, then washing will not be needed.
Stoving and drying become unnecessary. The work of women, their
deadly occupation, so burdensome to the operatives and to all with whom
they are concerned, is done away with.
Condy’s Process.—An improvement in the manufacture of white lead
was patented by Condy, of Battersea, in 1881, which, though giving
perfectly satisfactory results when carefully conducted, necessitated special
precautions, and led to his substituting in practice the following additions
and modifications, which are of great consequence in rendering the process
more certain in the quality of its product, and more valuable as a
commercial manufacture on the practical scale, by virtue of its offering
greatly increased facility and economy in production.
The results of numerous and repeated experiments on the larger scale
induced Condy to qualify the recommendation contained in his first patent,
viz. that of employing a solution of tribasic acetate of lead and bicarbonate
of soda in proper proportion to precipitate nearly the whole of the lead, and
further stating that he preferred to employ “a slight excess of tribasic lead
salt rather than find carbonate of soda in excess.” Though, when carefully
conducted, if the greatest nicety is observed, a satisfactory result is
obtained; in practice, the least variation from the exact composition of the
two substances is attended with the drawback that the white lead is liable to
a slight uncertainty of tint after it is ground in oil, whereas by the process
hereinafter described a positive and reliable result can be obtained, as the
white lead produced will be of a uniform white colour, and not liable to turn
when ground in oil. Though the earlier process was in itself complete for
the manufacture of white lead from oxide of lead, it afterwards occurred to
Condy that a great object would be attained in rendering the process more
valuable and more practical, if a method were devised, worked out, and
described for the manufacture of tribasic acetate of lead to be made entirely
from metallic lead by the action of acetic acid or neutral acetate of lead on
metallic lead, and not to be dependent on the employment in any way of
previously manufactured oxide of lead.
This portion of Condy’s invention relating to the manufacture of tribasic
acetate of lead may be described as follows: he melts, and, after skimming
carefully, feathers the metallic lead by dropping it into water; he places this
granulated lead in wooden vessels or vats previously fitted with perforated
false bottoms under which are fixed taps for drawing the liquor off into
other vats or tanks placed on a lower level. Having filled with granulated
lead the vessels fitted with the false bottoms, he fills up the interstices with
a dilute acetic acid composed of one part, by weight, of acid (specific
gravity 1·045 at 60° F.) and 12½ parts of water, and after allowing the dilute
acid to stand for two hours, draws it off through the taps into the lower
tanks. This allows access of atmospheric air to the lead, which has the effect
of heating the lead so that oxidation takes place.
After a time (about three or four hours), this oxidation begins to slacken,
when he pumps up a second time the acid solution from the lower vat on to
the granulated lead, and allows them to stand in contact for one hour; he
then again draws off the liquid into the lower tank, and again exposes the
metallic lead to atmospheric oxidation, allowing three or four hours for the
latter operation; and if the solution of lead has not already attained the
specific gravity of 1·040, at 60° F., he again repasses the liquor over the
metallic lead partially oxidised, until it has attained that specific gravity,
when he places the dissolved lead with fresh granulated lead and
recommences the manufacture in the same way.
This operation succeeds much better on the large scale than on a
laboratory scale. In vats containing upwards of one ton of lead, the result is
all that can be desired, and can be obtained by passing the liquor from twice
to three times over the metallic lead partially oxidised. A little practice
enables the operator so to control the process that he can obtain the solution
of the desired specific gravity with perfect ease.
This plan of manufacturing tribasic acetate of lead possesses the
advantage of producing that substance wholly or nearly wholly free from
the impurities contained in metallic lead, such as copper and silver, which
are not taken up, or soluble, in the presence of metallic lead. In
consequence of the circumstance that foreign matter is left almost
untouched, it is practicable to make white lead of a fine quality from old
lead such as lead piping, roofing, and worn out lead generally, which can
thus be utilised to greater advantage than in any other way.
Having obtained this solution of basic acetate of lead of the specific
gravity of 1·040 at 60° F., Condy proceeds as follows:—To the solution
produced by each 60 lb. of acid and 750 lb. of water previously pumped up
into another vat or tank, he adds bicarbonate of soda in the proportion of 30
lb. for each 60 lb. by weight of acid originally employed, and agitates the
mixture. This will generally precipitate all the white lead, but it is necessary
to test the filtrate to ascertain the exact point when all the lead is thrown
down. Sufficient bicarbonate of soda should be added to do this completely,
and it would be better to use bicarbonate of soda in excess rather than leave
any lead unprecipitated, as by this means greater certainty is obtained in
securing on the large and practical scale a white lead capable of standing
the effect of light and grinding in oil without changing. The white lead after
precipitation can be washed, pressed, and dried in the usual way.
The following variation may be made from the method described of
making tribasic acetate of lead, thus:—To each 60 lb. of acid and 750 lb. of
water may be added sufficient of the tribasic solution to make neutral
acetate of lead, with which to recommence the manufacture of tribasic
acetate of lead by the process described. Vague reference has been made in
works on technical chemistry to the possibility of using metallic lead in the
manufacture of sugar of lead, but such references have been practically
worthless, as they contain no information of a practical nature even for the
manufacture of neutral acetate of lead, and no process at all has ever been
described for the manufacture of basic acetate of lead from metallic lead
acted on by acetic acid or acetate of lead.
Gardner’s Process.—The conditions observed and fulfilled in the
arrangements adopted by Prof. E. V. Gardner, are founded upon a study of
the nature, properties and behaviour of the substances concerned, under
certain methods of treatment.
There are several oxides of lead which may be formed under special
conditions.—(1) Pb2O, and the same oxide combined with water Pb2H2O2;
(2) PbO, and the same oxide combined with water PbH2O2. In the hydrated
form these oxides combine readily with carbonic acid, but they do not
combine readily with carbonic acid when dehydrated. The hydrates are
most readily formed at about 120°-130° F., and are decomposed after they
are formed if heated to 212° F.
These oxides and their hydrates combine with acetic acid to form acetate
and sub-acetate of lead, and with nitric acid to form nitrate and sub-nitrate
of lead.
Lead, submitted to the action of air, watery vapour, and acetic or nitric
acid, or a mixture of these acids, with air or oxygen, with proper
precautions, forms sub-acetate or sub-nitrate of lead, and this sub-acetate or
sub-nitrate of lead readily absorbs carbonic acid and forms carbonate and
sub-carbonate of lead.
Sufficient acetic or nitric acid, or a mixture of these and air or oxygen,
and watery vapour, must be constantly supplied to form the subsalts of lead,
to carry on the operation of converting blue lead into white lead; but an
excess or an insufficiency of these agents will in either case prevent the
formation of sub-acetate or sub-nitrate, and consequently of the sub-
carbonates.
Thus—too little air, acetic acid and aqueous vapour prevents the
formation of the hydrated sub-acetate and consequently sub-carbonate of
lead. Too much acetic acid and aqueous vapour, and too little air forms an
acetate on the surface of the lead, which, by the excess of water, dissolves
and wastes, and washes the lead; it also varnishes the surface of the lead
with a coating of acetate, and checks, if it does not completely prevent, the
formation of sub-acetate of lead, and consequently the formation of
carbonate and sub-carbonate of lead. Similar rules hold good in the case of
nitric acid and the formation of nitrate and sub-nitrate.
The process of forming the hydrated sub-acetate or sub-nitrate of lead is
most energetic at a temperature of 120°-130° F. In a lower temperature, a
much longer time is occupied in carrying out the process of conversion;
while at a higher temperature the delicate sub-acetate or sub-nitrate of lead
first formed suffers loss of water, until, at 212° F., it is completely
dehydrated. At a temperature about 135° F., the power of forming carbonate
and sub-carbonates is lessened, and at 212° F. is considerably diminished.
The carbonate itself is dehydrated at 212° F., and is decomposed at a higher
temperature.
To obtain a white lead of excellent quality for its various uses, it is
necessary to produce a substance which possesses sufficient body to cover
surfaces to which it may be applied as paint, and it must possess sufficient
base to combine with the oil of the paint to form a vehicle or varnish to
retain and hold the body on the surface. This is found to be the case with
sub-carbonate of lead, or especially with a compound constituted of two or
three equivalents of carbonate of lead, with one equivalent of hydrated
oxide of that metal.
Lead, to be attacked by chemical agents, should possess a clean surface.
If the surface of the lead is chemically clean, so much the better. The
surface of the lead should be extended as much as possible, and exposed to
the action of the gases and vapours at a certain heat for its conversion into
white lead.
If the most favourable conditions are sought, the temperature should be
between 120° and 130° F.; and to carry on the chemical action most
satisfactorily, the lead during its conversion should present a granular
coating—that is, the coating formed by the chemical agents should be
granular and not smooth and continuous in character. It should be porous,
and not of a continuous varnish-like or vitreous character.
To rapidly carry on the chemical action, the chemical agents should be
well diffused and commingled throughout each other, and the blue lead
should be so exposed as to be open to their attack on all parts of its surface
equally, and all should be at, and kept at, a proper temperature and a proper
degree of humidity. Too dry a heat prevents the process of conversion. Too
moist an atmosphere wastes the materials and arrests their action. The
conditions, therefore, which are most favourable will be a certain humid
atmosphere of well diffused and commingled vapours or gases, acting on
metallic lead exposed to them under the physical conditions described, and
at a temperature between 110° and 135° F.
These favourable conditions can be further augmented by certain
electrical arrangements in connection with them.
Again, in the sources from which the carbonic acid is derived, and in the
arrangement of the apparatus for applying the carbonic acid, favourable and
unfavourable conditions can be imported. Thus, by using paraffin,
petroleum, benzine, or light oil of paraffin or petroleum, or similar
carbonaceous substances free from sulphur, or mixtures of such
carbonaceous substances either alone or mixed with air or other oxidising
substance, comparatively pure carbonic acid may be furnished without at
the same time producing any objectionable compounds.
As a result of his researches and experiments, Prof. Gardner has
proposed (Eng. Pat. 1882, No. 731) certain improvements in the method of
converting blue lead into white lead, in the apparatus employed, and in the
method of making and applying the carbonic acid used in the process. Some
of these improvements are applicable to the open stack or chamber process,
while others relate to closed chambers.
Preferably, for the conversion of blue lead into white lead, Prof. Gardner
adopts a closed, but not air-tight, chamber. This chamber is ventilated or
relieved so as to enable the incoming gases and vapours to enter it without
hindrance, and to escape by means of an exit valve and pipe, or an exit
shaft, connected with the chamber, communicating with the exterior air, and
regulated by a valve or damper. The gases and vapours within the chamber
can find their way out by this exit shaft only, by slight pressure on
expansion from within the chamber; thus the interior of the chamber is
preserved from disturbance, by preventing the formation of currents within
its atmosphere, and yet a perfect circulation of the gases and vapours is kept
up.
To warm the interior of this chamber, which is constructed of any
material that will resist the action of the vapours and gases, and which is not
too absorbent, Prof. Gardner makes the bottom of the chamber of such a
shape as to form a heating vessel to hold water or steam, this water or
steam, or both, being kept at the required temperature by means of a steam
coil. Matters are so arranged that the contents of this coil are protected from
any excess of pressure, and consequently the temperature seldom or never
exceeds about 212° F., unless for any special reason it is desired to raise it
to a higher point. Sometimes the sides are constructed similarly to the
bottom.
The materials of which these chambers are constructed must be capable
of resisting the heated and acidified vapours within them. Cast or wrought
iron faced with glass, slate, tiles, pewter, or glazed bricks; tinned copper,
tinned brass, or pewter; timber, whether green or after carbonising by heat
or sulphuric acid; all are more or less suitable. Means of observing the
progress of the conversion, and means of lifting the contents in or out, must
also be provided, as well as thermometers to indicate the temperature
prevailing inside.
The gases and vapours which effect the conversion of the blue lead into
white lead are generated outside the chamber just described, and are
conducted into it by means of pipes, being first raised to such a temperature
in excess of that which should exist inside the converting chamber as to
allow for the cooling effect arising from the friction and loss of heat in
passing through the various pipes and distributors attached to the converting
chamber.
Owing to this extra heating, the gases and vapours are expanded,
diffused, and commingled, and do not rob the interior of the converting
chamber of any heat on entering it, so that the heat inside the converting
chamber is kept constant, and can operate to further expand and diffuse the
gases and vapours in contact with the blue lead inside the chamber. In
practice it is found that the temperature of the converting chamber cannot
be suitably controlled if any portion of the gases or vapours be generated
within that chamber.
The blue lead is arranged in the converting chamber in trays, or on
shelves or frames, so as to allow it to be completely surrounded and
attacked by the vapours or gases, and thereby be converted into white lead,
at the same time preventing the formation of direct currents or eddies.
Framed supports resembling a dinner waggon serve well for holding the
lead, and may easily be arranged to lift bodily in and out of the chamber
with their burden of blue or white lead. The surface on which the blue lead
is directly supported is made of graphitic carbon, hard coke, platinum, or
carbonised or platinised material, such as is used for plates in electric
batteries, or of other material standing in a similar electrical relationship to
lead, or capable of generating with it an electric current.
In applying this development of electrical energy to the ordinary “stack,”
as for instance the Dutch process, the pots containing the acetous liquid and
blue lead are made of, or lined with, such electrical carbon, or contain a
portion of it in suspension, by which the same effect is realised. Advantage
may also be derived from furnishing a supplementary supply of carbonic
acid to the stack beyond that due to the decomposing dung, &c.; as well as
from injecting a current of air or oxygen at suitable temperatures, and from
the admission of steam in a coil throughout the stack.
The generation or production of the acetic or nitric acid vapours is
attained by heat in a vessel so arranged that its contents are kept at a certain
temperature for vaporising, by having the boiling acid solution at about
1·003 sp. gr., procured by mixing water with vinegar or acetic or nitric
acids.
The supply pipes conveying the air or oxygen and the carbonic acid, or
either of them, can easily be made to emit their contents close to the boiling
acid solution, whereby the vapours arising from the latter are mixed and
intermingled with them, and all pass together through the pipes and
distributors into the converting chamber or stack.
In preparing the carbonic acid it is necessary to observe certain
precautions, especially that it shall be pure and that no carbonic oxide shall
gain admission to the chamber. If the ordinary chalk and carbon method be
employed, the furnace must be provided at the uptake with a series of air
inlets, so as to ensure that the gases passing from the furnace to the delivery
tube shall be most thoroughly oxidised.
The purification of the carbonic acid may be effected in the usual way by
passing it through a vessel containing water; or, if requisite, it may be
cleansed, expanded, and heated in one operation by passing it through or
over hot water, or over a hot aqueous solution of carbonate of soda, all of
which, however, incur considerable cost in plant and manipulation.
Owing to these difficulties in purifying carbonic acid, Prof. Gardner
prefers to prepare a practically pure carbonic acid in the first place, and this
he does by allowing petroleum, benzine, paraffin, or other hydrocarbon or
carbonaceous liquid to gradually fall into a retort containing chalk or other
suitable carbonate at a high temperature, whereby relatively pure carbonic
acid gas is generated; and while still in a highly heated state it encounters a
stream of air or oxygen, ensuring its complete combustion before entering
the converting chamber.
Another method of procuring fairly pure carbonic acid is by the
combustion and oxidation of any of the liquid hydrocarbons mentioned
above, in suitable lamps; and when carbonic acid gas of exceptional purity
is required, it may be obtained by heating bicarbonates to a sufficient
degree to drive off one molecule of carbonic acid, reducing the bicarbonate
to carbonate, from which it can be reproduced by treatment with carbonic
acid gas obtained from cheaper sources.
The modus operandi adopted by Prof. Gardner is as follows: The lead is
granulated and prepared for conversion in one operation, thus—an iron or a
slate slab about 2-3 inches thick is placed in a tank containing acetic or
nitric acid solutions rising about 3 inches above the upper surface of the
slab. The lead is melted at low red heat and poured from a height of 4 to 6
feet into the acid solution, through which it falls till it encounters the slab,
and thereupon passes away into the surrounding solution, being thus
converted into a spongy condition. In this condition the lead is spread on
frames or trays, which are then lifted bodily into their places in the
converting chambers. The latter is closed and heated to 120° F. for 3-4
hours, or until the whole contents have assumed a uniform temperature.
Thereupon the acid vapours and air are admitted and distributed, taking care
that the temperature is not thereby reduced below 110° F. nor increased
above 125° F., steam being temporarily shut off if necessary. This treatment
is continued for 24 hours.
The admission of aqueous vapour should be so regulated that while a dry
atmosphere is avoided, yet there is no appreciable condensation of moisture
in the chamber. While ensuring this condition, the temperature may reach as
high as 130° F. for a second period of 24 hours, but must not overstep the
limits of 120° F. minimum and 135° F. maximum.
After 48 hours’ treatment, the supply of duly warmed carbonic acid gas
is admitted for a period of two hours, without discontinuing the introduction
of acid vapours, air and steam; and this addition of carbonating gas is
repeated for two hours at a time with intervals of four hours during which it
is cut off. When, after four or five days, efflorescence or exfoliation appears
on the lead, the supply of carbonic gas is increased to two hours in every
four, or four in every six; and the admission of acid vapours, air and steam
may also be augmented so long as the temperature is not allowed to exceed
130°-135°F. The whole operation is completed in seven to fourteen days.
Of this process, Mr. Carter Bell, in his paper before referred to, speaks in
the highest terms. No washing or drying is necessary. No women are
engaged in the manufacture, and but few men. The white lead thus
produced by the aid of electricity is deposited in a peculiar state of
disintegration, it is perfectly amorphous and non-crystalline, of the purest
quality; its density is 5·8. When ground in oil and made into paint, it
possesses great body and a covering power inferior to no other paint, if not
superior to them all.
Painters who have used the paint, practical men, and amongst these we
may observe coach painters, have pronounced its excellence and superiority
to the best ordinary white lead paint.
By this electrical process of manufacture, not only is the time consumed
in the making and in the preparation of this material greatly shortened, but
the cost of preparation is reduced, and added to this is the important fact,
the vital factor in our consideration. The labour of women is unnecessary.
No lives are sacrificed to its working requirements.
Prof. E. V. Gardner, who has been for some years occupying his attention
with the subject of white lead making, with a view especially to remedying
its existing evils, has invented his electrical chamber process of
manufacture, and an entirely new course of after treatment. He has for the
last seven or eight years been more or less occupied perfecting his
conception, and accommodating it to practical and commercial claims.
Chamber processes are not new, there have been several patents enrolled
for making white lead in closed chambers, but none has proved
commercially convenient or practically successful in its adaptation, and
none has survived to the present time.
In Germany, white lead is made in chambers at the present day. The lead
in gratings or sheets is supported on wooden rods, saddle fashion, the
chamber is then filled, and its contents are submitted to currents of acetic
acid vapour, air, steam, and carbonic acid gas; the time needful for
conversion is six or seven weeks. The after steps in the separation of the
incrustation, and its preparation for trade purposes are much the same as in
the “stack” product preparation. It is washed, stoved, dried, and ground. The
white lead made on the German plan does not differ in any material degree,
save it be in price, from the best English commodity. We may assume that
the washing and drying in Germany consumes a like period of time to that
process in English works, viz. two or three weeks. We then see that the
German plan of making white lead cannot be perfected in less than eight or
ten weeks’ time from the commencement of the corroding action in the
chamber. To compare these facts and the efficiency of the different plans
described:—
The time required to complete the corrosion in the stack is at least 14 or
16 weeks.
The Gardner’s electric process requires for the same purpose only 14
days.
As to point of time, the German plan excels the stack, and can be carried
out in one-half the time required in the stack method of conversion.
The Gardner’s electrical method excels the German, and can be
perfected in one-third the time needed for the German chamber operation,
and one-sixth the time required the stack.
These figures open out a most important matter when we regard the
capital invested and lying dormant in stack lead works.
It is well known that we have in electricity a most powerful agent by
which to effect the chemical combination of various substances on the one
hand, or on the other, by its means to break up and disrupt a chemical
compound. Professor Gardner’s main principle of action in his new process
is founded upon these facts, and he takes advantage of electrical power to
cause the combination of the lead with the necessary elements to build up
white lead in his chambers. He either employs electrical discharges to
energise and render active in their chemical affinities the various materials
engaged, or he so disposes of them as to form an electric or galvanic
combination in the chamber. In the latter arrangement the chamber and its
contents represent a gas battery on an extensive scale. In practice he prefers
the latter plan; it is more simple, more manageable in the hands of the
ordinary workmen. The original plan was to have graphite or graphitic
carbon plates or supports for the buckles or gratings of lead within the
converting chamber. These carbon plates and the lead to be converted, were
so placed as to form a collection of galvanic “couples” or “pairs,” and in
this condition were submitted to the gases entering the chamber from
without. It will be understood that various modes of arrangement would
occur without departing from the principle concerned.
In practice this method answered very well, but presently a difficulty
arose; not only were the graphitic carbon or graphitic plates expensive, but
they were easily broken, and became friable in use. Carbon plates of an
especial kind were manufactured to meet these failures and remedy these
defects, not without success, but still open to objection. In looking round for
some substitute to replace the carbon, two points were to be kept in view, to
seek some electro-negative to lead like the carbon, and some electro-
conductive like it, and some material that would bear rough handling such
as workmen give, and be practically convenient in its adaptation to a
working chamber.
Gold or platinum would excel in these particulars, but there are
considerations which debar their use. Pure tin presented itself, and tin was
tried with great success. Tin would at first be thought, on account of its
close electrical relationship to lead, far from favourable to the purpose.
Graphite or carbon would appear far more suitable. Practice pronounced the
tin to act as efficiently as carbon. This may at first seem contradictory and
strange, but if we consider that while the carbon is certainly more highly
electro-negative to lead than tin, yet the tin is the more conductive, and
offers the less resistance to the electric current of the two; in this manner the
tin compensates by its conductive power all it may lack, as compared with
carbon, in electrical energy when coupled up with lead.
Tin plate is now used as the electric-negative element in the chamber of
the Gardner plan. Tin plate means pure tin. Ingot tin is rolled out into plates,
the bottom of the chamber is covered with this pure tin plate, so are the
bearers and the shelves, or supports which are to hold the lead during its
conversion. Tin pipes and tin fittings, which resist the action of acetic acid,
are also used to conduct the gases to the chamber to carry on the converting
operation, and to preserve the product from any source of discoloration.
When a chamber is prepared for the converting operation, the whole of
the lead it contains will be in metallic communication with the tin supports,
and these with the tin covered bottom of the chamber.
The chamber when working is kept at a certain temperature by a steam
coil beneath the floor of the chamber. The process is simple. The lead
buckles or gratings are placed on tin-covered stands, somewhat in form and
make like a dinner-waggon. The whole is hauled up and dipped into a bath
of acetic acid and acetate of lead; it there remains for one or two minutes, it
is then hauled out, drained and lifted bodily through the top into the
chamber. Other stands filled with buckles are so dipped and so placed till
the space of the chamber is fully occupied.
This dipping cleanses the surface of the metal, and when it is exposed to
the air it is speedily coated with a hydrated oxide of lead. This is the first
step in the process of conversion. The chamber when filled is closed, and its
temperature is brought to about 100° F.; then vapour of acetic acid and
vapour of water and air are supplied from without to the interior of the
chamber. This is continued for 15 or 20 hours. The lead buckles within the
chamber will now possess a whitish coating, consisting of subhydrate and
subacetate of lead, and they will present a uniform colour. Carbonic acid
generated in any convenient manner is next passed into the acid generator;
it mixes with the other gases and vapours, and with them goes on its way to
supply the chamber. Speedily the action of the carbonic acid is observed,
the surface lead becomes quite white and presents the appearance of a snow
shower having fallen within the chamber. The formation of white lead is
now speedily effected. This treatment is continued throughout the space of
13 days; at the end of this time the supply of acetic acid vapour is stopped,
and the supply of air, steam and carbonic acid is continued, according as it
is desired to obtain white lead rich in oxide or in carbonate.
After a short further period, steam and air only are sent into the chamber,
which is varied in temperature to 120° or 130°F., and lastly the steam
supply is stopped; air alone enters the chamber, which is kept heated by the
coils beneath the floor. The contents of the chamber are now in a dry state,
and the operation is terminated.
It will occur to most readers that these terminal proceedings amount in
effect to a convenient method of washing and drying the white lead while it
is still attached to the parent lead, and this it is in fact.
The contents of the converting chamber are lifted out through the opened
top, and the buckles or gratings with their crust of white lead are turned into
the agitator. This agitator is an iron cage revolving inside a closed chamber
of the same material. During the revolution of this cylinder or cage, the
contained lead gratings fall from side to side, and the incrustation on their
surfaces becomes detached and broken up. It falls in, this broken state
through the bars of the cage or cylinder into a receptacle beneath. The
denuded buckles or gratings are retained in the cylinder and are removed.
These gratings or buckles are cast of such a thickness as to withstand two or
three converting operations in the chamber before they are recast.
This crude white lead is carried by an elevator, or it falls into the hopper
of a pair of granite crushing rolls, also enclosed; and from these it passes
into the mixer or incorporator from which it can be removed in a dry state
or mixed with oil.
The incrustation of white lead will be found upon examination to be
possessed of some peculiarities, the result of the electrical action which has
been going on within the chamber. It is quite white. It falls from the lead
buckle or grating which it coats, if the grating be struck against a piece of
wood with but a slight blow. It is easily friable, and can be rubbed to the
finest powder between the thumb and finger, or on the palm of the hand.
Now, we may explain, as we conceive it, the philosophy of its
production in this state of disintegration.
We know that a feeble and prolonged current of electricity will in time
deposit metals from their solutions in a crystalline condition, and that if we
quicken the current of electricity and cause it more energetically to act on
the same solution, we can precipitate the metal from that solution in a state
of powder.
It is to similar action of electricity as that to which we last refer that we
ascribe the formation of the crust on the gratings of lead in the non-adherent
and disintegrated condition in which it is produced, and by reason of which
it is so easily detached from the lead and broken up to powder. No edge
runner grinding, such as is required by the stack process, is in this case
necessary.
The crude white lead and crushed material, whether in a dry state, or
incorporated with oil, is finished and ground in a granite roller paint mill,
from which it issues as dry white lead, or as white lead in oil.
Paint made from this electric white lead has been sent to America, to
France, to Belgium, to Germany for trial, and has also been largely tested in
this country by painters, engineers, and others unacquainted with its precise
nature, and it has been productive of good results.
Of its density, body, and covering power, there can be no doubt, and
never once have these qualities been called in question.
The cost of the manufacture of white lead by the stack process is about
3l. to 3l. 10s. per ton. By the German method, the cost is about the same as
by the stack. By Gardner’s electric process, the cost of conversion is 10s. a
ton. To this 10s. must be added the cost of labour expended in preparation,
an item which cannot be well estimated on the present limited scale of
manufacture; it could not exceed an additional 15s. a ton. This would bring
the cost of manufacture of electric white lead to 25s. a ton.
In this electric process inferior lead can be operated upon with success.
Brands of that metal such as white lead makers by the stack method dare
not employ, may be successfully converted in an electric chamber, and with
fair results as to the quantity and quality of the white lead produced.
By the use of Gardner’s electric process it would appear that we not only
preserve health, but save lives; we not only save time, but interest on large
capitals, which lie idle for long periods at a time; and we can economise
and simplify the whole manufacture and preparation of white lead,
divesting it of all its present cumbersome and unhealthy stages. Gardner’s
process, we believe, must take a prominent position as one of the most
necessary, valuable, and scientific inventions of modern times.
Hannay’s Process.—Mr. J. B. Hannay, whose name is well known in
connection with various chemical and engineering inventions and
processes, has recently brought out a process for the manufacture of white
lead. The old method of producing white lead or carbonate of lead is one
involving much time and labour, together with no small risk to the health of
the workpeople. By the new process brought out by Mr. Hannay, sulphate of
lead is manufactured direct from galena or lead ore, without the necessity of
the intermediate process of the reduction of the ore and the extraction of
metallic lead. It is said that the sulphate of lead produced by the new
process is whiter and more permanent than the carbonate.
The process is described as follows:—A furnace, 36 in. by 30 in., and 48
in. deep, contracting to a narrow chamber about 36 in. long by 14 in. wide,
communicating with the main flue, is charged with coke and brought to a
red heat. The bed of coke is so thick as to be almost up to the level of the
sill of the furnace door. The lead ore is not charged in large quantity and left
for an indefinite time, but is thrown in in quantities of a few shovelfuls at a
time, the object being to effect extremely rapid volatilisation and
consequent oxidation. The proportion of ore to fuel is 1 ton to 1 ton, and the
result is said to be the conversion of 95 per cent. of the charge into its
equivalent in white lead. In the first or wide chamber, the coke is oxidised,
carbonic oxide being the resulting gas, the rapid volatilisation of the galena
or sulphide of lead also taking place in the same chamber. On entering the
inner portion of the furnace, the volatilised sulphide of lead and the
carbonic oxide are converted into carbonic acid and sulphate of lead.
Forced blast has been employed to cause the high temperature necessary
for the volatilisation of the ore; but it has been found unnecessary,
admission of air at atmospheric pressure through tuyere holes being quite
adequate. After leaving the inner chamber of the furnace, the gases pass into
a flue, level with the furnace, and about 40 feet long by 16 square feet in
sectional area. From this flue the gases pass into a tower about 20 feet high,
and from thence into wrought-iron flues 3 feet in diameter. These flues
terminate in a wrought-iron chest, in which are fitted two steam injectors.
The gases are forced by these injectors into the central chambers of the
condensers. These condensers are two in number, and contain a central
chamber, 16 feet by 12 inches, into which the gases are forced as described.
The gases escape through interstices into the outer chambers of the
condenser, and are there condensed, a continuous stream of water
occupying the lower part of the condenser. The waste gases escape by a
downcast leading to a tall chimney. The temperature of the gases as they
enter the condenser is about 840° F.
The product is pumped from the condensers to a settling vat. Here it
settles for an hour, the deposit being pumped into a second vat and washed
with dilute sulphuric acid, in order to remove impurities. The resulting
product is washed several times with water, and is then passed through a
filter press. From the press it drops into bogies, which carry the pulp to the
drying house, where it is dried by hot air. The process would thus appear an
extremely simple and practical one. Several chemical authorities of repute,
as well as manufacturing firms and others who have used the new white
lead, have expressed themselves strongly as to its merits. One point
immensely in favour of sulphate of lead as opposed to carbonate, is that the
former is almost entirely innocuous, whereas the poisonous properties of
the other are well known. It is claimed that the sulphate is not acted upon by
coal gas or by the atmosphere of towns, which is always more or less
impregnated with gases such as sulphuretted hydrogen, whose reactions
with various metals have only too good reason to be known.
According to the patent specification bearing the names of French and
Hannay, they employ lead ores, lead fume, or lead slags containing sulphur;
and when these materials do not contain sufficient sulphur to form a
sulphate with all the lead which sublimes in the process, they add to them
pyrites or other sulphur-yielding substance to make up the deficiency. They
heat the materials mixed with a suitable proportion of coke in an air-blast
cupola furnace, which is by preference of an improved and special
construction shown in Figs. 18 to 20, and hereinafter described; and they
thereby produce sulphite of lead as a sublimate, provided that there are no
chlorides such as common salt present in the charge, in which case sulphate
and chloride of lead will be formed.
The sublimate is carried forward with the current of gases through flues
to a fume condenser, which is by preference of the kind known as Wilson’s
and French’s. As the gases and sublimate pass through the flues,
hydrochloric acid is mixed
French and Hannay’s White-lead Furnace.

with them, being by preference formed in a chamber in connection with the


flue, by introducing a solution of chloride of sodium in spray, and by
providing a sufficient excess of sulphurous acid beyond that required for
forming the sulphite of lead. Air is also present, and a well known reaction
takes place, yielding hydrochloric acid and sulphate of soda, the operation
taking place at a part of the flue near enough to the furnace to be always at a
red heat. The hydrochloric acid thus mixed with the gases and sublimate
causes the formation of chloro-sulphite of lead, or other combinations of
lead, sulphur, oxygen, and chlorine of variable constitution, depending on
the proportions of the several constituents, but in most cases the product is a
body which forms a white pigment of extremely good quality.
Fig. 18 is an elevation of their improved cupola furnace; Fig. 19 is a
corresponding vertical section; and Fig. 20 is a horizontal section as at the
level of the principal tuyeres.
This cupola furnace is formed with a deep hearth a (like the American
lead smelting cupola) having a siphon outlet b, for withdrawing molten lead
when necessary. At a level a little above the siphon outlet b, an outlet c for
slag and scoria is provided, and the main blast tuyeres d enter at about the
same or a slightly higher level. With this arrangement, a considerable depth
of melted lead is constantly maintained, and the choking of materials is
thereby avoided at the level of the tuyeres. For a short distance above the
main tuyeres d, the interior of the furnace is made with the sides e
moderately and gradually widening upwards, and is afterwards continued
upwards of uniform diameter or width. The charging door f is between 3
and 4 feet above the main tuyeres d, and the space above the charging door
is crossed by two or more arched diaphragms g h, of brickwork, having
irregular openings in them, there being doors i k in the side of the furnace
above each diaphragm, for inspection and cleaning. The purpose of these
diaphragms is to cause the air, gases, and sublimate to become thoroughly
intermixed and to ensure the complete combustion of any black smoke and
the oxidation of any sulphide of lead that may be present.
An upper series of small tuyeres or jet pipes l is provided for admitting
air a little below the lowest diaphragm g, these jet pipes l being supplied by
a branch pipe m from the main air blast pipe n, it being found that the
introduction of the air and the production of heat can be best regulated by
supplying a portion at the upper part of the furnace in this way, in addition
to that supplied by the main tuyeres d; and a tap or valve o is fitted on the
branch pipe m for adjusting the supplementary supply thus admitted. Above
the highest perforated diaphragm h, the interior of the furnace
communicates with a lateral flue p, through which the gases and sublimate
pass; and at a part of this flue p, sufficiently near the surface for the gases to
be still hot enough, an enlargement or chamber r forming a descending part
of the flue, is constructed. Into this chamber r a solution of chloride of
sodium is introduced as a spray from a number of jet pipes s, for the
purpose hereinbefore explained. This chamber r is provided with a door t at
its lower part, for periodically removing matters that become deposited in it.
The continuation u of the flue communicates with the lower part of the
chamber r.
Preferably the spray of chloride of sodium is fine enough to allow of all
or nearly all of the water being instantly evaporated, so as to leave the salt
in fine particles, and in a favourable condition for being acted upon by the
sulphurous acid, steam, and oxygen present in the gaseous currents. The
temperature of the chamber r should not be allowed to fall below red heat.
The proportion of chloride of sodium used will depend on the amount of
chlorination of the lead that may be desired, in addition to what is necessary
for converting the zinc and other metals into chlorides. In practice a
proportion of salt 2½ to 5 per cent. of the weight of the sublimate formed
answers the purpose and yields a good product, but a larger proportion may
be used without injury.
It is of great importance to keep the temperature of the upper part of the
furnace steadily at a red heat and flaming, as the colour of the sublimate
will be inferior if the temperature is either too high or too low. To facilitate
the proper regulation of the temperature, a pyrometer (which may be similar
to the kind used in ironworks) is employed, which pyrometer is placed in
the flue at a distance from the furnace where it cannot be injured; and by a
few trials is ascertained what temperature should be indicated by the
pyrometer when the temperature in the furnace is what it should be. This
point having been ascertained, a glance at the pyrometer will at any time
show whether the furnace is working properly or not. The inventors also
provide for rapidly cooling the upper part of the furnace without interfering
with the lower part, in the event of the heat becoming too great, by
arranging a water pipe w, with a set of jets, round the top of the furnace, so
that on turning a tap on the supply pipe a spray of water may be applied to
the outside of the furnace; and as it is desirable that water applied in this
way should not run down to the lower part of the furnace they build gutter
plates x into the sides of the furnace just above the charging door f, to lead
off any surplus water to a drain pipe.
Sufficient hydrochloric acid may be formed or introduced, as
hereinbefore described, not only for forming chloro-sulphite of lead in the
condenser, but also for saturating all the free oxide of lead, and for
combining with and rendering soluble any iron, zinc, antimony, silver, or
other metals. The chlorides thus formed become dissolved in the water of
the condenser, and the solution, separated from the insoluble white pigment,
may be treated by known processes for recovery of the metals. When the
lead ores or other lead-yielding materials contain silver to a greater extent
than 5 oz. per ton, a notable quantity of the silver is volatilised, and if it is
left in the white pigment it renders the latter sensitive to sunlight; whereas if
rendered soluble in the manner hereinbefore described, and separated by
any of the known processes, it becomes a source of profit.
The white pigment is washed in the ordinary way; and when chloride of
zinc is not completely removed by washing, a small quantity of sulphuric
acid may be mixed with the pigment, by adding the same to the last
washing water, to convert the chloride of zinc into sulphate, which is not
hygroscopic.
The white pigment made as hereinbefore described is a very good and
economical material for manufacturing into chrome yellow, this being done
by mixing a solution of any suitable chromate or bichromate with the wet
pigment; whilst the chrome yellow thus obtained may be converted into
chrome orange or red by treating it in the usual way.
Italian Process.—The precise period of the introduction of white-lead
manufacture in Italy is unknown, but it was certainly previous to the
beginning of the present century. Prior to 1881, the Dutch process was
exclusively used in Italy. In 1881 the so-called Brumlen and Dahn process
was introduced into Liguria. Somewhat later the Rhenish process was
introduced. The Rhenish process is one in use in nearly all the Italian white-
lead manufactories. It is employed in a large manufactory at Cogoleto, as
follows:—Lead in thin sheets of about 3 feet in length, and 4 inches in
width are placed in a clay chamber having the form of a cube, of about the
capacity of 5800 cubic feet. In this chamber there is a wooden framework,
upon which are hung the sheets of lead. Three of these sheets weigh
together about 4½ lb., and as the capacity of the chamber is about 20 tons, it
can hold about 30,000 sheets of lead.
On the floor of the chamber are placed twenty-four copper receptacles,
each having four circular apertures. These receptacles are all in direct
communication with a large pipe of masonry, which, by means of a copper
tube, receives the gas coming from a boiler and furnace placed under the
chamber. In the boiler, which is also of copper, is placed a mixture of 900
parts of water, and 80 parts of acetic acid concentrated to 40°, and the
capacity of the boiler is about equivalent to 25,882 gallons. The furnace
serves the purpose of producing carbonic acid.
The gaseous mixture, consisting of volatilised acetic acid, carbonic acid,
and aqueous vapour, is admitted from the boiler and furnace into the
chamber in quantity and proportions best adapted to each stage of the work.
The chemical reactions resulting are analogous to those which take place in
the Dutch process, and the Brumlen and Dahn process. Each operation lasts
six weeks, and gives a product of about 20 tons of white lead, with a
consumption of 7 per cent. of acetic acid, and 9 tons of coke. The residuum
of lead is about 10 per cent. of the quantity placed in the chamber. At the
end of each operation the white lead taken from the chamber is washed and
purified in large tubs, some of which are furnished with filters. Finally, it is
packed in earthen vessels, and dried, when it is ready for the market, and is
sold either in cakes or powder.
The establishment at Cogoleto, above referred to, is able to produce
annually about 2000 tons of white lead, of which 1200 tons are produced by
the Rhenish process, and 800 tons by the Brumlen and Dahn process. There
is also in a manufactory in Milan, the process of revolving heaters. The
process of precipitation has not yet been used in Italy. The Rhenish process,
as above described, furnishes the greater part of Italian white lead. The
smaller manufacturers still use the Dutch process, but the Brumlen and
Dahn process is generally regarded as unsatisfactory.
It is believed that the production of white lead in Italy during the first ten
years of this century was about 300 tons per annum. The total annual
production at present is, in round numbers, about 3500 tons, of which 2800
are produced in the Ligurian manufactories, and about 300 in those of
Naples. Milan also produces about 300 tons.
The product finds a market almost exclusively in Italy. The annual
amount exported is about 300 tons, and goes chiefly to Constantinople. Of
the quantity of 2000 tons per annum produced at Cogoleto, about 300 tons
is sold mixed with oil. No exact statistics are attainable as to the total
amount of Italian white lead which is annually sold other than in the dry
state, but it is believed to be little, if any, larger than 300 tons.
When the price of white lead was high, sulphate of baryta was mixed
with carbonate of lead to produce white lead of inferior quality, but in
consequence of the present price of white lead the use of sulphate of baryta
has almost entirely ceased. No other methods of adulteration are known to
be in use. In Italy, white lead is universally known as “biacca” when it is
sold in cakes. When sold in powder it is known as “carbonato di piombo”
(carbonate of lead). The lead from which all the white lead made in Italy is
manufactured comes from the lead mines of the island of Sardinia, with the
exception of a very small quantity of argentiferous lead coming from Spain.
The acetic acid used in the process of manufacture comes from France. The
market price of white lead in Italy is now about 45 lire the quintal
(equivalent to 18s. per cwt.).
Lewis’s Process.—Many attempts have been made to substitute for
carbonate of lead—the ordinary poisonous white lead, that slowly but
surely induces paralysis in those who come in contact with it for any
considerable period—some less deleterious pigment. Zinc white has often
been put forward as a substitute, and is indeed largely employed; but it is
open to the objection of not possessing sufficient body or opacity. Sulphate
of lead is not poisonous; but, when prepared in the ordinary way by
precipitation, is of a crystalline nature, and, therefore, wanting in both these
qualities.
A sulphate of lead has, however, been produced by John T. Lewis, of
Philadelphia, by sublimation, which, when treated by the Freeman process,
is stated to possess a body and colour superior to the best white lead made
by the ordinary process, with the additional merit of being cheaper, while it
is also non-poisonous.
In the smelting of lead ore into pig lead, 15 per cent. goes off in fumes,
and 10 per cent. are all that it has hitherto been found possible to recover;
by this process, however, the whole 15 per cent. are recovered. The sulphate
may also be produced from a low quality of galena, or lead ore, which is not
suited for smelting into metallic lead, and from the slag formed in the
process of smelting.
The plant consists of simple subliming furnaces, iron cooling pipes,
suction fans, and a series of flannel or calico bags, arranged vertically in a
building, well ventilated, so as to allow the filtered gases to escape, leaving
behind the sublimed white lead, which is then merely shaken down from the
bags into barrels placed beneath them. The manufacture is carried on at
Joplin, Missouri, with four subliming furnaces, about 500 feet of cooling
pipes and towers, with suction fans, which drive the fumes into 300 bags,
20 inches in diameter, and 38 feet long, arranged vertically. About 50 tons
weekly of white lead are now being produced from waste fumes, slag, and
poor ore, by this establishment alone, at a cost not exceeding that given in
the following figures:—
£ s. d.
20 cwt. of galena (with 82 per cent, of ore) 8 00
Cost of subliming and catching, including repairs, labour and all expenses 1 10 0
Casks 0 60
9 16 0
Freeman’s process (see p. 254) consists of grinding together, in a dry
state, under great pressure, and consequently with great friction, sulphate of
lead and sulphate of zinc. While neither of these two substances alone
possesses good body or opacity, when treated by this process they are so
changed in character that the new substance is stated to be superior in these
respects to the best form of ordinary white lead.
The white lead thus obtained mixes well with oil, and has also the
advantage of not becoming blackened when exposed to the fumes of
sulphuretted hydrogen, and of not peeling off in a saline atmosphere. As a
basis for coloured paints, it is recommended on the ground that, being
decomposed with greater difficulty, it can be mixed with almost any
colouring substance; and, being free from acid, it does not change the tints
of other substances.
The details of Lewis’s process, and the plant employed, are more fully
set forth below.
Heretofore the manufacture of dry white lead from galena or the native
sulphurets has been effected by roasting or desulphurising the galena, and
then mixing the residue, after roasting, with carbon, and subjecting the
mixture to the action of heat in a compound reducing or subliming and
oxidising furnace, and collecting the resulting fumes in textile bags.
Lewis’s process, however, is based upon the discovery that by subliming
unroasted galena, or the native or raw sulphuret of lead, and then oxidising
the volatile products, cooling the fumes, and collecting them by means of a
textile fabric, a superior basis of a pigment can be obtained. The admixture
of carbon with the raw ore will facilitate the subliming process, or it may be
carried on in a muffle or reverberatory furnace without the previous
admixture of carbon.
The furnace, which has been found to answer well for the purposes
above mentioned, is commonly known as the Wetherill furnace, and is
represented in plan, in Fig. 21; in front and back elevations, in Figs. 22, 23;
and in central longitudinal section, in Fig. 24.
a represents the main chamber, the bottom b of which is composed of
iron bars perforated with small holes of about ¼ inch in diameter and about
1 inch apart, and preferably made slightly conical, with the larger diameter
downward, that is to say, the said holes are of such a size as to prevent
Lewis’s White Lead Plant.

the escape of the crushed ore and coal. These perforated bars are suitably
sustained at the ends on the front and back walls of the furnace. The ash pit
below the perforated bottom is of equal area therewith, and is provided with
a door e in front, and with a hole f at the back for the reception of a pipe
from suitable blowing apparatus.
The walls g, and arch on the top should be built of some refractory
substance, such as fire-brick.
The front of the furnace is entirely open, and is provided with sliding
doors i, by which it can be closed when working, and opened to remove the
residuum.
At the back of the furnace there are two slides j, to permit access to the
main chamber, for stirring the charge and for inspection.
At the back, near the arch, there is a hole k, governed by a sliding
damper leading to a chimney, for carrying off smoke and impure gases at
the commencement of the operation upon a new charge.
In the centre of the roof there is an aperture l, governed by a damper or
sliding door m, the said aperture leading to a suitable apparatus for the
collection of the oxidised vapours of lead.
The exterior walls n o p q may be built up to form two feeding troughs r,
one on each side of the arch or roof, and each provided with an aperture or
passage s, communicating with the inside or main chamber, and each
aperture or passage is provided with a cover to be put on after the furnace
has been charged.
In working with this furnace, crushed ore (native sulphuret of lead) and
carbon, preferably in the state of pea or dust anthracite coal, are mixed in
equal proportions; the mixture is ignited, and the fumes are oxidised by the
blast through the mixture, which also promotes the combustion. Dense
white vapours or fumes pass off, and are conveyed to a separate chamber,
where they are strained by passing through a screen or series of screens of
muslin or other textile fabric. Lime may also be employed in the furnace, in
the proportion of 200 lb. of lime to 400 lb. of galena, although the addition
of the lime is not necessary in all cases.
Instead of the furnace above described, a muffle furnace may be
employed, in which the heat is applied indirectly to the ore, with the
precaution of constructing the sole or bottom of this furnace of a material
not rapidly acted on by the constituents of the ore; or a reverberatory
furnace may be used in which the heat is directly applied. In both of these
two cases reducing carbon may or may not be mixed with the ore.
Sometimes, generated gas is employed in place of coal, to effect the
same result.
In a later specification Lewis remarks that when white lead pigment is
manufactured from galena or other lead ores, in the raw state, or even in the
roasted state, by subjecting them to the joint action of heat and air, either
with or without reducing means, according to the quality of the lead ores
used, the fumes are discoloured by particles of carbon or sulphuret of lead,
or both, when they are caught in bags of textile fabric, and are unfit when in
this state for use as a white pigment.
The fumes which are produced by this action of heat and air on galena or
other lead ore are cooled and then collected in bags, and Lewis prefers to
expose the so-collected products to the joint action of heat and air, to
destroy or to burn out all the particles of carbon or sulphuret of lead, or
both, by either throwing the said fumes on a bright clean anthracite or coke
fire, with a blast from the sides or from below, or by throwing them over
such fires or into a cupola furnace, or by throwing or blowing them into a
generator gas flame, or through externally heated retorts. He then in either
case collects the escaping fumes from the furnace or retort in bags or
screening chambers.
The best process to be adopted depends upon the kind of fuel in the
locality where the fumes are refined, and also upon the purity of the lead
fumes. If they contain iron, clay, or the like, it is best to throw them into a
coal fire; but if they are pure, one process is about as effective as the other,
and the degree of purity of the fuel decides the kind of heating apparatus to
be used.
There being such great difference in the purity of fuels, and this
irregularity not allowing of uniform results, Lewis prefers to use a furnace
in which the flame and heat are produced by burning gaseous fuel with air,
which is forced into the furnace with the fumes which have been collected
in a previous process.
Fig. 25 represents a furnace which may be advantageously employed for
the purpose when gas is used as fuel.
a represents a blower, into which the fumes are fed from the hopper b.
The fumes, being thoroughly mixed with air in this blower, are forced into a
chamber c, and then through a series of tuyeres d. At the same time, gas
from a generator or producer is admitted by the flue e, and is burned by the
incoming blast from the tuyeres d; the volatile fumes produced in the
furnace f pass through it and out of the flue g, and are collected in bags or
screening chambers. By using gas fuel, which is easily and fully burned,
and clean to handle, a fine white pigment is produced.
MacIvor’s Processes.—The name of MacIvor is a familiar one in
improvements in manufacturing chemistry, and not the least in connection
with the subject of pigments, sometimes in conjunction with other
inventors.
In 1889 MacIvor and others introduced some modifications in the
process of producing white lead or carbonate of lead, by the treatment of
oxide of lead (litharge or massicot) with a solution of acetate of ammonia,
whereby the oxide of lead is transformed into hydrate and acetate, which
are subsequently converted into carbonate of lead by the injection of
carbonic acid. The hydrate and acetate of lead, in presence of free ammonia
formed in the reaction, are quickly decomposed by
Fig. 25.—Lewis’s White Lead Plant.

the carbonic acid, yielding the final product, namely carbonate of lead, and
re-forming the acetate of ammonia.
The rapidity with which the conversion of oxide of lead into hydrate can
be effected depends upon the strength of the acetate of ammonia solution
employed, that is to say, the weaker the solution the slower will be the
conversion. It has been found that, for commercial purposes, the solution of
acetate of ammonia may be used with advantage of a strength which need
not be more than 25 per cent. nor less than 5 per cent. A strength of 25 per
cent, operates in a comparatively short space of time; but a strength as low
as ½ per cent. will effect the hydration if there be a sufficient quantity of the
weak solution, the lead oxide being in a fine state of division, and time of
no object. This ½ per cent. strength, however, or any strength below 5 per
cent., is not recommended for commercial purposes, having regard to the
time required for completing the operation.
The conversion of the oxide of lead into the hydrate and acetate of lead
is effected in the cold (heat may be used, but for commercial operation it is
not recommended). The conversion is facilitated by employing a
mechanical arrangement, similar in many respects to that adopted in a
previous specification, but modified by connecting the digesting vat with a
cistern or vat containing acetic acid, whereby any free ammonia carried
over during the operation may be absorbed. Also by introducing carbonic
acid to the mass of hydroxide and acetate of lead formed by the oxide of
lead and acetate of ammonia, either by a series of concentric rings
perforated with small holes in the bottom of the vat itself, or by passing
carbonic acid down a hollow shaft to which are attached stirrers, and
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