﻿THE 
  SEA 
  AS 
  A 
  STOREHOUSE 
  — 
  ARMSTRONG 
  141 
  

  

  press. 
  Their 
  manufacture 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  neglected 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  and 
  

   great 
  credit 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  British 
  Periclase 
  Co. 
  and 
  to 
  Dr. 
  H. 
  H. 
  Chesny, 
  

   and 
  no 
  doubt 
  to 
  others 
  of 
  whom 
  we 
  shall 
  hear 
  more 
  after 
  the 
  war, 
  

   for 
  their 
  achievements. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  no 
  oyster 
  shells 
  on 
  the 
  British 
  beach 
  ; 
  it 
  was 
  evidently 
  not 
  

   the 
  one 
  chosen 
  by 
  the 
  Walrus 
  and 
  the 
  Carpenter 
  for 
  their 
  walk. 
  But 
  

   there 
  was 
  a 
  convenient 
  source 
  of 
  dolomite 
  which 
  is 
  quarried 
  and 
  

   calcined 
  in 
  shaft 
  kilns 
  and 
  the 
  resulting 
  mixed 
  lime 
  slaked 
  with 
  suf- 
  

   ficient 
  water 
  to 
  give 
  a 
  thin 
  slurry. 
  

  

  This 
  slurry 
  is 
  allowed 
  to 
  react 
  with 
  sea 
  water 
  previously 
  treated 
  

   and 
  filtered 
  to 
  remove 
  bicarbonate 
  hardness 
  and 
  suspended 
  matter 
  in 
  

   a 
  special 
  reaction 
  vessel. 
  The 
  calcium 
  hydroxide 
  precipitates 
  the 
  

   magnesium 
  salts 
  in 
  the 
  sea 
  as 
  magnesium 
  hydroxide 
  while 
  the 
  mag- 
  

   nesium 
  oxide 
  from 
  the 
  dolomite 
  remains 
  unchanged 
  and 
  in 
  suspension. 
  

   The 
  resultant 
  mixture 
  is 
  pumped 
  into 
  large 
  circular 
  tanks, 
  where 
  the 
  

   magnesia 
  settles 
  out 
  and 
  the 
  spent 
  sea 
  water 
  passes 
  to 
  waste. 
  

  

  The 
  settled 
  magnesia 
  slurry 
  is 
  filtered 
  off 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  rotary 
  

   vacuum 
  filters, 
  and 
  the 
  paste 
  obtained 
  burned 
  in 
  pulverized-coal-fired 
  

   rotary 
  kilns. 
  The 
  temperature 
  of 
  firing 
  is 
  varied 
  according 
  to 
  whether 
  

   it 
  is 
  desired 
  to 
  produce 
  reactive 
  caustic 
  magnesia 
  for 
  the 
  magnesium 
  

   industry, 
  or 
  dead-burnt 
  magnesium 
  oxide 
  for 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  

   refractories. 
  

  

  By 
  this 
  ingenious 
  modification 
  magnesium 
  is 
  obtained 
  from 
  dolomite 
  

   and 
  from 
  the 
  sea 
  by 
  one 
  and 
  the 
  same 
  operation. 
  

  

  POTASSIUM 
  SALTS 
  

  

  It 
  would 
  be 
  possible 
  to 
  recover 
  a 
  potassium 
  salt 
  from 
  the 
  sea, 
  but 
  

   here 
  the 
  economics 
  are 
  not 
  yet 
  favorable. 
  The 
  main 
  use 
  for 
  potash 
  

   salts 
  is 
  as 
  fertilizers, 
  which 
  command 
  a 
  low 
  price. 
  Moreover, 
  there 
  

   is 
  a 
  source 
  of 
  potash 
  in 
  the 
  Dead 
  Sea, 
  now 
  under 
  rapid 
  development, 
  

   which 
  will 
  insure 
  sufficient 
  supply 
  of 
  these 
  to 
  meet 
  world 
  demand 
  at 
  

   competitive 
  prices 
  and 
  will 
  destroy 
  the 
  Stassfurt 
  monopoly. 
  There 
  

   are 
  also 
  similar 
  sources 
  of 
  supply 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  The 
  quantity 
  

   of 
  potassium 
  chloride 
  in 
  the 
  Dead 
  Sea 
  is 
  estimated 
  at 
  2 
  billion 
  tons. 
  

  

  As 
  the 
  concentration 
  of 
  salts 
  is 
  greater 
  at 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  Dead 
  

   Sea 
  than 
  at 
  the 
  surface, 
  the 
  solution 
  is 
  pumped 
  from 
  depth 
  and 
  

   evaporated 
  fractionally 
  in 
  shallow 
  natural 
  pans 
  which 
  have 
  an 
  im- 
  

   pervious 
  clay 
  bottom. 
  First, 
  common 
  salt 
  crystallizes, 
  then 
  a 
  some- 
  

   what 
  impure 
  double 
  salt 
  of 
  potassium 
  and 
  magnesium 
  chloride 
  termed 
  

   carnallite, 
  and 
  finally 
  magnesium 
  chloride; 
  the 
  mother 
  liquors 
  go 
  

   to 
  the 
  bromine 
  plant. 
  The 
  chemists 
  of 
  the 
  Palestine 
  Potash 
  Co. 
  have 
  

   made 
  a 
  very 
  thorough 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  sequence 
  of 
  events 
  involved 
  in 
  the 
  

   evaporation 
  and 
  crystallization, 
  and 
  by 
  an 
  ingenious 
  application 
  of 
  

   the 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  solid 
  equilibria 
  of 
  the 
  salts 
  concerned 
  coupled 
  

  

  