CHAPTERS ON THE CEMENT INDUSTRY 853 



In the latter part of 1881 work was commenced on a plant 

 located on the limestone property near South Rondout, and works 

 with a capacity of 200 to 300 barrels a day were put in operation 

 in 1883. These works were equipped with Blake crushers, cone 

 grinders, burstone mills, mixers, and formers. 16 upright dome 

 kilns were in use, with a drying channel connected and heated 

 by the waste gases from the kilns. The limestone and clay were 

 crushed, ground and mixed dry; then steamed and formed into 

 bricks, which were loaded on iron cars and run, by gravity, 

 through the drying channels. 



For some time after manufacture had been in progress at these 

 works, the gas companies of New York and Albany had supplied 

 the necessary coke for burning the material, but the introduction 

 of the water gas process cut off this source of fuel supply. This 

 left the plant dependent upon Pennsylvania coke, the cost of 

 transportation and handling of which increased the cost of cement 

 manufacture very largely. * Mr Sanderson therefore commenced 

 experiments on the use of crude Lima oil as fuel, but found that 

 the clinkering of the cement materials in front of the burners pre- 

 vented the heat from entering the charge. Knowing that this same 

 difficulty had been met in metallurgic operations, and overcome 

 by the use of rotary furnaces, his attention was directed toward 

 such furnaces or kilns, as presenting a possible solution of the 

 problem. 



The kiln adopted was a form which had been patented in 1881 

 by Dr George Duryee, of New Jersey. In October 1888 one 

 kiln was put into operation at the South Rondout works. This 

 kiln was 50 feet long and 50 inches in diameter. The upper end 

 was at first made 50 inches higher than the lower end, but later 

 this was reduced to 30 inches. On trial this was found to be a 

 very satisfactory method of burning, the one kiln handling all 

 the material the mill could supply, and producing a uniform and 

 high grade product. Of still greater importance was the fact 

 that it was found possible to charge the mixed and ground raw 



