A London Inventor Proposes to Utilise Electricity.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 256, 18 April 1888, Page 3

A London Inventor Proposes to Utilise Electr icity.

IJiniMUM, whitii lias ,sei\ed -o unuj pin po-cs m -ciene > and in the ai t>, nnu' )»>>- iiiW- to ic-uie ( i\ih-ation ftom on< oi the mo-t pie— lntr (liilicuUit's which be-el iL The Metropolitan lioaid 1110 about to t\pcnd a miiii ol in ju ly 01 quite a million steilm<; in punfjinj; the London mw.i^j, -o that the '1 Immes '-hall he delneicd horn iH proent slate ot pollution The pioces.to lie imploded is ot a chemical natuic, and enoimous wolks tor the puipo=e of canyin<i out the project aie in com. -cot construction .it Haikiun, to be Icllowed by otho -ot a sinulai native at Ciossne -. At this |uuctuit' a plan ot an entirely no\el ihaiaetei is bemy peifertod, which ha-> the .ipp".naiu o otdeahn^Mirce-stull} not onlvwiththuw hole. se\\av>e pioblcm, but also to a lar<_re extent with the (jii'-tion of walei supply of town-. The plan ha- been de\wnl b\ William Weh-tu, F.l'S., i-on oi the well-known oontiai loi mhu Il.l' had -o l.v ;j;e a sluu 111 i-\ecjutin<4 the drainage woik? of the ineliopoli- \'\n- ecitaui le i-on-. conneetiHl with the I'attnt Olhce, it would not be tail tothc invrntoi to entei at pie -cut into all the details of hi- j»roe(^s, but ceitam le-ult-, (.an be -tatcd v. Inch ett.ibli-h the mipoitance of the u;idn taking Aem lent of eleetneiU, ])iodueed eithei funn cell- or honi a d\ n, imo, i> H'nt into the -,e\s.\^(\ the ti.in^mi— inn bemi; *. iU cited thiouyh inetaltu duArodo-. Instead oi ca^tinji ch< mieal> into the the iu\ enlor adoptthe plan of oicatm^ hih ehemieaK m the sewage itselt by the in tion ot the electm: cuiienL on the eleetunle- and <>n the -eua^-e. The ollect i> curious, and i-* well -een^hen the liquid it> e\|X)bed to view in U ""la^-' \C"--ul. At. lul.y Hv.i.l, <->hf,jinnil tioni the Dei>tfoid pumping station otthe Metropolnan Hoaid, ht\-> all iU pavtiules .-ut in a ehe\il;vtoiy motion by the electue evuient, a kindof pvoce^ion taking place f 10111 the top downwards and honi the bottom upwauK Tin- -urn total of the movenient-con-l-t'-inlandin'; the -u-poncleil i particles at the tup of the liquid, lliu^ i (.\aetly io\ Lining the usual chemical pio-t-Lv-s, Inch ; i-nnl.- everything down in the toim of a piecmitale. The upwaid action U due to the pu-cnee of eettain at lii-^t (\tfieated h\ the electric evnient, and aftei wauls minshnu T 1 1 1 1 the organic ni.it iev, mi.iUo fthe liuoyaney to i\\" latter. By a<;ita(in;; tlu, liquid the o ;i -ci can b» «ent oil into the an, and the solid pauu lewitl f'tn de-eend to form a piecipitate shos\in«- no tendency to peimea'e th--thud «a^ before. But, as Mill Ie pio-enlly, (heie is no need to eilect thipieeipiuitioii. So prompt 1- thecllect of the eleetiie cmient that in tie -pace of twenty minptes a \olnmool opa((ue bteo'ne^ IKrteetlv luin^iaront, except at tlie toi), wheie the organic mattei collect & in .1 <Miimrolulfoun. n-Vn -V >ample w Inch \\v -aw thu^ ticaiod pie-entedat the elo-e a li.U milky :'-peeL apparcntl> due in .1 lai'j,e mea-uie 'to the pii^encv of chalk, the I l)Li>tiotd ,-ewi<re bemjx nnpi equated withj the walei supply ot the Ken.. Company, deii\ed fiom deep well- in the chalk foim.ition Some poition of the cloud mi^ht ak-o be occasioned by -u^pendiuc: cla). Bidlhe lint wa- -light-, and the eontia-l cvhibited before and after treatment wa-. of a mo-t stiikin-j. ehaiactei. It -hould be addeil that no ofleiwxe odouv wa- peieeplih!'\ It i- claimed ioi tni- pioce— that it efleet- the iemo\al of all in --u^pen sion in the ,->ew"i;je und al-o the ]).ut of the mattei in'-olution. b\ actual in ietiec on a woikinrr scalo, the ->>pai ated p<ntion iloatinu at the f op of the m'\\ i<_',e (.111 be inn oil I\% one cliannel and the clear water beneath bv anolhei. Mr eb-<ter has cauied his evpeinnents beyond the mere bouudh of the lab)ratory. but is anxious 1011 01 a more extended tc-t, .so ab to cstabh-li the character of his pioce-s beyond doubt. Of course, the clement of tmance come in. For this purpose eoikn'n data aie rilieady a\ailable, and these aie-o far of an eneoiirairinjj; nature. From the results already obtained, it us cnletdated t.hat the cost of the electric cm rent foi tie;din»- the entiio Nolnme of the London sewage, north and .south, would be about t'25.000 pet annum. This rfum repie.sents the working e\pcn-cs, and compares witli the cost of the chemicals employed b> the Metropolitan Board in their iroatmont of the sowagv. The annual outlay lor chemicals when the plant corner into 'full operation is expected so be ClB,OOO for limorncl iron, and C 12.000 for ])ermanfranie acid, thus making a total of C 30,000 por annum. Aceordinoly, .-o hiv a«? csbimate.s go, there is a balance in favour of tho electric method. But in (.ho latter in.stancothero is tlio advantage ot a purer clllucnt, as also of a quicker procc-s,— "London Standard.''