Or, Perhaps Not

[RichardB]

Sheffield had been famous for its Cutlery from the time of Edward III.

At the end of the seventeenth century it had machinery which had lent no aid to the fabrication of the whittle which Chaucer's Miller of Trumpington wore in his hose.

Sheffield had one mill for turning grindstones

The grinders of Sheffield are now of themselves a large population It was boasted that around Sheffield were six iron furnaces supplied by its neighbouring woods.

How many wood furnaces would now Be required for the production of its steel and for the almost innumerable products of this great metropolis of steel giving employment to a population of a hundred and fifty thousand.

Popular History of England

[DaveH]

Sheffield had been famous for its Cutlery from the time of Edward III.

At the end of the seventeenth century it had machinery which had lent no aid to the fabrication of the whittle which Chaucer's Miller of Trumpington wore in his hose.

Sheffield had one mill for turning grindstones

The grinders of Sheffield are now of themselves a large population It was boasted that around Sheffield were six iron furnaces supplied by its neighbouring woods.

How many wood furnaces would now Be required for the production of its steel and for the almost innumerable products of this great metropolis of steel giving employment to a population of a hundred and fifty thousand.

Popular History of England

The production of iron and steel requires large quantities of carbon to reduce the iron ore to iron in the blast furnace and to incorporate into the iron to make steel.

Originally the carbon came from charcoal from the burning wood fires, but at some stage the furnaces switched to burning coal as an alternative fuel and source of carbon.

In a video we show students at work it is claimed that this happened in the 17th and 18th centuries as demand for iron and steel items grew rapidly.

The extra demand lead to extra production capacity and a bigger demand on carbon reserves.

The video claims, -

"Furnaces now had to use coal, which was present in abundance in Britain, in preference to charcoal, because there simply were not enough trees in the whole of the land to keep production at the required level, and furnaces were consuming trees faster than new trees could be grown"

[THYLACINE]

The production of iron and steel requires large quantities of carbon to reduce the iron ore to iron in the blast furnace and to incorporate into the iron to make steel.

Originally the carbon came from charcoal from the burning wood fires, but at some stage the furnaces switched to burning coal as an alternative fuel and source of carbon.

In a video we show students at work it is claimed that this happened in the 17th and 18th centuries as demand for iron and steel items grew rapidly.

The extra demand lead to extra production capacity and a bigger demand on carbon reserves.

The video claims, -

"Furnaces now had to use coal, which was present in abundance in Britain, in preference to charcoal, because there simply were not enough trees in the whole of the land to keep production at the required level, and furnaces were consuming trees faster than new trees could be grown"

I worked for 6 years at Orgreave Coke Ovens a few years before the famous battle. The coal arrived by conveyor belt from Orgreave colliery and went straight into the crusher house. (The crusher house is the closest place to hell on earth that I can imagine) The coal was reduced to the consistency of fine black gravel and fed by conveyor into huge hoppers which had the appearance of concrete wheat silos. These hoppers were positioned at the end of a battery of ovens. Imagine a car battery the size of a 4 storey house and perhaps 10 times as long, these were the ovens that burned the coal. Each 'oven' was like the cell of a battery, about 4 feet wide. They were filled by a machine called a 'charger' which ran on railway tracks on top of the battery. The charger ran under the hoppers and filled up with coal, the 4 iron lids on an oven were lifted manually and the charger dumped its load into the white-hot void sending a blast of hot sulpherous gas into the air and into the face of anyone who didn't retire quick enough.

This controlled burning of coal produced by-products: coal gas, pitch, benzene, toluene, coke and some others I can't recall. The coke was used to fire the blast furnaces in Sheffield and Rotherham, it burned clean and hot with the removal of all the components that would otherwise clog up the furnaces and make the operation decidedly more hazardous.

Or, Perhaps Not ( the title of this post ) I think, means they wouldn't be still firing the furnaces with timber (I'm a bit slow on the uptake) Well, they aren't firing the furnaces with coke either, in fact, are there any furnaces left to fire? I've been away for a while.

[DaveH]

This controlled burning of coal produced by-products: coal gas, pitch, benzene, toluene, coke and some others I can't recall.

Now, - we still teach the basic chemistry of iron and steel, and we may even do a laboratory practical in which we reduce a more easily "smelted and melted" metal such as copper or lead from its oxide to illustrate the point.

But, - it is many, many years since we last did the destructive distillation of coal or took students on a visit to a now long gone local Sunbrite coking plant.

It may be because the coal industry, and our dependence on these products (e.g. coal gas) has diminished.

But it is probably because the chemical you list as by-products are nearly all carcinogens and are either banned or have very severe restrictions on their use and availability.

We do teach a lot about fractional distillation of crude oil and the products from oil.

Perhaps it's just that oil has taken precidence over coal as our fuel of choice.

[THYLACINE]

Sunbrite coking plant.

Where was Sunbrite Coking Plant? Why would they give it a name like that? Perhaps to lure people to work there. Like the model town built by the Sunlight Soap Company - good healthy lifestyle, plenty of fresh air and sunshine. The antithesis of a working coke ovens!

[DaveH]

Sunbrite coking plant.

Where was Sunbrite Coking Plant? Why would they give it a name like that? Perhaps to lure people to work there. Like the model town built by the Sunlight Soap Company - good healthy lifestyle, plenty of fresh air and sunshine. The antithesis of a working coke ovens!

The Sunbrite coking plant was at The Avenue Works, Derby Road, Wingerworth, Chesterfield.

They may have a connection with Sunbrite Soap as a lot of your previously mentioned coal tar was once used in the soap industry.

There is a topic on here somewhere about coal tar soap and carbolic soap and the like so when I find it I will try and "Link Fairy" it to here.

[madannie77]

The Sunbrite coking plant was at The Avenue Works, Derby Road, Wingerworth, Chesterfield.

They may have a connection with Sunbrite Soap as a lot of your previously mentioned coal tar was once used in the soap industry.

There is a topic on here somewhere about coal tar soap and carbolic soap and the like so when I find it I will try and "Link Fairy" it to here.

Coal Tar Soap topic: I remember it well as it drifted onto Vicks and Henderson's Relish :blink:

[DaveH]

Coal Tar Soap topic: I remember it well as it drifted onto Vicks and Henderson's Relish

Thanks madannie, saved me a job there.

So you are a link fairy as well ;-)