Thomas Richardson to Faraday   5 February 1847¹

Assay Office and Laboratory, | 5 Portland Place, | Newcastle upon Tyne 5 Feby 1847

M. Faraday Esq | London

Dear Sir

My friend Mr. Watson² having forwarded a working model of a piece of apparatus, which promises to be of very general application in many processes in manufactures, and some cones of various sizes, attached to the model, so that by connecting a steam pipe from a hydro-electric Boiler, the action of a Jet of Steam in drawing a column of air through water may be easily shown to an audience. He has also forwarded some rough diagrams of the Steam Jet for illustrating your proposed lecture, and I trust you will receive the whole in safety at the Royal Institution³[.]

I also enclose a circular on the application of the Steam Jet & coke columns to the condensation of muriatic acid in the process of making soda & which is now in successful action in several Works. This acid which has been so fruitful a source of litigation with Alkali manufacturers has now become so valuable that every pound is carefully collected for making Bleaching Powder, bicarbonate of soda & carbonate of magnesia. In the two latter cases, indirectly by producing carbonic acid from Limestone.

The Steam Jet is now also in use in making the Leaden Chambers for making Sulphuric acid, which process is fully described in the Repertory of Arts V 8 p14⁴, to which I must refer you for fuller details than I can give in a letter.

It has also been the subject of a Patent, to convert the waste Sulphurous acid evolved in the process of roasting copper ores, with Sulphuric acid. This is in itself an old idea, which however was totally inapplicable in manufacturing owing to the degrees of dilution with other gases, air, carbonic oxide & acid &c. The use of coke columns remedies this defect, from the condensing power of the porous coke in charcoal, but even this could not have succeeded as the highest chimnies have not power to draw the gases thro' a great length of obstruction. The jet effects all easily - a power of Steam from a 5 or 6 horse power boiler drawing any quantity thro' 100 feet of coke piling. The process is fully described in the Repertory of arts in March number of this year p 168⁵.

The saving to be effective in condensing metallic fumes is immense - that in lead alone must amount to at least 5000 tons p annum. Part of this is now done by pumps as p model, part by long horizontal chimneys. One near this town at Allendale, being about 2 1/2 miles long, a [word illegible] Chimney all the length & so spacious that we can travel the whole distance perfectly erect. It is said that the Lead saved from the fumes collected in these chimneys nets £10,000 p an.

The saving of the sulphurous acid of the copper ore is equally important, as there is sufficient at present wasted to the annoyance of the population & destruction of vegetation, as would produce all the alkali manufactured in Great Britain.

Any further information you wish to possess I will be most happy to furnish⁶[.]

I remain Dear Sir Yours very Truly | Thomas Richardson