Ice-cooled homes

Abstract

ACCORDING to Science Service of July 7, research chemists of the University of Illinois under the direction of Prof. Dana Burks have made progress in reducing the cost of manufacturing ice. If the air in small houses is to be kept cool and free from humidity, ice or a mechanical refrigerator must be used. Both methods are in common use and both have advantages. If ice is to be widely used for aircooling, it will be necessary to sell it in fairly large quantities at not more than about 15 shillings a ton. Prof. Burks has been successful in showing how the distillation process sometimes used can be made unnecessary. Owing to the presence of salts one-third of the ice-manufacturing plants in the United States have to distil the water they use. A special ice can is employed which allows air to pass across the surface of the ice crystals as they grow. This agitation prevents the salts from concentrating and a clear, strong ice block is produced. The method has been tested with all kinds of synthetic waters without distillation, with satisfactory results. The time required for freezing the ice has also been shortened from 47 to 24 hours. This was effected by using special small cans and by lowering the temperature of the brine used in the freezing. The report on the experiments says that a saving of about thirty per cent in the cost of manufacture can be effected in this way. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to make clear solid cakes of ice from any of the natural waters found in the United States, without first distilling them.