IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - November/December 2020 - 104

figure 6. The interior of Alcoa's Smallman Street facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl-
vania (circa 1888).

(a)

(b)

figure 7. The Carborundum Company. (a) A furnace ready for burning and (b) a
furnace during burning. (Source: The Niagara Falls Electrical Handbook, 1904.)
104	

ieee power & energy magazine	

voltage of the cell was typically 8 V,
and the current was 1,800 A. The voltage was monitored on voltmeters positioned so that they were visible to the
attendant, as depicted in Figure 6. As
the process progressed and the voltage
dropped, more cryolite was added by
hand. Refined aluminum was collected
at the cathode. The process was tapped
at suitable intervals, and the molten
aluminum cast into pigs.
The plant was supplied with an ac of
500 A at 2,500 V, two-phase. This was
transformed at the Pittsburgh Reduction Company's site to 115-V ac to drive
three rotary converters. These converters produced 160-V dc to give a total
output of 7,500 A for use by the furnaces. As the process was -continuous, once
it was started it had to run to completion. If the molten aluminum solidified,
the furnace would be ruined. The Niagara Falls Power Company guaranteed
a continuous supply 24/7 for the length
of the contract. A spare converter was
also connected and the dc side backed
up by storage batteries.
By 1907, the Pittsburgh Reduction
Company had changed its name to the
Aluminum Company of America-
Alcoa. It ceased production in Niagara
Falls, New York, in 1949.

Carborundum
The Carborundum Company began
operations in the fall of 1895. Edward
G. Acheson, one of the inventors (1891)
of the carborundum process, was also
the president of the company. The material known as carborundum is the
compound silicon carbide (SiC). SiC
is a synthetic mineral, i.e., not found
in nature. It is formed using a mixture
of carbonaceous material (usually petroleum coke) and a silica or quartz
sand, which react at high temperatures
to form SiC and CO. The energy for
the reaction was provided by passing an ac through the core. This core
was composed of very pure carbon
to offer lower resistance to the passage of the electric current than that
of the surrounding material. It also
had to be capable of being heated to
an intense degree without destruction.
november/december 2020



IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - November/December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - November/December 2020

Contents
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IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - November/December 2020 - Cover3
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