Herman Frasch and "brimstone"

Herman Frasch
December 25th, 1851 to May 1st, 1914

Herman Frasch was a "German-born American petroleum scientist who invented the Frasch Process for sulphur mining. Patented in 1891, his method made it economically possible by a process of drilling, melting and pumping to extract sulphur from underground deposits as found in Louisiana and in eastern Texas. A hole is drilled into the sulphur bearing formation and cased. Then, three concentric pipes are placed within the protective casing to facilitate pumping super-heated water down the hole melting the sulphur and recovering the molten sulphur to the surface. It made possible the exploitation of extensive sulfur deposits otherwise obtainable only at prohibitive expense."

In the Frasch process underground deposits of sulphur are forced to the surface using superheated water and steam [160°C, 16 atmospheres, to melt the sulphur] and compressed air [25 atmospheres]. This gives molten sulphur which is allowed to cool in large basins. Purity can reach 99.5% and the process is energy intensive. Commercial success for this operation depends upon suitable geological conditions as well as access to cheap water and energy.

Herman Frasch [Wikipedia]

Despession era transparencies...

Brimstone: the stone that burns;: The story of the Frasch sulphur industry

by

Williams Haynes

ASIN: B0006D7OUU