Industrial Wastes Engineering—
Flow Meters and Chemical Feeders
HENRY   F.   MUNROE
Chemical Engineer
Proportioneers, Inc.
Providence, Rhode Island
The industrial expansion that has taken place in the past few years
is, in a manner of speaking a measure of chemical engineering efficiency
in continuous automatic processing. Improved methods of processing
have contributed to the large increase in the amount of goods and services that each succeeding generation is able to enjoy. These improved
methods have brought lower costs of production and higher wages with
a resulting higher standard of living. To a great extent, these improved
methods have been due to the application of measurement and control
principles. However, with this expansion, the country is now confronted
with an industrial waste situation that threatens to cause a crisis within
the next few years. A Government Agency has estimated that in the
next few years over $12,000,000,000 must be spent in order to prevent
such a situation.
Industry is now coming to realize that seldom, if ever, has by-product
recovered become a substitute for waste treatment. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that the best possible method of profiting on
by-products is not to let them become such. This means not only good
housekeeping, but better housekeeping. It should also be recognized
that 100 percent process efficiency is seldom attained in actual practice
and that it must be recognized that there will always be industrial
wastes, although it is hoped that their volume and content can be
reduced.
With the mention of $12,000,000,000, the treatment of industrial
wastes takes its place among the more important processes. In many
industries the control of discarded by-products has already become a
factor in the detailed planning and designing of new processes. It is
characteristic of engineers to consider process efficiency of paramount
importance, and since the application of automatic measurement and
control of process variables has had such success in bringing about
lower costs of production, it seems quite likely that the application of
these principles may be the solution to industrial waste treatment.
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