Elias Anton Cappelen Smith (6 November 1873 – 25 June 1949) was a
Norwegian American
Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...
chemical engineer
In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...
,
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
and
metallurgist
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
. He pioneered
copper production in the early 20th century. Among his achievements were the and the
Guggenheim process.
Background
Cappelen Smith was born at
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
in
Sør-Trøndelag
Sør-Trøndelag () was a county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. To the west is the No ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. He was the son of Elias Anton Smith (1842–1912), founder of
E.A. Smith AS and Ingeborg Anna Røvig (1846–1923). His middle name
Cappelen is from the family of his paternal grandmother, Marie Severine Cappelen (died 1900) married to Peder Høegh Smith (died 1881). He grew up as the eldest son among nine children and attended the
Trondheim Cathedral School
Trondheim Cathedral School ( no, Trondheim katedralskole, Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Nidrosiensis'') is an upper secondary school located next to the Nidaros Cathedral in the center of Trondheim, Norway.
History
There is great dispute regarding ...
.
He was educated as a
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
at , now the
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
, taking his final exam in 1893. The same year he emigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
[''Elias Anton Cappelen Smith – utdypning (NBL-artikkel)'' (Norsk biografisk leksikon)]
/ref>
Career
Cappelen Smith started working as an assistant chemist at Armour and Company
Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1867, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's mo ...
in Chicago in 1893.[ ] Cappelen Smith was employed in the metallurgical industry
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
working from 1895 to 1896 for the Chicago Copper Refining Company, from 1896 to 1900 for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company
The Anaconda Copper Mining Company, known as the Amalgamated Copper Company between 1899 to 1915, was an American mining company headquartered in Butte, Montana. It was one of the largest trusts of the early 20th century and one of the largest mi ...
, and from 1901 to 1910 as the head metallurgist for the Baltimore Copper Smelting and Rolling Company in Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...
. It was while at this company that he and William H. Peirce developed the , which revolutionized the Manhès-David process.[
Cappelen Smith died in ]New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in 1949.
Peirce–Smith converter
300 px, Longitudinal and cross sections of a Peirce–Smith converter.
The Peirce–Smith converter, introduced in 1908, improved significantly the copper converting process. Before this improvement, the converter was a long cylindrical vessel, lined with sand and clay. It was developed by two French engineers, Pierre Manhès
Pierre Manhès (1841 – 1906) was a French metallurgist and businessman, who succeeded in 1880 to adapt the Bessemer process to the pyrometallurgy of the copper. With his engineer , he developed the Manhès-David process and converter, which w ...
and from 1880 to 1884. Their copper-converting process, named the Manhès-David process, was directly derived from the Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is steelmaking, removal of impurities from the iron by ox ...
. In this horizontal chemical reactor, where air was injected into copper matte, a molten sulfide
Sulfide (British English also sulphide) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to chemical compounds lar ...
material containing iron, sulphur and copper, to become molten blister, an alloy containing 99% copper. But the basic
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
slag produced during the blowing combined with the acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
silica refractory lining, thereby causing a very short lifetime of the lining.
By developing a basic refractory material adapted to the matte refining process (in magnesia bricks), Cappelen Smith and William H. Peirce found a way to drastically increase the lifetime of the lining. It has been stated that, in some cases, the process allowing an increase from 10 to 2500 tons of copper produced without relining the converters.[William Peirce and E.A. Cappelen Smith and Their Amazing Copper Converting Machine]
Larry M. Southwick. JOM: The Member Journal of TMS. International Peirce–Smith Converting Centennial. October 2008 Volume 60, NO.10 A reduction of the cost of copper converting from 15 to US$20 to 4–5 USD has been stated.
The Peirce–Smith converter replaced quickly the Manhès-David Converter: by March 1912, the Peirce–Smith Converting Co. claimed that "over 80% of the copper produced in he U.S.
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' i ...
is being converted either in P-S type converters or on basic lining, under license, in the old acid shells".[
It is still in use today, although the process has been significantly improved since then. In 2010, with 250 converters working in the world, the Peirce–Smith converters refine 90% of the copper matte.
]
Guggenheim process
The Guggenheim process is a method of chemical precipitation which employs ferric chloride
Iron(III) chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula . Also called ferric chloride, it is a common compound of iron in the +3 oxidation state. The anhydrous compound is a crystalline solid with a melting point of 307.6 °C. The col ...
and aeration
Aeration (also called aerification or aeriation) is the Systems engineering process, process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or solvation, dissolved in a liquid or other substances that act as a fluid (such as soil). Aeration proces ...
to prepare sludge for filtration. Cappelen Smith improved the leaching technology and applied it to the low grade copper ore deposits of the Guggenheim family
The Guggenheim family ( ) is an American-Jewish family known for making their fortune in the mining industry, in the early 20th century, especially in the United States and South America. After World War I, many family members withdrew from th ...
mining interests in the Chuquicamata
Chuquicamata ( ; referred to as Chuqui for short) is the largest open pit copper mine in terms of excavated volume in the world. It is located in the north of Chile, just outside Calama, at above sea level. It is northeast of Antofagasta and ...
open pit copper mine in the north of Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. The Guggenheim process first the exploitation
Exploitation may refer to:
*Exploitation of natural resources
*Exploitation of labour
** Forced labour
*Exploitation colonialism
*Slavery
** Sexual slavery and other forms
*Oppression
*Psychological manipulation
In arts and entertainment
*Exploi ...
of poor quality copper ore
Following is a list of minerals that serve as copper ores in the copper mining
Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical proces ...
in the Chuquicamata
Chuquicamata ( ; referred to as Chuqui for short) is the largest open pit copper mine in terms of excavated volume in the world. It is located in the north of Chile, just outside Calama, at above sea level. It is northeast of Antofagasta and ...
mine starting in 1915. This mine is still today one of the world's largest copper resources.
Honors
In 1920 Cappelen Smith was honored with the gold medal of the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America for distinguished service in the art of hydrometallurgy
Hydrometallurgy is a technique within the field of extractive metallurgy, the obtaining of metals from their ores. Hydrometallurgy involve the use of aqueous solutions for the recovery of metals from ores, concentrates, and recycled or residual m ...
. In 1925, he was made a commander 1st Class in the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
Royal may refer to:
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* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
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. He was made a member of the Royal Norwegian Scientific Society during 1926. He was also commander of the Chilean Al Merito-order and was awarded an honorary doctorate at Drexel Institute of Technology
Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, Sc ...
. In 1930, Cappelen Smith helped finance the installation of the Steinmeyer organ in the Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral ( no, Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II (c. 995–1030, reigned 1015–102 ...
for the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Stiklestad
The Battle of Stiklestad ( no, Slaget på Stiklestad, non, Stiklarstaðir) in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway () was killed. During the pontificate of Pope Alexander III, ...
. (Norwegian:''Olavsjubileet 1930th'')
References
Primary Source
*
:''Saga in Steel and Concrete'' is posted in sections at
Norway-L archives 2003-04Norway-L archives 2003-05
External links
Mining and Metallurgical Society of America official website
Peirce–Smith Converting Centennial Symposium
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cappelen Smith, Elias Anton
1873 births
1949 deaths
American chemical engineers
American civil engineers
American metallurgists
People from Trondheim
Elias Anton
Norwegian emigrants to the United States
Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal
Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters