Ah, memories. Yes, that’s what we old farts do- we recall and rejoice- or cry- at the various stories and events of our lives.
And, the journal article I was reading today brought back a slew of memories.
Since the company about which I’ll speak still exists, I will be somewhat circumspect. (Who knows if our confidentiality agreement still obtains?)
This manufacturer of pigments had a ‘little’ problem. Over the decades, its effluent, which was collected in a ‘reservoir’, had accumulated significant levels of titanium dioxide (and ferrous sulphate). The primary use of this compound was as a pigment (titanium white or Pigment White 6)- and was the primary component in white paint, as well as bright white paper. Unfortunately, it’s a potential carcinogen- and is persistent in the environment.
So, we got hired to solve the problem of “Lake Copperas” (the common name for ferrous sulphate). No, to be more specific, we were hired to develop a microbial solution to the problem. And, if you recall the article about John Mooney (who invented the modern, triple action, catalytic converter), sometimes these issues have cross-purposes. (To solve one problem, you exacerbate the other.)
Happily- for our pocketbooks and our clients- we solved the problem. Our microbes basically rendered the two pollutants into a form which was insoluble in water. All the client had to do was dredge the lake (actually it just had to suck up the top inch of sediment at the bottom of the lake), perform a separation and then resell the collected titanium deposits.
My other memory of titanium dioxide? This involved the times I was working with my pal, Gary Thompson, a most creative guy. He developed a method to insulate buildings and install roofing, based upon polyurethane foam. (His company name was PUFF [polyurethane foam fabricators] with the jolly dragon as his logo! Yes, he was a fan of that substance [and, unfortunately, many others of that ilk].)
(Here’s where I discussed this more fully.)
We worked out a system to create very effective apple storage buildings. Of course, the concept was based upon his polyurethane foam, which made the buildings secure (not leaking air)- as well as insulated. We had exchanged the bulk of the air in the buildings for carbon dioxide- which prevented the apples from continuing to ripen, rendering the storage system pretty ideal.
Gary also added a coating replete with titanium dioxide to cause about 85% of the incident solar radiation to bounce off the building. Reducing the cooling demands for the apple storage facilities dramatically.
Yeah, reminiscing about the fun we had in the craziest places in the world. Lake Copperas. The Appalachian Region. Backwoods Virginia.
Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about the cause of these specific reminisces.
Puff, the Magic Dragon, huh? When I was a kid, had no idea! So, anyway, it sounds like you have your hands in a lot of pies. Are you a multi-potentialite? I am, but am terrible at juggling! I’ll be interested in hearing the reason behind your trip down memory lane, tomorrow.
I have never heard that expression- multi-potentialite. But, yes, it does seem to fit.
I remember seeing commercials about PUFF! Memories are great and I have good and bad ones but thankfully the good ones outweigh the bad.
Martha recently posted..Delicious KETO Breakfast Sandwich
That’s what counts- having more plusses!
haha your post brought back memories too;; until recently (when watching the movie Meet the Parents), I had no idea of those references to the children’s classic Puff the Magic Dragon.. 🙂
I still have our copy of the book and the song (the book came with a cd)
And totally agree with Jeanine about you being a multi-potentialite …
vidya recently posted..Travel Thursday – Travels in a Flying Car – Book Review
Thanks muchly, Vidya. Glad I could make you laugh, too!
An interesting discussion is worth comment.
I believe that you need to publish more on this
topic, it might not be a taboo subject but usually people don’t talk about
these issues. To the next! Cheers!!
fb88 recently posted..fb88
Glad you left your comment!
It’s very simple to find out any topic on web as
compared to books, as I found this paragraph at this web page.
sfwater.org recently posted..sfwater.org
Thank you.
My brother recommended I might like this website.
He was totally right. This post actually made my day.
You cann’t imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information!
Thanks!
hemp oil for hair reviews recently posted..hemp oil for hair reviews
Thank you so much for your kind comments!
I’ve been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or blog
posts on this kind of area . Exploring in Yahoo I
finally stumbled upon this web site. Reading this info So i’m glad to
show that I have a very excellent uncanny feeling I came upon exactly what I needed.
I most indubitably will make sure to don?t overlook this web
site and provides it a look regularly.
http://www.fritsvandenakker.nl recently posted..http://www.fritsvandenakker.nl
Thanks for dropping in- please do so often.