Acheson
Acheson : (1) A process for making silicon carbide from sand and coke, in an electric furnace, at 2,200 to 2,400?C: SiO2 + 3C + SiC + 2CO Invented by E. G. Acheson in Monongahela City, PA, in 1892. He was heating clay and carbon by means of an electric arc, in the hope of making diamond. The hard, crystalline product was called carborundum in the mistaken belief that it was a compound of carbon and corundum (alumina). The process and product were patented in 1893 and made on a small scale in Monongahela City, using the town's electricity supply. In 1895, The Carborundum Company was formed to exploit the process in Niagara, NY, using hydroelectric power from the Falls. This same process is now operated in many countries. The name Carborundum is a registered trademark owned by the Carborundum Company, NY, and used for several of its refractory products, in addition to silicon carbide. (Check source for accuracy of chemical formula) (2) A process for converting carbon articles into graphite, invented by E. G. Acheson in 1895 and commercialized in 1897. This process uses transverse graphitization, unlike the Castner process, which uses lengthwise graphitization
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