Forest of Dean Chemical / Naptha works - prior thread (General)

by slowhands , proud of his ancient Dean Forest roots, Monday, June 17, 2013, 18:23 (3971 days ago) @ messerschmitt

It was a general interest question. Industry has always fascinated me. I saw mention of collecting conkers for the war effort and found details of the acetone factory but nothing if its location.

Thanks for clearing that up

http://www.historyextra.com/conker

Prior to the First World War, the acetone used in British munitions was made almost entirely from the dry distillation (pyrolysis) of wood. As it required almost a hundred tonnes of birch, beech or maple to produce a tonne of acetone, the great timber-growing countries were the biggest producers of this vital commodity, and Britain was forced to import the vast majority of its acetone from the United States.

An attempt to produce our own acetone was made in 1913 when a modern factory was built in the Forest of Dean. But by the outbreak of war in 1914, the stocks for military use were just 3,200 tonnes, and it was soon obvious that an alternative domestic supply would be needed.

and

http://histclo.com/act/out/game/conk/conk-ww1.html

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>