Entering Searles Valley from the west you couldn't miss the massive rotary lime kiln. Its radiated heat matched with the already blistering summer temperatures made it a real chore to work near. Yet, that was part of my routine at Stauffer Chemical Co. On a semi-regular schedule it was my job to walk along the kiln's catwalk and adjust the trunnions as necessary. In doing so I held a gloved hand over my ear nearest to the kiln to help block the heat from entering my eardrums.
Brine and lime were the two main, raw ingredients that kept the Westend plant running and profitable. And they had plenty of it.
CO2 gas produced in the kiln was delivered to the carbonating towers several hundred feet away and was essential in producing top quality soda ash. The large, circular towers, made of wood, were each several stories high, bunched close together and an amazing sight to behold. The 8x340-ft rotary lime kiln at Westend was installed in 1956.
The kiln was envisioned in 1955 when the company discoverd a large limestone deposit just north of the plant. A quarry was established and the plan was to use natural gas as fuel. Top capacity was estimated at 170 tons of lime per day.
It was a Traylor kiln, from an engineering and manufacturing company that also built mills and crushers. Traylor started building it at its facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and finished it at the Westend plant. It was so precisely aligned at the site by the Traylor engineers that it operated continuously for five years without needing brick replacement.
The channel-iron chain length designed to snake-whip and loosen any crusts that might form inside became mangled from the high heat and was removed for replacement. Management decided it would be a good time to rebrick as well. In late 1963 I was the lucky one who got the job of jack-hammering out the "old" bricks.” It was still more than a little warm inside after a three-day cool-down shutdown. Room inside allowed for one person. I laid a board across for back support and to keep away from the residue of the wet bottom lime. The bricks were upward. I somehow got in contact with the wet lime and it was soaking into my jeans bottoms. I felt the burn from the lime, got out and notified my foreman. He sent me home to shower and change clothes. I returned shortly and soon you could again hear the rat-a-tat.
...