Ice Czar Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 under the heading of waste not pollute not and if your great grandmother can do it so can you Charcoal > Forge > Potash > Pearlash > Soap, Glass and CeramicsPotashHow to Make Lye - wikiHowHistory Up until the 20th century, potash was one of the most important industrial chemicals in Europe. It was refined from the ashes of broadleaved trees and produced primarily in the forested areas of Europe, Russia, and North America. The first U.S. patent was issued in 1790 to Samuel Hopkins for an improvement "in the making Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process." Potash production provided late-18th and early-19th century settlers in North America a way to obtain badly needed cash and credit as they cleared their wooded land for crops. To make full use of their land, excess wood, including stumps, needed to be disposed. The easiest way to accomplish this was to burn any wood not needed for fuel or construction. Ashes from hardwood trees could then be used to make lye, which could either be used to make soap or boiled down to produce valuable potash. Hardwood could generate ashes at the rate of 60 to 100 bushels per acre (500 to 900 m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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