This collection, the bulk of which is digitized here, consists of photographs of buildings, laboratories, and equipment associated with the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory, Arlington Experimental Farm, and several other U.S. Department of Agriculture sites in the 1920s through the 1950s. The photographs were collected by Travis P. Hignett, a chemist who worked in fertilizer research at the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory. The majority of photographs date from the 1920s and 1930s and depict numerous stages of the nitrogen fixation process and the various equipment and apparatus used in the production of atmospheric nitrogen, including generators, compressors, filters, thermostats, and vacuum and blast furnaces. The collection also includes several photographs of U.S.D.A. exhibit booths from industrial expositions and trade shows, including the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition held in Philadelphia, as well as portraits of various laboratory and U.S.D.A. personnel.
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Absorption chamber for nitrogen oxides
Box 1- 1930-Jan-08
Absorption chamber for nitrogen oxides used at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. In this photograph, the chamber's casing has been removed to show the…
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Absorption of nitrogen oxides by silica gel
Box 1- Circa 1928
General view of an apparatus used to study the absorption of nitrogen oxides by silica gel at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C.
The Fixed Nitrogen…
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Ammonia-carbon dioxide pump and Urea autoclave
Box 1- 1927-Jul-26
General view of the ammonia-carbon dioxide pump and Urea autoclave used at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C.
The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory…
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Apparatus for determining solubility of gases in liquids
Box 1- 1930-May-28
General view of an apparatus used to determine the solubility of gases in liquids at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. Visible in the bath of the…
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2 items
Apparatus for determining the hygroscopicity of fertilizer materials
Box 1- Circa 1928
Two views of an apparatus used to determine the hygroscopicity of fertilizer materials and mixtures at the the Arlington Experimental Farm in Arlington, Virginia. The individual visible in the first photograph is…
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Apparatus for determining vapor pressure, with view of equilibrium chamber and isoteniscope
Box 1- 1930-Jan-08
Apparatus used to determine vapor pressure of vapor emitted from the reaction of liquid carbon dioxide and liquid ammonia at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington,…
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Apparatus for making nitric acid from nitrogen dioxide
Box 1- Circa 1928
General view of an apparatus used to make nitric acid from nitrogen dioxide at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C.
The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory…
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Apparatus for making urea from ammonium carbamate briquettes
Box 1- Circa 1928
General view of an apparatus used to make urea from ammonium carbamate briquettes at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. Urea is a water-soluble powder…
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Apparatus for nitration of organic substances
Box 1- 1926-Apr
L.A. Pinck demonstrating an apparatus used for the nitration of organic substances at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C.
The Fixed Nitrogen Research…
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Apparatus for oxidation of ammonia
Box 1- 1927-Jul-26
General view of an apparatus used to oxidize ammonia at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C.
The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory (F.N.R.L.) was…
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2 items
Apparatus for oxidizing ammonia
Box 1- 1926-Apr
Two views of an apparatus used to oxidize ammonia with pure oxygen using bed catalysts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. The individual visible in the…
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Apparatus for removal of carbon monoxide from water gas
Box 1- 1926-Apr
W.E. Kuentzel demonstrating use of an apparatus to remove carbon monoxide from water gas by means of scrubbing with a cuprous (i.e. copper) solution at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research…
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Apparatus for studying absorbents for high-pressure ammonia system
Box 1- Circa 1928
General view of an apparatus used to study absorbents for a high-pressure ammonia system at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C.
The Fixed Nitrogen…
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Apparatus for studying the separation of ammonia from carbon dioxide
Box 1- Circa 1926
Apparatus used at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory to study the separation of ammonia from carbon dioxide.
The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory (F.N.R.L.) was established at…
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Apparatus for studying the thermal reaction of acetylene and nitrogen
Box 1- 1930-Jan-08
An apparatus used to study the thermal reaction of acetylene and nitrogen at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C.
The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory…
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Apparatus for studying the thermal reactions in gases (with screen)
Box 1- 1930-Jan-08
An apparatus used to study thermal reactions in gases at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. A protective screen partially obscures the front of the…
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Apparatus for testing of catalysts
Box 1- Circa 1928
General view of apparatus used at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory to test catalysts at 30 atmospheres of pressure.
The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory (F.N.R.L.) was…
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Apparatus for the analysis of vapors at the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory
Box 1- 1930-Jan-08
Apparatus used to analyze vapors emitted from the reaction of liquid carbon dioxide and liquid ammonia at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. In the…
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Apparatus for the study of adsorption of gases on catalysts
Box 1- Circa 1928
General view of an apparatus used to study the adsorption of gases on catalysts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. Adsorption refers to a surface…
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Apparatus for the study of liquid absorbents for ammonia
Box 1- Circa 1928
General view of an apparatus used to study liquid absorbents for ammonia at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C.
The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory…
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Apparatus for water-gas catalysts
Box 1- Circa 1928
Apparatus for the production of catalysts used to initiate water-gas shift reactions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. The water-gas shift reaction…
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Apparatus to remove carbon dioxide from water gas
Box 1- Circa 1928
General view of an apparatus used to remove carbon dioxide from water gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington,…
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Apparatus used for reaction of active nitrogen
Box 1- Circa 1928
General view of apparatus used at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory for the reaction of active nitrogen with carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and oxygen and hydrogen gas.
The Fixed…
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2 items
Apparatus used to oxidize ammonia
Box 1- Circa 1928
Two views of an apparatus used to oxidize ammonia at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C.
The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory (F.N.R.L.) was established…
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Apparatus used to remove ammonia
Box 1- Circa 1928
General view of an apparatus used to remove ammonia at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C.
The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory (F.N.R.L.) was…
