science

Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant

Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant rather than just read about it. In short: The Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant manufactured pig iron between 1948 and 1981 and wood distillation products between 1950 and 1977, at Wundowie, Western Australia. Originally a state-owned enterprise, it seems not to have been incorporated as a company, during the time it was known as the Charcoal Iron and Steel Industry.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

The Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant manufactured pig iron between 1948 and 1981 and wood distillation products between 1950 and 1977, at Wundowie, Western Australia. Originally a state-owned enterprise, it seems not to have been incorporated as a company, during the time it was known as the Charcoal Iron and Steel Industry. At its greatest extent, the plant comprised two blast furnaces, a metal foundry, a sawmill, retorts for charcoal production, a power plant, and a refinery for wood distillation products. The planned garden town of Wundowie, approximately 65 kilometres (40 mi) east of Perth by road and 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Northam, was built to provide accommodation for the workers of the plant. From 1966, the plant was privately managed by Australian National Industries, and its workers became employees of that company. The plant was sold by the government in 1974 to Agnew-Clough Ltd. Production of iron ceased in 1981. The foundry continued in operation, under several different owners, and was still operating in 2019. The blast furnaces at Wundowie were not the last ones to make charcoal iron in commercial quantities; as of 2013 there were still charcoal-based iron and steel-making operations in Brazil.

Historical context A deposit of limonite iron ore existed at the future site of Wundowie, as nearby did extensive jarrah forests. There were other iron ore deposits nearby, at Coates Siding and Clackline. The future site of Wundowie lay along the route of the Eastern Railway, providing transport to and from Perth and access to further iron ore deposits to the east at Koolyanobbing. Limestone – for use as a smelting flux – could be obtained from the Perth coastal plain. Until 1966, it was conventional wisdom that iron ore was scarce in Australia and—as a strategic mineral reserved for local manufacturing—its export was banned in 1938. That left the only way to exploit local iron ore being the secondary processing of the ore to make iron. By 1943, an iron and steel industry was well established in New South Wales—at Newcastle (from 1915) and Port Kembla (relocated from Lithgow in 1928)—and in South Australia—at Whyalla (from 1941). Although Western Australia had significant deposits of iron ore, the absence of coking coal disadvantaged the state as a location for an iron and steel industry. The south-west of the state did have extensive forests of jarrah, which made excellent charcoal that—provided it could be produced economically—could be used in a blast furnace instead of coke. At the time, such forests were considered a managed natural resource, and ripe for exploitation. Immediately before and during the Great Depression, Australia—then largely an exporter of agricultural and mineral commodities—suffered as commodity prices fell. Unemployment peaked at 27% in 1932. During World War II, under wartime industry controls, unemployment in Australia reached a new low of 1.1%. During the war, new manufacturing facilities were established and employment in the sector accounted for much of the reduction in unemployment; the government saw growth in manufacturing as providing reliable employment, which would reduce the chance of another depression. Manufacturing in Australia was protected from import competition by a regime of tariffs. At the end of World War II, the Commonwealth government and all state governments, except South Australia, were held by Australian Labor Party. The ALP has a key part of its platform known as the socialist objective. In more recent times, the socialist objective has largely been ignored but, in the 1940s, the ALP's policy was to centralise control of the economy, including plans to nationalise the banks. A significant number of large enterprises in the Australian economy were already state-owned enterprises, and the government thinking of the time was that was a desirable outcome. Western Australia lies far from the more-industrialised, eastern parts of Australia. During and immediately after World War II, it had a Labor government. The government's view was that its involvement would be needed to facilitate the industrial development of the state. It also saw an iron and steel industry using local iron ore as being key to further industrialisation of the sparsely populated state. Bert Hawke was the Minister of Industrial Development. He was also a member for the electorate of Northam, which contained the future location of Wundowrie.

History of operations

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant: Wundowie charcoal iron blast furnace in 1952 — Wundowie charcoal iron blast furnace in 1952

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant

In research: Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Charcoal, Iron mining in Australia, Smelting, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant in simple terms?

Why does Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wundowie charcoal iron and wood distillation plant.