Monument record MWX787 - Acetone factory at Holton Heath, Wareham St Martin

Acetone factory - constructed either in late 1916 or early 1917 to manufacture the solvent acetone for the Royal Naval Cordite Factory. The plant used an innovative method of manufacture using fermentation technology. The process used at Holton Heath was developed by the first, future president of Israel, Chaim Weizmann. It is also notable for the use of reinforced concrete in the construction of the fermentation vessels. Most of the ground plan of the plant may be traced, additionally six out of the original eight fermentation vessel and the former Cooker House survive.

The Acetone Factory lies within the boundary of the former Royal Naval Cordite Factory Holton Heath. The Acetone Factory was constructed either in late 1916 or early 1917 to manufacture acetone using biotechnology through zymotechnology or fermentation technology. This technology had been developed prior to the war on the continent and also by a team at Manchester University which included Chaim Weizmann, the first future president of Israel. He left his team and while working on his own discovered a bacterium which could ferment a starch source directly to ethanol, acetone and butanol. The first purpose-built plant for the manufacture of acetone using this process was the plant built at the RNCF Holton Heath. The solvent acetone was required in large quantities for the manufacture of cordite.

During the 1920s with a reduced requirement for explosives less acetone was needed. Also by the late 1920s the chemists at Holton Heath had pioneered a new solventless process for the manufacture of cordite which dispensed with the need for acetone. The plant probably ceased operation in the late 1920s and was partially demolished in the 1934.

Most of the ground plan of the plant may be traced and a number of components survive. These include to the rear footings of the granary, six out of the original eight reinforced concrete fermentation vessels and the Cooker House converted into workshops, offices and stores. The Acetone Factory has been recorded by ground photography and a ground plan and cross-section of one of the tanks drawn. <1>

<1> Cocroft, Wayne D, 1988, RCHME Dangerous Energy Project: Field Investigator's Comments, 26-FEB-1998 (Unpublished document). SWX3255.

<2> Cockroft, W D, 1996, Dangerous Energy Project Archive Survey Report. Royal Naval Cordite Factory, Acetone Factory, Holton Heath, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO16466.

<2.1> Nathan, F L, 1919, The manufacture of acetone,, p271-28 (Article in serial). SWX4510.

<2.2> Bud, R, 1992, The zymotechnic roots of biotechnology, p127-144 (Article in serial). SWX4511.

<2.3> England, J, 1993, Acetone production at RNCF Holton Heath acorns urgently needed, p189-22 (Article in serial). SWX4512.

<2.4> Bowditch, M R, and Hayward, L, 1996, A Pictorial Record of the Royal Naval Cordite Factory Holton Heath (Monograph). SWX4509.

<3> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF055255 (Index). SDO14738.

Measured Survey

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1116956 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 13 2024 11:20AM