A SMOKELESS CITY.

Otaki Mail, 20 August 1923, Page 4

A SMOKELESS CITY.

■ SOiHNTiriO PROBLEMS. j The prevention of the smoke nui-s- ---■ ante in London* and other big cities is I ,u prevent occupying the closest atten- ! lion of engineer., and council authov- ' lie", ar.d the recent official inquiry into the matter lias made it quite clear • iirit the pollution of the atmosphere by* ..moke can be obviated, and that there re means available- ’.Thereby a smoke'ess eitv can bo attained, states a writer ! the London Daily Mail. When the amount of smoke is redue- , 1 there will be far less fog during the ..-inter months. l’og originates in .mail partiedes of dust which pervade ,he air. When the air is still and its temperature falls below a. certain point ■ he watery vapour in it condenses and takes Mile foim of minute water globules.' which in the aggregate be-, tome wlintv is known as fog. Lacli I globule_iif'■London fog is not merely aj . .icrost'o]f,p sphere ot water, but is | uiso built ..round a particle of carbon) I V, ljich is .frequently accompanied by aj quantity of sulphurous acnl from the 3 combustion of coni. j English, people have hitherto shown a preference for open fireplaces. Closed j .. oves and hot air and water systems, ail transfer their heat to the surrounding air almost entirely by the process of convection, as opposed to radiation, by which most of the heat sent out from an open coal fire reaches the parts of a room which are adjacent to it. ,| Thes combustion of coal in an open | gi’tite, moreover, is a mo.?t wasteful method of utilising the heat elements in the fuel, while the process results in a maximum amount of smoke and fog. One might sav that the average amount of sold carbon sent into the air as smoke in tho case of open domestic tires is from 3 to 5 per cent,, of the fuel consumed, as against only about 0.75 per cent, in well-constructed and carefully fired boiler furnaces, winch goes to show that as a fog and smoke producer the boiler furnace is much behind the domestic fire. While no action Ims been taken to enforce the smokeless method among householders, the public are tiring of the old conditions and me anxious to get rid of the old-fashioned cooking range. What is wanted is a smokeless fuel 'that will kindle and burn in an open grate, and engineers would be well advised to develop investigations . in this direction.

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