WATER AS FUEL.

Patea Mail, 26 April 1882, Page 4

WATER AS FUEL.

Many efforts have been made to use water as fuel, but in most cases the force gained has been at too great a cost of force to render the process available. The components of water, hydrogen and oxygen, when dissociated, are powerful forces. The great problem has been to decompose water into its elements by the use of so little force as to give a great advantage from the combustion of the components. Dr Charles Holland has succeeded in decomposing water by a process so simple that a revolution is promised in motive power. The decomposition has been effected by taking advantage of the strong affinity of oxygen for carbon. Decomposed water has already been used in a locomotive engine on the Long Island railroad. An old cold burner was employed, but the conditions were not such as to give the best results. So much confidence was created in the efficacy of the process that a locomotive is being built at Paterson, N. J., especially adapted to the use of the new fuel. Just inside the furnace door are four retorts, two to contain water and two naptha. Under them is a metal pan. Into this metal pan a small quantity of naptha is poured and set on fire when the locomotive is to be started. The burning naptha rises steam in the water retorts and converts part of the naptha in the other retorts into vapor. The steam rushes into the naptha retorts, and owing to the great affinity of the carbon of naptha Vapor for oxygen, a chemical change occurs and there is formed light carbonated hydrogen, carbonic oxide and free hydrogen, This gas passes from the retorts to feeding pipes, which occupy the place of the usual fire grates ; from these pipes proceed small burners, each with aperture of a hundreth of an inch } and a thimble-like cap with apertures near the escaping hydrogen. This arrangement brings to the burning hydrogen oxygen from atmospheric air, producing nearly the same effect as (he oxyhydrogen blow-pipe. The heat of the flame is 8000 degrees Centigrade. Hundreds of these burners are scattered over the space of the ordinary fire-grate. This heat is applied to the boiler by means of copper flues.

When the heat from (he combustion of the dissociated hydrogen becomessufficient, it does the work of heating the retorts to produce itself. This fact is what puzzles the sticklers for the law of the conservation of energy. But as dissociation occurs at a temperature of 400 degrees Centrigade, a flame of 800 degrees Centrigade is sufficient to accomplish this, with an enormous force to spare. When steam is raised in the boiler it is supplied to the naptha retort direct, instead of being generated in the retort at first thus saving so much energy. The use of this fuel does away with smoke and cinders. The products of combustion passing through the smoke-stack would not blacken the whitest ban I kerchief.— American Paper.