NEW AND INEXPENSIVE GAS.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1361, 27 September 1883, Page 1

NEW AND INEXPENSIVE GAS.

Ay ingenious method of gas manufacture, rcsultidg in a very good light, has recently been perfected. The materials from which the gas is made are petroleum, water, and air, and the process is simple, cleanly, and apparently safe. The petroleum, which is of high quality, is stored in one compartment of a divided tank, the water being stored in the other compartment The generator consists of a east-iron retort, so fixed in the body of a furnace, that the heat is conducted both under and over it the fuel being coke. The oil and water are fed to the retort through pipes by drops, four drops of oil being fed into one drop of water. As the oil and water are decomposed, the resulting gas is led away through a pipe to a washer. This consists of an iron close tank containing water, and fitted with vertical divided plates, so arranged that the gas passes alternately under and over them through the water on its way to the gas-holder, where it is stored for* use As soon as a sufficient quantity of gas has been made and stored, the oil and water are turned off, and a jet of air is forced into the retort by means of a small Roots’ blower. This air is also decomposed, and, following the course of the oil and water gas through the washer, finally joins it in the holder, having picked up on its w r ay any gas remaining in the retort or in the washer. The air is added in the proportion of three of air to one of the gas already made. '1 he resulting gas is stated to be of 21-candle power, and to possess the qualities of elasticity and permanence. Various trials have shown it to be a good travelling gas and free from humidity and deposit. It is reported to contain no sulphur and only a trace of carbonic acid, to deposit no soot or other impurity in use, and to cost only Is 6d, per 1,000 cubic feet to produce, all expenses included. A furnace about 3ft. square in plan and 4ft. high is stated to be capable of producing 100 cubic feet of gas per hour, lhe good quality of the light has been shown by colour tests, and its innocuous character by the healthiness of some plants and shrubs, which are unaffected by its daily manufacture and use. It has already been adopted in one country mansion, and there is no apparent reason why, with care in manufacture, it should not do good service where coal gas or other source of artificial light is either expensive or unobtainable.