Manufacture of Water Gas.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 3068, 30 November 1888, Page 2

Manufacture of Water Gas.

Under the direction of-Mr Samson F,ox, 0.E., the managing direotor,Mr . Lawrence' Wildy, the engineer to the Leeds Forge Company has recently erected at the company's, works, at 1 Annley, plaut for the manufacture of gas from water, and at the present time the product-is being used there for illuminating as well as for metallurgical purposes,. In this country the making of water gas has not previously been-undertaken on a commercial scale, but in many cities and towns on the Continent, railway stations; churches, hotels, works.and othor buildings, as well as tlie public streets,;are lighted by means of water gas, which is also used at .one place for the purpose of driving'the waterworks engine. There;,can be very little doubt that its successfull install. atiou and application at the Leeds Forge willleaito its extensive use : in England.. Water-gas'is produced by the • decomposition of•.'.'steam in passiiig through a, mass of ; incandescent fuel, : the resultant gasbeiug hydrogen and carbonio oxido in about equal, ptfipql'tions. • Ordinary; coal gas contains about 50 percent of hydrogSji, frpin 40 fail per cent of marsh gas, : aq'd of othei" heayy - hydro-carbon- gases.Water gas/on "tlie. othei*' hand, -is made up of-, about, .50. ,'per cent, : of entirelyfree.':frb'm;.marsh; gas and gas iscorisecjuently,' a noh-illumiiiaiit in.-- 1 itself, be c or- uijed in "cprijunctioii

with&ftl^ which is|flixed bvefc'tlibV ■■'/' !; i^th^sma^percm^ | which n f : i ;;s j'plastio;. stiate;: into; fclio famviqf ini*i';; | rods - 5 of n *p i 3 clajihefljifbri; wvter - fgaMhat : ;il^ pui'poWes Yta /coar- 'j-mtUN'^ greater^advantage^iEist^asio-ifc^l!:, use in the fomulry' aud tho. forge. • " Tito ■ temperature,of the jwateii• ,gaa7-^: Haine is soijietliibg ovdr 5,000 degteW':. "■: • l''alii.-,' and is 50 thatiff tlie Siemens or. pfodacor gas ' usually employed for metallurgical ' : f : , processes.;'. Consequently : for welding'/'/-j, \ oi jn'eliiiig :■ pvirp o'se'sj amljlwhere •; aV; : ({ particular flame; is required water gas • is tlie most'suitablcl heating medium, :' It la pointed out that the chief reason ; , ;. -.why-water; gas produces So iutensea: /■ 'flame is that: the'■; amqurit:of lajr) rei. '(: quired to hurn'it is only;one halif the quantity necessary for, burning coal ; •'.-.•■: gas, while the area of Uie'flamfoJiß'not j;; inoro than onesixttyhat of tlie litter.'•- J In this way we get a greater cohceiitration of heat, a less area of flame .: for.; radiation, and a very;"' much. ;'.'. smaller percentage of diluenViiitrbgeu ; iWhioh under any hasf '.;':' toibe heated up to the Sainelempera--;' ;•' tureas the|furnabe or bath' of metal.' ; . The production of water gas, while, ;,• "• as before stated, not absolutely new;;;; has neVeir, preyiously : been 'carried ;.■ ■; out .upon the same jvli adopted at the Leeds Forge. Hitliertb, Mk the water gas has been to, a; large .extent, with. generatpr,: gas arid other prpdubtU: At ■ Forge the water gas is colleoted separ-.' .:;'•■ ately and; tile producer^gasis ;used.J:,.. for furnaces'or bpitersj : arid : -* i i;y ; in the annealing apparatus; In work-;.'. ,:• ing the Siemens-Martin ;.!;.■' theadvantago of using water gas ib .;' • said to the enormous.,, When ?:the„ ordinary producer gas is employed the: furnace will yield' about:.twelve' '. charges: per week of six days. By t mixing water gas with the generator ■'.% gas the charges may be more than . * doubled,asmany as 80charges per week having, been'got out of a single, -. • furnace. 'lnotherprtfcesses pfr'iran' ;!<■: manufacture, suoti as steel melting, puddling,- .reheating;' ; and."welding,''; : '■■{■ the has been' 1 . .; shown to have,.m;any.;;advan,tagesi! "'- The product has also been success'-,';,. .:. fuUy employed in glass-maMng.';The.;,;. v i' plant in use at' the Leeds Forge icon-/: ■■:■. suits of., two generators, a- scrubber,-'• ;• and gas holder, with' Root's, blower'"- ' and steam boiler," usedVis,'';'"' ; common coke and faot',f the vV cheapest that can be prqouredr The; : ' |. product per ;ton;bf fuel is about : ~ 175,000 cubic feet of gas,J of which V. i . fromßo,ooo'.:toßs,oooft.isWatergas '' 1 and the remainder high quality genV- ! ' eratoi' gas. The cost, irioludinp in- . terest, depreciation, and supervision, ; iB about 4fd per thousand oubio feet; . of wate gas and about 8-8 d per thou-. ~ ; sand of:generator gas.Vo^hen~s;: ; ; for illuminating. purpqs6s\tli'e'iwai2r|.if! ■■ gasis.dep'rivedvolthe^majl ; pr^r^;i tion it cqntaina ofjbisulpliidepfjoar-jvy; 1 boh,' which is;regarded as ftlie; |p!Baj;p ,: ) bugbearof-cbaigas prbducefsi.ttt \&\% t .this material ,pioli whenl Jurats pro<i';. i duces sulphimc-aoid^bdisastrolis;'ra-';*y ) i : - ) and vegetable jmd;flpweri:tj 1 1 are said j /only r toi; j but -to ? r thrive 'in s 'iwms;;wheß-watffi;ilii?ifl'-T a used a3 an'illuminarit. 'Moreover, I the heat generated by water gas when ■' employed for this purpose is set do«n ' t Bt less than half 'of that given off by. 1 " j. cdal gas, and the entire absence of e the heavy hydr'o ; carbphs,m the latter 'i 3 precludes' any; possibility of-smoky 1 ;| ;; e ceilings", as lio free carbon can'.,esoape V; s uuconsumed from the water gas.'The'; i, colour.of the light stands:midway ,' L between the electric;aro light ande the soft electric incandescent lamp.-; < II From the purple 'rays : , of the former a and the yellow tintof the |atte'r'it,is \ ■ ir entirely free, and it more resembles d the natural suiiHght: than aiiyartifi- ',, d oial illuuaiuaiit yet produced.... -.. ••' e The apparatus used for generating,, e water gas is exceedingly simple; and ' it e/itirely automatic \\\ its actiW;. •• e indeed, anyi mistake on. the part'of: e the gas maker is impossible. Since'' :, the plant has been devised, no case it of accident by explosion \m been ). hoard of. As to its safety for domes'e tic puipos,'although the water gas )f usually made, possesses'no. .smell 'r whateveiy involving the possibility of' 0 an escape remaining • undetected in ie the household, yet by an ingenious ■■:■ i, contrivance introduced by Mr Wildy, • ir' a strong smell is imparted to; it as': :; ; y there'manufactured. ■; This does not''.''. 11 affect its. illumination power,;' but', e. unmistakably proclaims its presence, a 111 this respect, therefore, it ranks' on' g a par with that highly-scented-con- ■, y coction' Hvith'which the" public' of \ n Leeds are favoured by the Gas Com-.. panyof the Corporation. '4, four ■ e months' experience 'at the Loeda 1 Forge lias shown tho adaptability of 11 water gas to the various uses mend tioned,. Coming to the details.of M, ■ 0 manufacture, it may b'e said that the ".. ti apparatus used in its making consists li principally of a generator, iu which j fuel, by uieansiof a blast, is raised 1 ', to.ahigh temperature. Preferably, • the fiiel should be of considerable .; 1 depth. The : blast having been' 1 turned off,'steam is injected into the : ' : i column of fuel, and the steam becomes'.' .1 decoiupbsed, producing hydrogen and . carbohioaoid. This,,latter gas,''in , , 'passing through the iower strata of;,;, incandescent fuel, is converted 'into ■-. carbonic oxide, whioh passes away with the hydrogen through tho scrubber into the gasholder. Themechani- • 1 cal appliances by which the -air and : - ■ steam are alternately admitted, and the generator gaß,and water gas al- ', ternately led away,'.., are cleverly' ; t conceived. One' valve,;,serves,-", f the double purpose of admitting '' : the air and educing the gas.. This 1 valve, slides_ on athreo : ported face • connected with a chamber, whioh is - r water cooled. The valve itself is also' , ■ cooled in'a like manner, bo that 'tho '.'' ; intensely heated effluent' water, gad ■ i passes, harmlessly a cOmmonr' ' cast-iron surface without running any 1 risk of damaging il.vln the slidp:' > valve.extrapassages.arecut'in qrdqr, v. 1 -to allow of the escape of the small ■■: 1 residuum of air or gas .which may be left in the passages -or - ports, and- ■'. which, if allowed to mix, might causo ■■■■ an explosion. ;!This valve is -the in- ;. ventidn'of H-31T Blassi of Essen.' The' '•• : levers which operate this slide valve also move the blast valve, opening it ; .' whenthe slide is'set for blowing tlie fuel and closing it when the ;; slide is thrown oyer to the gasi educ; tion ; . port, arid at this" same" thiie : , opening or closing the j steam valve , acording to the position of 'the slide -v .+ ; varfe;fpr;gas : malq'hg!sr?tebiowin^ ; irieohanioal meailio:thahb|eddve|l;b'; beihgithwwijpy'er^^vest^ ; 1 teudaht gaa:maker;; Jv 1 toentthensk&f 1 Objected' tqlt'''■•"

very "high temperature',' consists of a single steel plato,: flaugeel' so a's to form a cup. Thoring mailo by this c A continually full of water,, this > dlmce preventing;any, destruction owing to - the intensely great heat. It willthusbesqen that the gas is produced intermittently, The. rate . of production is. about a tlioustiiid 'feet per : minute* at intervals of ton minutes. Eaoh generator in use at the Leeds forgo is capable of turning out 17,000oubio foot ofwator gasper ' bur,', with the 'consumption of about half a ton of the commonest and cheapest fuel. At the Leeds Gas ■works''a 1 ':toil of coal produces ; 10,000 feet of coal gas. Tho coke remaining after the extraction of the-gas from the coal weighs some iSowt or Howt., and this coke will produce 28,000 cubicfeet of water ;> gas and 08,000oubio feet of generator gas, In the. manufacture of water gas at the Leeds Forgo canal water is used, ifco Peace for the Wicked.

' An English oxchange says it is perfectly horrible 1 Smbkers are being frightened to death. Not only are they treated to daily lectures on the injurious effects ,of smoking at all, but every now'and then somo new theory as to its dangers in various forms is broached. The last note of alarm has been struck by a medico, who states that in tlio malignant throat cases which havo come under his notice and in private practice he has noted: the fact that the sufferers we're'nearly all males. -This led him to the inference that the primary cause of the disease was smoking. This medical correspondent is by iio means averse to sinokJL'mz ; he enjoys the weed occasionally, ▼but he has investigated tho question raj 4), and Wine' to the conclusion thffsome insidious poison is mixed with the cigarettes directly imported from Egypt and Turkey. This poison imparts a He analysed Bomo of these very cigarettes, and found in thani opium or an unclassified alkaloid, These discoveries ai'o very annoying. You discard the churchwarden because of • , its sickening effects, and take in an idle moment to a genteel cigarette, to be found in any house of respectability, when lo and behold you are poisoned! If this poisoning is to go on in this fashion mankind must eschew tobacco as did the gentle Elia, but in what pleasure may a man indulge if the very pleasures suchussmoking aro to bo handicapped thus ? There i 3 tho happy conscious' ness, however, that tho poisoning is very slow, as it is in the case of tea, and alarmists who are constantly . discovering irritants and poisons in everything we eat, drink and \ otherwise enjoy had better tell us plainly what are the vices in which indulgence may be allowed without tlMar'of fatal results. Skinhy Men "Well's health renewor" restores health and vigor, cureß, Dyspepsia, Impotence, Sexual Debility. At chemists and druggists. Koinpthorne Fiusscr & Co, \eents, Wellington., ■ ■