Obituary: W. R. Beauchamp-Platts.

Progress, Volume XVII, Issue 3, 1 November 1921, Page 59

Obituary: W. R. Beauchamp-Platts.

The New Zealand Institute of Architects has suffered an incalculable loss in the death of Mr. W. Beauchamp-Platts, who passed away, after a long illness, on the sth instant.

had many interests. In military matters he was an enthusiast, and at the time of his death held the rank of major in the N.Z. Territorial Forces. Boxing and other forms of sport had in him a keen

Mr. Beauchamp-Platts came to the Dominion from England some 35 years ago. First settling in the Manawatu district, he later went to Wellington to join the Treasury Department. After twelve years in the Government service he left to enter the service of Messrs. J. H. Bethune and Company in the capacity of chief accountant. He left this firm in 1907 to commence practice as public accountant, auditor and company secretary. He

supporter. In 1914 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace. In Freemasonry he had held and was holding at the time of his death high office. In 1909 Mr. Beauchamp-Platts was appointed secretary to the New Zealand Institute of Architects, and from that time forward took an increasing interest in all that appertained to the Institute. In the latter months of his life he became more and more absorbed in the Institute to the exclusion

of other interests. He became increasingly interested, too, in architecture. He told the writer on several occasions before his fatal illness commenced how glad he would be to be able to devote his whole time and service to the Institute. But this needed no telling. No one of those who came closely into touch with him, especially during the last year or two of his life, but could judge where his heart lay. In point of fact during the last few months he had devoted almost the whole of his time and attention to Institute matters. He continued actively engaged upon work for the Institute until his last conscious moment. His mind was clear and active to the last. He again and again expressed a wish that he might live long enough to have everything in order for the annual meeting, and was busy preparing matter for that occasion when he passed away. In his long illness he proved himself a gallant gentleman, courageously fighting until overcome at last. One of the oldest members of the Institute and a Past President wrote as follows :

“ As one who has been intimate with the history of the Institute’s many strenuous experiences, I would wish to pay tribute to the whole-hearted loyalty and ability of our secretary, Mr. William Beauchamp-Platts, in all matters large or small, pertaining to the best interests of our Institute and its members, since his appointment on the 24th of November, 1909.

“ He possessed wonderful ability in grasping the technical details of our profession and showed tactful and skilful administration in carrying into effect the wishes of our governing council. A ma.vellous memory as to the Act and Regulations made him a veritable encyclopaedia of reference, until it became a frequent expression ; ‘ Ask Platts.’

“ Mr. Beauchamp-Platts had a way with him of carrying conviction. His suggestions and advice bore the hall-mark of wisdom and common-sense. No trouble, no time, or the expenditure of midnight oil did he ever begrudge where the interests of the Institute, or its individual members were concerned. No secretary in any official capacity enjoyed more absolute confidence and good-will than was placed in him by our Governing council and members.

“ Many inc ; dents could be recited by those who knew him best in collaboration with him over the affairs of the Institute, in evidence of his great devotion to its interests. It was always the Institute first, his own private and business affairs second.

“ Those who may not have that personal knowledge of Mr. William Beauchamp-Platts, may well accept the assurance of those who have.” The President’s message to the members of the Institute and the resolution of sympathy passed by the Executive Committee, which we print below, bear added testimony to the esteem in which Mr. Beauchamp-Platts was held by those who knew him best.

President’s Message. “ I deeply regret to announce the death at Wellington, on the sth instant, of the Secretary of the Institute, William Richard Beauchamp-Platts. “ Since his appointment as Secretary in 1909, Mr. Beauchamp-Platts has given to the Institute most devoted service, service which only ended, literally, with his death. Gifted with great natural ability, possessing an amount of special and general knowledge which is rare, combining great energy with force of will, Mr. Beauchamp-Platts was no ordinary Secretary, and his untimely death has cut short a career of eminent usefulness. “ I am confident that every member of the Institute shares the deep sorrow occasioned by the passing away of so faithful a servant. Those only, however, can fully appreciate the true magnitude of the loss sustained by the Institute who, like myself, have had the advantage of Mr. BeauchampPlatts’ personal acquaintance, and who have received from him, on so many occasions, so much willing assistance and invaluable advice in the Institute’s behalf.” Resolution of Sympathy. “ That the members of the Executive Committee of the New Zealand Institute of Architects desire to place on record their feelings of sincere regret at the death of Mr. W. Beauchamp-Platts, Secretary of the Institute, and their deepest sympathy with Mrs. Beauchamp-Platts in her bereavement, and to give expression to their great admiration for the late Mr. Beauchamp-Platts, for the thorough manner in which he performed the secretarial duties during a period of twelve years; that this Executive recognises that the late Mr. BeauchampPlatts not only conducted the routine business of the Institute in a masterly fashion but had its welfare deeply at heart and was ever ready to suggest and support new activities and measures whereby architecture might take its rightful place both as a profession and an art and considers that the Institute and the architects of New Zealand generally owe to him a great debt of gratitude; and further, that the members of this Executive who for so long came into very close touch with our late Secretary, can testify to his unfailing courtesy, tact and line administrative ability and by whom he was held in the highest esteem and affection.”

War Memorial, King’s College, Auckland. Good progress is being made with the campaign to raise £B,OOO to erect a chapel at the new King’s College, Mangere, in memory of the old boys of King’s College and St. John’s College who fell at the front. Old boys, parents of old boys, present boys, and a few friends of the school are being invited to contribute. The sum of £5,000 is in hand or promised to date, considerably more than half • this amount having been contributed by the old boys themselves.

An Improved Process for Combining the Production of Synthetic Ammonia with the Working of a Coal Gas or Coke Producing Plant.”

Devised by

Messrs. UAir Liquide Societe Anonyme Four L'Etude et L' Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude.

It is, of course, well known that in the carbonisation of coal there is produced an average of from 250 to 300 cubic metres ot gas per ton of coal, the gas so obtained containing about 50 per cent. 01 hydrogen. The carbonisation process tnereioie constitutes an important source of hydrogen tor the extraction ot which from the mixed gases several ditlerent processes can be employed. A new and important process for the utilisation of the hydrogen thus produced, in installations ct relatively small size, has been devised by the well-known hrench company, L’Air Liquide Societe Anonyme hour L’hdude et JL’ Exploitation des rrocedes Georges Claude, who make use of then: patented hyper-pressure processes (see tor example British racent No. 130086) for the manufacture of synthetic ammonia for disposing of the hydrogen obtained in carbonisation processes. The new process permits of the adaptation to this new application, under relatively simple conditions, ot existing coking installations and gas-works. In the first place the gas resulting from the carbonisation of the coal is treated by processes tor obtaining hydrogen which consist in taking advantage ot the very low degree of solubility of the hydrogen in certain solvents (see for example the processes described in British .Patents Nos. 130092, and 131091). On thus separating the hydrogen a gas is simultaneously obtained consisting almost exclusively of methane and consequently of exceptional calorific power. In practice only a little nitrogen escapes solution, but this presents no drawback in connection with the process under consideration. Matters are found to be much improved in practice, when, as is most often the case, the installations of coke ovens and gas works are provided with the necessary purifying apparatus and when, consequently, gases are produced which it is very easy to treat.

It must be remarked that not only carbon monoxide but also carbon dioxide are only present in a small proportion in the gases in question, and that, consequently, the process which furnishes the hydrogen cannot at the same time supply carbon dioxide. If, however, this carbon dioxide is required, it will be necessary, for example, to hnd it in the gases of combustion.

In the second place the extraction of the hydrogen as referred to above deprives the coke or gas works of the greater part of its gases, as it is

necessary to use a fairly considerable portion thereof tor compressing the gaseous mixture to the desired pressure (50 or too atmospheres for example,) ; if all the gas produced by the furnaces were used, this is the case in gas works properly socalled or in well-combined metallurgical establishments, it would not be possible to replace the part of the gas necessary for the manutacture of the hydrogen except by using new furnaces to an extent corresponding to the deficit or else by heating the furnaces with the aid of air gas for example.

A better means which obviates any such necessity consists in profiting by the fact that, in almost all existing installations the coke on leaving the furnaces, and especially metallurgical coke furnaces, at a temperature exceeding 1,000 degrees Centigrade is quenched by means of water, and by the fact that there is thus lost without benefit an enormous quantity of heat of the order of that which would produce the combustion of 40 kilogrammes of coke per ton. Now it is easy to avoid this loss by producing in the furnaces themselves, without great expenditure for additional plant, by the aid of this heat and of a very small quantity of coke, a considerable quantity of water gas which can be added to the gas supplied by the coke furnaces and will thus permit of the—so to speak, gratuitous—extraction ct the hydrogen existing in a much larger quantity of gas.

When the distillation in a furnace is terminated it suffices to introduce therein towards one of its ends A, as illustrated in the accompanying diagram, a current of steam produced and superheated by the gases themselves which result from the operation, as will be seen from what foliows. This steam becomes progressively decomposed in the course of its transit in contact with the incandescent mass, so that at the other end of the furnace, where a very high temperature will prevail up to the end, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen will pass out at B. This mixture enters at the top of a vertical group -of pipes immersed at their lower part in the water of the steam generator G, and produces steam and effects its superheating. When passing this steam into the furnace, the necessary precautions must be taken to prevent damage to the refractory lining of the latter; for example, the steam may be introduced through a long pipe T of suitable metal having a series of holes pierced towards its end, in order to distribute the steam which is highly superheated. The fact of introducing this steam superheated to 300 or 400 degrees Centigrade limits to that temperature the cooling of the parts of the furnace which are in the most unfavourable conditions, and prevents the drawbacks which might result from the too rapid or too complete cooling of the furnace both from the point of view of its solidity as well as of the further carbonisation. Even with this restricted use of the heat of the coke the production of water gas remains very appreciable and may exceed 30 per cent, of the normal gaseous output of the oven.

This operation, by being repeated successively in the different furnaces composing the plant, may thus be arranged to supply a constant addition of water gas to the production of normal gas. This supplementary water gas could also be produced, as has already been proposed, by sending the red coke on being withdrawn from the furnace into extinguishers, where it is quenched by jets of steam. In accordance with the new process the supplementary water gas produced by the preceding means may be added to the gas normally produced and the hydrogen may be extracted from the whole of the gases obtained or else it may be reserved, either alone or mixed with methane, for heating the furnaces, the production of motive power, etc., the rich gas being reserved for the extraction of the hydrogen, so as to benefit from the

advantages resulting from the great solubility of the methane and from the manufacture of a gas of extremely high calorific power. For the production of the nitrogen necessary for the synthesis of the ammonia, in order to simplify the plant and the management of the small and relatively unimportant works to which this new process is particularly applicable, there may be burnt in gas engines with air about one-seventh of the hydrogen available which will thus yield, at the same time as the nitrogen, a part of the motive force required in the plant.

By the extraction of the hydrogen from the gas of the coal carbonising furnaces which is rendered easy by use of the dissolving processes hereinbefore referred to and which is still more facilitated by the production, in a kind of gratuitous manner, of a large quantity of supplementary water gas, and further owing to the use of a process for the synthesis of ammonia which permits of the employment of units of as low a degree of output as desired, the synthetic ammonia may be regarded as a by-product of the manufacture of' coke, and especially of metallurgical coke, as the production of coke of any given works is only diminished thereby by 4or 5 per cent. A battery of furnaces producing 300 tons of coke per day, for example, produces a rough total of 100,000 cubic metres of

gas containing 50,000 cubic metres of hydrogen irom which, even if not counting upon the hydrogen from the supplementary water gas, it is easy to extract 40,000. cubic metres of hydrogen, permitting practically of the manufacture of 15 tons of ammonia, NH 3 , the market value of which is dose upon that of the 300 tons of coke.

if it be remarked,, on the other hand, that the utilisation of synthetic ammonia, save and excepting unexpected developments, entails of necessity the manufacture as a by-product of carbonate of soda (see for example .British Patent No. 130365) it is possible to see what important consequences of an individual character are bound to result from this inevitable conjunction in the tuture ot three ot the greatest modern industries, namely, metallurgy and the industries devoted to the production or nitrogen and soda.

the features of novelty comprised in this new process of IT Air .Liquide are as follows :

1. the method of obtaining hydrogen and nitrogen for the synthetic production ot ammonia by the hyper-pressure process consisting in separating nydrogen by a solution method trom the gases given off in the distillation of coal in a coal gas or coke producing plant, utilising a part ot the hydrogen for the manufacture ot the ammonia and utilising another part of the hydrogen as fuel in a gas engine whereby nitrogen is obtained for the manufacture of the ammonia.

2. The method of obtaining hydrogen and nitrogen for the synthetic production of ammonia as set out in (1) above and of increasing the quantity of available gas from the coal carbonisation plant by the addition of water gas obtained by passing steam over hot coke which remains after the distillation of the coal.

3. the combination with a coal distillation plant of plant for the synthetic production of ammonia by the hyper-pressure process comprising means for separating hydrogen by a solution method from the gases given off in the distillation of the coal, part of said hydrogen being employed in a gas engine to remove oxygen from air, the remaining nitrogen being employed for the production of the ammonia.

4. The combination with a coal distillation plant, of plant for the synthetic production of ammonia by the hyper-pressure process comprising means for obtaining water gas by injecting super-heated steam on to the hot coke of the coal distillation retorts generating and super-heating the steam by means of the heat of the gas evolved from the retort mixing the water gas produced or part of it wifF the gaseous products of distillation of the coal and means for separating hydrogen by a solution method from the mixture of gases, part of the hydrogen being employed with air in a gas engine so obtaining the necessary nitrogen for combining with the hydrogen to form ammonia. 5. The combination with a coal distillation plant of means for obtaining hydrogen and nitrogen and for the synthetic production of ammonia by the

hyper-pressure process comprising a plant for separating nyclrogen by a solution method from the gaseous products 01 distillation of the coal, part of said hydrogen being utilised lor the manulacture ol ammonia and part of the hydrogen being used as luel in a gas engine so removing. oxygen Irom tiie air, the remaining nitrogen being employed lor the manufacture of ammonia using nyper-pressures.