The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-01 00:00:00

THE CONSUMPTION OF SMOKE.

•••

SOCIETY OF ARTS.
A meeting took place last evening, at the
Society's Rooms, John-street, Adel*, Mr. Wm. Bran in
the chair, when a paper was read by Mr. Alexander
Fraser on the consumption of smoke.
Mr. FRAZER commenced by saying that be only proposed
to describe a successful attempt to remove the smoke
nuisance from an extensive London brewery and its neigh-
bourhood. Messrs. Truman, Banbury, Buxton, and Co.,
bad for many ;rears been desirous of removing the nuisance
from their dense27-populated neighbourhood, and for this
purpose had tried meat of the plans which previous to
1817 gave reasonable hopes of success. In 1847 the writer's
attention was first drawn to Jileke's Patent Furnace, which
consists of a strong cut-iron frame of the full width of the
furnace, and about three feet longer. The lire bars sre all
connected together, forming, when complete, an endless
chain, and are made to revolve round a drum, placed at
each end of the frame. The front of the frame is provided
with a hopper, in which the fuel is placed, and a
furnace-door, which opens vertically with a worm and
pinion. The height to which this door is raised by the
stoker,'regulates the supply of coal, which is carried into
the fire by the gradual motion of the bars. The whole ma-
chine is placed upon wheels, to facilitate its removal for
repairs to the boiler, brickwork, or furnace. The speed of
the furnace-bars is determined by the draught. It varies
from one inch and a half to three inches per minute, the
object being to keep the whole of the bars covered with
fuel, with a small accumulation of fire at the bridge. The
bridge is suspended by a pipe three inches or four inches in
diameter, fixed about one inch above the level of the bars:
this allows the clinkers formed to fall into the ash-pit, but
will not allow the fire to pass. A small stream of water
must be supplied to the pipe or stop, or it would soon be
destroyed. All the air admitted to the fire to support com-
bustion, is made to pass through the furnace-bars. The
consent of Messrs. Truman, Banbury, Buxton, and Co.,
was obtained to the application of this plan to
one of their engine-boilers • cylindrical boiler,
with two tubes driving • forty-horse engine.
The success of the experiment led to its application to a
second boiler of the same form. In the same year the pro-
bability of its success under a brewing copper was discussed.
There was no doubt, from the former experiments, as to its
capabilities for raising steam or for evaporation ; but with
a brewing copper provision had to be made for a process in
the manufacture almost peculiar to It. The contents of the
I copper have to be turned out several times in the course of
a brewing, rendering it necessary to " bank up" the tire
thoroughly, to protect the bottom of the copper, until re-
filled with wort or water. It WAS feared that the machinery
would interfere with this being done effectually : it was
tried, and with the same success as with the steam boilers.
It was found that a fire of fifty or sixty feet area could be
worked for any number of hours without the slightest ap-
pearance of smoke from the chimney-shaft ; but the process
of banking up" before referred to required the whole
principle of th' machine to be put in abeyance, during
which time smoke escapes from the shaft, and sometimes
in large quantities, and no plan has been discovered for its
prevention. Considerable difficulties were encountered in
the :application of the principle to the furnace last
mentioned, but they had been removed by experience.
The total cost of fourteen furnaces, including brickwork,
had been about 3,0001. The consumption of coals in the
establishment WAS about 6,000 tons per annum. The
saving in the coal account, since the introduction of the
patent to July 1 of the present year, had been 8,3381. From
which was to be deducted for casualties, which have been
referred to, and sundries, say 3501. The above economy
had not arisen from less weight of to-1 consumed, but
owing to the screenings or dust of coal only being required
for the furnaces. Should the difference of price between
large and small coals be reduced, the economy would be
less in future years. There was a considerable loss in weight
in using the dust of coal, but a report of Messrs. Easton and
Amos, who have made some interesting experiments with
one of these furnaces, showed a saying of 11 per cent. in
weight of fuel when the ordinary steam coals are used.
It would be noticed in the table of furnaces erected at the
brewery that a considerable reduction had been made in
the area of all the new furnaces, varying from 20 to 30 per
cent., with an increase of water or wort evaporated of 15
per cent. in one of the large brewing coppers. This arose
from the fire door not requiring to be opened, and from the
movement of the bars which prevented any scoria. stopping
up the air spaces of the fire. In conclusion, the writer
would not have it understood that this was the only plan for
the combustion or prevention of smoke, for he had reason to
believe that the eminent firm of Messrs. Price and Co. had
been equally suareuful with other plans as well as with the
one to which he had drawn attention.

Mr. J. L. STIV3NB was anxious to bear testimony to
the intepity of purpose evinced by the gentleman who had
just read his paper, and he felt that they were deeply in-
debted to the inventor of the machine, described as the
pioneer of the cause of those who felt an interest in this im-
portant subject. Their thanks, moreover, were due to'
Messrs. Truman, Hanbury, and Co. for the liberal
manner in which they had come before the public
in order to disabuse them of the idea that the pur-
pose now in view could not be effected. He felt it
right, however, to state that he (Mr. Stevens) had
himself invented a means to prevent the formation of
smoke, but his plan was of a totally different nature, and
he was happy to take this opportunity of observing that,
from the labour he had to go through in bringing his appa-
ratus into operation, there was quite reom enough for
twenty experinsentalista—and to spare. tinder these cir-
cumstances, he ventured to think that it was their duty to
sustain each other, in order that the public might have the
full benefit of the most efficacious means that could be de-
vised to effect the object sought to be attained. On the
table before the present meeting was an invention equally
ingenious, by Mr. Samuel Hale; but if they desired a
more simple and less pretending sort of apparatus, he (Mr.
Stevens) would be happy to receive them ; and at the same
time he was glad to observe that there were others in the
field. In Manna to the invention which had been brought
forward on this oewuien he contended that it had not been
shown that it was anything but a slow combusting apparatus.
Mr. Frazer had not shown that the apparatus in question
was equally applicable to all purposes—such as getting up
steam to a higher power than ordinary, or to meet any
exigency that might present itself. It had been mentioned
that there would be a considerable saving of fuel by the
sabstitution of slack coal, but Mr. Fraser had disappointed
him in showing that the saving in the consumption of fuel,
that actually took place, was not greater than he bad stated.
He had inspected various plans which had been brought
into operation, and amongst them the apparatus now em-
ployed in the manufactory of Messrs. Price and Co., at
Battersea, and he felt that the comparison between those
inventions, and the more simple one which he claimed,
was not to the disadvantage of the latter.

Several other gentlemen addressed the meet-
ing on the subject, and different opinions were
expressed respecting the astute and practicability
of smoks-consnming contrivances in general. Professor
Brande stated that his experience prompted him
to agree with the author of this paper, as to the efficacy
of Jukes's patent; and he also felt that Mr. Stevens was
perfectly correct in stating that every encouragement should
be given to the various inventions to be applied to the pur-
pose in view.

Mr. BILKING wee of opinion that Mr. Stevens was right
in that part of his invention which required the application
of a current of bested air for the purposes of combustion.
A brief diseussion having been brought to a close, Mr.
FLAGS/I said a few words in reply, and a vote of thanks
was passed to that gentleman for his useful and instructive
paper.