The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1853-08-20
The Improvement OF Evansville.

Works occupy prominent place. These
works may now be pronounced finished, al.
though some little labor has got to be done.
Messrs. Jous JEFFREY & Co., have the con
tract for supplying Evansville with gas, fol
the term of fifty years. They commenced
the work of laying pipes, and building work.
last October. They met with considerable
delay at first from difficulties with Lamasco
City, and the final issue of gas has been de-
layed several weeks from want of water
yet the work has been prosecuted with ener-
gy, under the immediate superintendence OF
Mr.. c. G. KEATS, and completed in much
shorter time than our citizens anticipated
About three and half miles of pipes have
been laid over the city, fifty lamp posts plant
ed. and pipes conducted into various houses.
The works themselves require of us more
particular description, and we avail ourseif of
the Information of others to say something
about the chemical process, as it must be nov
ell some of our readers. We may premise,
the buildings of the works are all brick and
fre-Proof, and erected in the most substantial
manner. They are covered with the "Trust
Iron Roof" which is slate lad on frame Of
iron, no wood being used at all.
The principal building is the "Retort
House," Its dimensions are so by 25 feet.
In it are Is large iron retorts imbedded in
their furnaces, in pairs. Here the gas is gen.
Grated. The coal pittsburgh is used here,)
is thrown into the retort, which is kept at red
heat. The coal being distilled there, the
gaseous PARTICLES are sublimed, and carried
off to their appropriate pipes. The residuum
left in the retort is coke, which is taken out
every fourth hour. The first process after the
gas escapes from the retort, is the expansion
OF the gas by passing the valve, which chem
ically produces great reduction of the tenn
perature, thereby condenses the crossing parts
of the coal-tar. These retorts are capable
of making $4,000 cubic feet of gas day, five
times at least hat is now required.
The next process takes the gas to the
purifying House." The dimensions of this
house are 40 by 20 feet, with basement
1t contains washing, condensing and purifying
apparatus. All these are raised above the
floor, and stand on cast-iron columns passing
through the floor, and resting OH the base
ment ground. They are of course proper
toned to the retorts.
The second process takes the gas through
the washing apparatus, which is composed of
cast-iron vessels, filled with pure water.-I
The action here is mechanical and chemical.
The sooty parts Of the gas are taken up by
sorbed by it in consequence of the chemical
affinity between the two bodies.
The third process is to pass the gas into the
ccndensing apparatus. That consists of a
series of upright pipes and condensing boxes,
on which they stand. The effect of this, is
farther condensation of tar, steam and aque-
Gus vapor.
The fourth process is to pass the gas into
the lime boxes. Here it is conducted through
twelve strata of lime, about three inches in
in depth, the strata being laid upon wicker
shelves, like chair bottoms, SO as to allow the
passage of gas through the lime. The lime
chemically absorbs the sulphur, and the car
bonic acid gas, the most important process of
any, because it takes away the two most nox-
ious component parts, or qualities of the
coal. The gas, now pure carburetted n.y.
drogen, and half the weight of the atmos.
phere. is fit for use.
The gas is next taken to the Metre house
to be measured. The metre, valve house and
office, are in building adjoining the rotor,
house on the other side. 1t is OF the same
dimensions as the purifying house. The me-
tire measures all the gas before it is taken to
the gasometer. 1t is fine piece of mechan'
ism, but too intricate to be explained to the
general reader, even if we were competent
to the task.
The gasometer is 40 feet in diameter, 81
feet deep, and nc Ids $4,000 cubic feet of gas
1t is made of sheet-iron, and like a tumbel
inverted 1t fills the interior of the tank
and floats upon the gas and water. 1t is over
twenty tons in weight. 1t is provided will
rollers, which run upon cast-iron guides t
keep it perpendicular. As the gas is forced
into it, the garmetor rises in the water, and q.
the gas is consumed in the city, sinks; ant
this is the regulating power which produces
the proper pressure within the pipes of TIT
city. Machinery is used at some works t.
elevate and press down the gasometer.
The tank is 43 feet in diameter, and II fee
deep. 1t holds 200 900 gallons o! water. j
is lined with brick, of which about two hun
dred thousand were used to build it. Th