The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-11-09
Edfsou,s latest Rival.

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NATURES FORCES AND THEY OBEY HIM
PETROLEUM AND CoAL-TAR TO MELT GLASS
| AND IRON, AND 4 MYSTERIOUS APPARATUS
TO COOK FOOD.
The New York World OF the 7th says: A
warm. crimson light shone through the
| smoke-stained windows OF the boiler-room
| at the Brooklyn navy-yard for seven hours
the other afternoon, although but four
hounds OF coal were burned in the great
furnace. The light came from apertures in
the furnace-walls, made by removing bricks
that visitors might see the flame within,
which completely filled the body OF the
furnace. II was almost as White and
dazzling as a calcium light. A long
iron rod was thrust into one OF the
apcrtures at O'Clock. AS it was with
drawn IL molten ball clung to the end OF il,
which presently by force OF its own weight
dropped to the stone flooring, leaving a
thread behind it. "Let us see how long
that is," the clean-handed fireman said, aEd
he walked off sixteen feet with tue rod be.
fore the thread broke. "1ou won't hnd
any specks or impurities in that glass -
exclaimed stout, ruddy-faced man, IN a
blue flannel shirt, and eyes bright with the
CLEAN OF triumph, as he passed piece OF
the thread among the visitors, "because
iectIy annealed." The glass had been put
in the furnace but two hours before-the
time allowed for melting glass by the com-
mon method is sixteen hours, and even
then it is usually tainted with sulphur.
The results illustrated by this simple eX-
neriment-many. others were afterwards
made-and the appearance as described OF
the flame Inside OF the furnace, are due to
the invention OF q process for producing
steam by the use Of petroleum as fuel. To
| all appearances the process is simple one,
although it cost the inventor twenty years
of study to perfect it. A gas-plpe be-
ginning at q tank of petroleum OH the 1oor
above the boier-room ends in short
funnel, the mouth of which protrudes
into the furnacc-door. When the valves
in the pipe are open fierce but dell
cate spray Of liquid-a mixture OF petro-
leum. coal-tar, and patent ingredient
shoots out from the mouth of the funnel.
| When this spray touches flame lgnltlsn
and combustion occur. and the heat finally
resolves itself into body OF white flame,
which the inventor says would fill fur
mace as long as from the Battery to the Gen.
tral Park if furnace so long could be con-
structed. The funnel.shaped end Ct the
pipe has much to do with the nature OF the
spray. When mixed with coattar, the Pc.
! troleum assumes the consistency OF molasses,
and in this form it passes nearly TO the end
OF the iron pipe, where it is Joined by the
! other ingredient, about which the inventor
1 speaks reservedly. Its effect is to destroy,
at least partially, the volatile and infamma-
! BILE properties Of the oil. At the entrance to
the funnel the liquid comes in contact with
/ current OF super.heated steam, which
atomizes it. This produces the spray which,
as it leaves the funnel, ignites and bursts
into flame. 1t is claimed that the inflamma-
BILE properties of the liquid itself have been
| destroyed, and that so far from exploding
it would have the effect OF water, and tend
to extingnish the fire il thrown upon bed
OF live Goals. 1t is only after atomization
that the spray is oXidized or burned. When
the apparatus is in full blast the tempera-
ture reaches heat OF 5000 degrees, which
will melt pig-iron in less than fifteen min
utes and glass in two hours. BY an ordi-
nary blast furnace it takes two hours to
melt iron.
The application OF this invention is de.
signed to extend to all the industries, par.
ticularly those In which heat and steam arc
important agents. The immediate results
Of this application are perfect combustion
intense heat quickly produced, extraordi
nary evaporation of water and pressure O.
steam, and freedom from dust, cinders, sui!
phur, and the other impurities that are ne
cessarily present when coal is burned. Al
this involves great saving in the cost O
fuel, since little or no coal would be re
CURED to keep furnace IN blast,
saving in room usually taken up b.
such fuel and saving in the Ia
Dor required to handle it. The daily ca
pacity of the furnace will, moreover, b.
4 tripled. Apart from the important item 0
ecouomy in time, in the manufacture o
glass, the absence OF sulphur from tn
Ihame will permit OF the use of open instcat
OF closed pots, so that the heat may be uset
directly, and thus improve the quality o
the glass to such an extent that manufactu
rers may cut it into large plates, avoiding
the severe losses to which they are nov
subjected by having to cut it into smal
pieces to escape the imperfectlons Whel
| sulphur now produces. The pots, mere
over, in furnace OF this Eind, may be eact
I.kept separate, so that oase may be removed
at any time without diStufDlnS any oi tn'
others.
In melting iron by this process two fur
naces are used--one foot below the other
The pig metal is thrown into the first, an(
the>sulphur is ehminaseh in from six to. egh
minutes. Then it Is runlir1to the second ii
such way that the cold air cannot come il
contact with it, the particles thus becoming
united. 1t is there subj iecte6 to a freshheat
which keeps the liquid iron in constant
agita.ion and drives the ,carbon from 1t il
from six to eight inmates longer. Then il
is ready for the pudder. The metal having
thus become entirely freed frem carbon an(
sulphur, it's adhesiEeness is improved
one .haIf the labor and cost OF ain
ishins is saved, since its quality is
excellent, and the quantity OF iron IL
Increased 100 pounds to the ton OF :naa'
terial. In addition to this, owing to them.
l,tense heat, one puddler will tuIgl out in ten
hours the amount-tea ehargeS-that feAI
pUddless and helpers turn out BY the cots.
mon .mat hods in twentyiour hours; the To-
bor OF handling coal and removing ashes
will be dispensed with; no clinkers will be
formed or the furnace walls. and there via
be $40 necessity OF scraping the bricks and
making new hearths almost daily, as IN
eommon 1,s-naces; and the.asst OF fuel will
be reduced one half, and in a furnace OF
thirty tons capacity n day thelianid iron will
be concerted into wrought iron or steel 80
eheapay thatfase value OF the metai will be en-
hancedt to double its present value. Stee! rails
may thus be made as cheap as iron rails are
now. Such is the Inventors Claim. In ap-
plying this inFeation to the ocean-steamship
business there viii be the saving in the la
bor OF ioading and handling OF 800 tons OF
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