Daily globe., 1878-04-09
GAS FROM WATER.
Il Ee,r York Company Maltn0 IT for Fifty
Cents q thousand Feet and Selling 1T for
5000,

5000.
New York Sun.
While the possibility of making illuminat-
ing gas from water has been under discus
sion, some practical men have erected works,
and for a year past have supplied gas in this
city made from Croton water. Among the
establishments in which this gas is burned
are the Standard, Fifth iAyenue, Wallack's,
Union Square, and Park theatres, and Del
monicos, Windsor, st. James, Fifth Avenue,
Buckingham, Metropolitan, st. Nicholas,
Parker and Prescott hotels. The works
are at Forty-fourth, Forty fifth and
Forty-sixth streets and the
North river, and Mr.. Francklyn,
the manager of the Cunard line of steam
ships, is the capitalist who has supplied
money for carrying on the enterprise. 1t is
said that 5000, 900 is invested. The CON
cern, called the Municipal EGaslight compa-
ny, has been in active operation more than a
year. Sun reporter on Saturday met one
of the directors Of the company, and asked
gas, and the prospects of the enterprise. He
said that the company had carefully avoided
publicity, and did not desire public atten-
ton. They had a cheap mode of making
gas, which nobody else had yet adopted, and
which therefore gave them an advantage.
They were unable to supply the demand,
having now over two thousand applications
on the books to which they could not re-
spond.
'.Ihe foundation of the discovery that
water is convertible into burning gas" this
gentleman said, sis the explosion of the old
idea that water is an original element.
Water is a composition of oxygen and n.y.
drogen, and by subjection to intense heat
the water is resolved into its original con-
stituents, yielding one volume of oxygen gas
and two volumes of hydrogen. The process
is complicated one, but inexpensive, and
the water gas does not cost nearly SO
much as the gas made from coal and
kerosene. The first operation in the manu-
facture of this gas is to heat the water.
and next to superheat it to about one thous-
and degrees Farenheit. The water is then
passed into generators filled with anthracite
coal, by means of which it is decomposed
into its original elements. The oxygen
here unites with the carbon from the coal,
and the product is carbonic oxide and
hydrogen. At this stage crude burning gas
is had, containing sulphur and carbonic
acid. To remove this the gas is passed
through purifying boxes, which are immense
| sieves containing layers of lime.
LIE sulphur E uepOSiteo LII tuo ILus,
and carbonate is made by the
acid. These impurities removed, the gas
next passes into carburettes-iron cylinders
incased in water jackets, on the glue-pot
principle. These cylinders are half full of
naphtha. The naphtha is vaporized by the
heat, and the gas takes up this vapor and
carries it into the retorts. In the retorts the
naphtha vapor is decomposed, and combined
with the water gas, and the latter is then
burning gas, but not ready for the market
! It is next passed through condensers and
washers to remove any condensible
vapors. The result is clear
white burning gas, entirely free from
odor or smoke, and far more brilliant than
ordinary coal gas. It's Illuminating power is
| 80 per cent. greater than that of coal gas
"How much gas do you make every day.
asked the reporter.
"About five hundred thousand feet
"Isn't there about as much of other kinds
| of gas in this mixture as of what you get out
of the Croton water?''
'No; the gas comes from the water. We
/ treat it with naphtha vapor simply to give it
Illuminating power. You go and try this
gas. You can place sheet of white porce-
lain within three inches of the fame, and
there will not be a particle of smoke in
| three months"
"Are you selling it any cheaper than the
other companies?''
''No; why should we? We can't supply
the demand for it. IF we sought customers
that would be different thing. We can
make big profit from it now. and ne Intend
| to do it.
The gas, it is said, costs the company onl,
fifty cents per thousand feet, and they sell i
/ for 80