The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1888-09-13
MAKING GAS.
"A Very Common Thing Which Few
People Understand.

. & = j s f. u
low few people can intelliglbly ex.
plain some Of the most ordinary things
In everyday lifei An official Of tic
city gas works was heard to say, not
long ago, that If he might judge by the
number Of times he was asked for in,
formation, not more than two people in
ten know how common illuminating
gas Is made. They all seem to under.
stand, he said, that it comes out Of soft
coal. but they are ignorant Of the pro.
cess by Which it is extracted. we do
not doubt this atall, for, as we have
said to you several times, it is the very
common things that we are apt to over
look in our search for information.
You Will understand, therefore, why
we sometimes select subjects to talk
about with which you and everybody
else ought TO be familiar. 81
Now, let us give you very simple
explanation Of gas-maling. Break up
q piece Of bituminous coal into small
fragments and fill tho bowl Of a clay to.
bacco Pipe with them. Cover the
mouth Of tho bowl with wet clay and
then thoroughly dry it. Put the bowl
OF tho pipe into a fire where it will get
red-hot and you will soon sec o yellow
ish smoke come out Of tho stem and ir
you touch light to the smoke it will
burn brightly, for it is nothing moro
nor less than the gas from the coal.
You can purify and collect this gas
In very simple way. Fill bottle
with water and turn it upside down in
a bowl Of water. You know the water
VIII not run out Of the bottle because
the air pressure on tho water in the
bowl will prevent it. Put the end OF
the pipe-stem under the mouth Of the
bottle and the gas will bubble up
through the water into the bottle, grad
ually displacing the water, and If the
pipo were large enough to make q great
deal Of gas the bottle would be entirely
filed with it.
on have seen tho immense quanti-
ties or coke Which they have at the gas
works; that is what is left OF the coal
after the gas has been burned out Of it,
Coke is carbon, only small part OF
what was in the coal having gone of
with the gas. Take the clay covering
off your pipe and you will find the bowl
filled with this coke.
Now. that is precisely the way 4 gas is,
nade in large quantitNs Nos at, tho gas.
works. Instead Of pipetbowls they use
big retorts, and these are heated red
hot 10y furnaces, for, the fire must be
outside Of the retorts. Heating coal
red hot in closed retort is very differ.
.ent from burning it in the open air.
a large pipo from the retort carries
of the product Of the coal, consisting
of steam, tar, air and ammonia, as we'll
as gas. The ammonia and the tar 90
into tanks and the gas into coolers and
then over lime, which takes up the
acids in it, into the immense iron gas.
holders which you have seen at the
works.
These holders are open at the bottom
and stand, or rather are swung, in
tanks of water, being adjusted by means
OF weights. AS the gas comes into
them they rise up out Of the water, but
the bottoms are always submerged 80
that the gas cannot escape. The large
gas-pipes, OF mains, as they are called,
connect with the holders, and conduct
the gas through the streets to the
houses where 1t is used. The pressure
is given to the gas by the weight or the
iron holders, which are always bearing
down on the gas thep contain.