The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-07-18
AMMONIA VERSUS STEAM.
The Campbell Engine Company
Makes a Trial or the Novel
Force.
It Is q Plan Which Has Been Tried
In France and Germany,
but Failed.
but j. II. Campbell Believes That He Has
Struck It~-AdvantHges Claimed
for the Process.

to perfect a new ana practical metnou OF
applying ammonia in the production of
power. They think they've don 1t, and
yesterday gave n public exhibition Of the
apparatus as applied TO a tuaboat.
BY one of those amusing %paradoxes which
crop out in Gilbert's operettas and corpor-
ative nomenclature, the Campbell Engine
company doesn't make engines. The nov
city of the thing Is outside of the engine.
The engines now in use are good enough for
it. What the company proposes to do is to
furnish a gas that shall run the old engine
with q less consumption of fuel than the
most improved steam boiler requires. That
gas il ammonia gas.
The idea of running an engine by ammonia
gas Is not new, either. In fact it's old
enough to vote. A French chemist, Teller,
is supposed to have been the first TO suggest
it. The French government spent a great
deal of money experimenting with it. So
did Germany. But it didn't work economi-
cally. j. H. Campbell. the inventor of the
apparatus used Yesterday. thinks he has de-
velopsd a method OF handling the gas by
which former difficulties IRE overcome, and
Yesterdays exhibition went far toward sus-
tanning his claim.
1t is all a question of condensation, says
the New York Tribune. This will be I'M
u6rStOOQ OeGGet Dv Il DrleI review OF tno
theory. When steam alone is used to drive
an engine, the water has to be raised to a
Temperature of over 300 degrees to turn it
into steam under a pressure OF LOO pounds to
the square inch. Ammonia turns from a
liquid to a gaseous form under the same
pressure at the temperate e OF sixty degrees.
It would seem possible, therefore, to geper-
ate q given quantity of ammonia gus to run
IN engine at 100 pounds pressure with a
much less expenditure of heat and conse-
quent consumption of coal than is required
to generate the same quantity of steam at
the same pressure to do the same work.
But the trouble has been to get that ammo
mia GAS back into liquid form after it has
gone through the engine, 80 that it can be
used over again. Ammonia costs too much
to be discharged into the air and lost after
one using. 1t can't be condensed at ordi-
nary temperatures and fed back into
the boiler. Steam can be con-
densed by simply bringing it into contact
with water or INTO a water-jacketod re-
ceiver. Ammonia must be reduced to forty
degrees below zero before it will condense
to liquid of its w free will. This was the
difficulty.
Mr.. Campbell avoids it by using the Atm
ity which ammonia has for water. One
volume of water will absorb 700 volumes of
ammonia. The solution forms aqua am
monia, which is the article known to COM
MERGE and the household. After the am
monia gas has lone its work in driving the
piston mp and down in the cylinder it is led
through a pipe into which a jet OF water is
shot, injector fashion. This water sprays,
and so. coming into intimate contact with
the gas, forms a mechanical as we'll as a
chemical solution. The remaining por-
tions of the condenser are 80 Designed as
further to insure complete contact and
union. The solution thus formed is
pumped back into the boiler, re-evap-
GRATED, and the cycle thus completed.
In order that the ammonia solution
may remain of a constant strength, the
water for the jet in the condenser is taken
from the bottom of the solution already in
the boiler. 1t is cooled by virtue of the
fact that it's pipe runs alongside the pipe
which leads from the condenser to the
boiler.
The tug E. D. Hartley, fitted with the
Campbell apparatus, touched at the Bat
spection party. The only evidences of
novelty in the engine room were an extra
gauge and o slight smell of ammonia. Be
low were a few feet of extra pipes and half
a dozen valves. In the boiler room was an
extra boiler for evapoIating the ammonia,
a cylinder about eight feet long and four
feet in diameter. There was also the usual
steam boiler, for the boat is rugged to run
with either steam or ammonia.
81 don't believe there's any ammonia in
the thing" muttered a sceptical visitor as
he crept down into the s%tokehole. But his
nonatr" ""n rarsnI, nu A.sut1"oeu ap-
pann.un paotnes.y . u d s'hail ar
san.', sPul.eu toisn . 1lln slleaih OF pun
ionS sas, - .no unneiio'oI ollinpea up on
49, "a - nui.S; m.eptns ;eais oi repent
~" a. ~ ~ ooaushrns ou'a vigorous fec"n1a-
IT, t,n aaiI 49,
live pounds pressure, with only one furnace
GH Sonth Ra.eh .he MT nno.s an nout;
to the citv Wh;la tho 5000 10y Ao.utHsu
aosr ,yort - ho,nar w. ~ah Anah.hg
Lis son wara bov;nn 49, upoe any
e On da"l. trr;ra 49, n nnue nm VI
tsrias of ~, h .,.;ass .na n1 IN . .ne nys-
ths nnnro SOC, no ,isone "ooyheAhios W
aWa 80 hnns v
u,id ~ "n nvano MA s unuinaly SUSAN ooller,
Sran, tho+ ~ ~. NV W. . Cne sIeala
atea, n";i rnm hranu nc oolleI. a
hoil-r M, mHs rniousn Nv ammonia
aoanai 49, ILuaet'onAe anu 'ee'
49, fnoa snun ~ neH. tne ammonia
for safatn re u.ieoS, puI we 20 ~
ron, Iaiors. ~ ti0 .uin"ce Hres prayed a.,
reoI ~ Wv " a' ooiter IL "oulo
49, ~, ~ LIS Saleui wa.Ghlhe 20 pre-
hia u;sau.e iloin Nv higniy eApansi-
n,amn sas eAntouiuR things OF con
49, $500 ~ eu.oush 'no safety
th;no - 10 inuon 700 costiy d
sat-, u,Ino Iunu ~ n"ioor 1h.ou2n
that rhr ny usins steam nearer, ana
aanoh," "a,ran,a III h1 Io' we haVe an
-" ~ 1879 W nea'' "ho no sa!ety
rhs oonit % oI une HLnnlohla Doller.
tan,u 20 1880. e, utoseo from poiier
"oHsi.o ~ 1"eA " 'ue pclleT, ana the