Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1898-01-22

fancy, although carbureted lilluminat-
ing water gas is now in general use in
nearly all of the principal cities of the
United states.
In general. the world over. the best
aud cheapest materials from which
high-grade illuminating gas can be pro-
duced are bituminous coal. crude oil
and water. There may be limited re-
gions and locations where wood or an
thraCitc coal are cheaper than bitum-
iuous coal, hut such regions are small
and comparatively unmportant. hi.
luminous coal is one of the most impor-
tant and valuable fuels in reach of the
human race in all parts of the world.
The finest quality of manufactured
gas that the scientist can produce. or
of which the imagination of man can
conceive. is n combination of the ONy-
gen and hydrogen into which steam is
divisible. with carbon ,coah, hydro-car-
hon vapors ,oin. and the light carburet-
ed hydrogen gas natural gas) thrown
off from bituminous coal while coking.
These gases. when scientifically gen.
Grated and combined into a fixed gas,
are capable of travelling automatically
In underground mains by pressure from
the storage gasometers. and remaining
homogeneous and of uniform quality
until drawn of for, consumption at any
time or at any distance from the place
of manufacture.
The Municipal Gas Company of New
York. after several trial days of dis
tressing uncertainty. varying between
great success on the one hand and u
disastrous failure on the other. won. In
lS,5. the high honor of sending out. Oh
n large commercial scale. the first high.
candle.power water gas.
Previous to this time coal gas was
the only gas in general use and was
chiefly burned for illuminating pur.
poses. This kind of gas ,of compare.
lively low candle-powerD Is distilled
from bituminous coal. In closed retorts
externally fired. This slow ana lnbori
ous method produces from eight thou
teen to eighteen candle-power gas pei
ton of coal. After the successful intro
duction of high candle.power carburet
ed water gas, IL was seen that the re-
tort method Of handling bituminou,
coal was more particularly adapted Il
the manufacture Of coke. tar and am
monia. and that even If these sO.callet
''residuals" were In demand at extreme
~ high prices. no better apparatus fol
their manufacture could possibly bc de
signed. The low-grade gas produce,
by such apparatus Is only n ncccssar,
by.product In the manufacture of coke
tar and ammonia.
The coal bench. or rptort, method o
making gas has now gone out of us,
In nearly all of the principal cities %
this country. though still In Use In tn
smaller towns and villages where tin
entelprislng promoters of wa:er-ga
apparatus have thus far failed TO In
troduce the Improved water.gas proc
esscs. The large amount of Labor re-
Quired tn operate works Of this char
acter. and the constant danger =
strikes on the part Of the workmicn,
a serious objection to their use.
The processes for producing carb,l
rcted water gas have passed through
two primitive AMI imperfect stages
and are now entering upon their thlr,
aud perfected stage.
In their first or elementary stage. til
process Is represented by apparnt,l
which consists OF ~ u single furnac,
generator. or "gasogene." In which tn
fuel used preferably hard coal or coke
l. raised TO incandcscence by an ali
blast for use In decomposlng steam: {.
u hydrogen holder In which the non
luminous water gas generated by fore
ing steam through the fuel II iirs
stored: go separate externally heate
retors In which the water gas II Oh
r!ched with oil uaphtha) vapOrs an
"hxed:" ~ the usual purifiers for nj
sorblng the sulphur from the gas. an
"a, tinal storage holder for the III
ished gas.
The works Of the Municipal Ga
Company In New York. which are sti
In operation practically ms they wer
originally designed ,Tessie du Mota
process, are a fair example Of this iirs
stage.
The second stage Is represented b
NirloU> tlbIiTutus WuicH are iuiIloNc
by adding the oil vapors and iiXinc tn
gases In Internally fired superheater
titled with loosely piled fire-brick), d
rectly connected to the top Of the gel
orators. This method, theoretical!
but only partially. saves the larg
waste OF heat driven from the top q
the primitive generators of the frs
stage. and dispcnses with the cons,ru'
tion, operation. ana repairs of the ori:
inal externally fired retorts. u.owe I'm
proved process.)
In operating this order of apparatu
air j. forced into the fuel contained !
the single water-gas generator genera
Iy used, 10 raise the fuel To a high stat
OF lncandescence. The primary prot
ucts of combustion, consisting of case
about one-third combustible (the Otht
two-thlrls being mostly non-combust
ble nitrogen derived from the air., ar
burned in the adjoining superheateI
used a. oil vapOrlzing and fixing chan
bcrsi by the admission of secondar
air-blasts. The final burned and burr
ing gases are expelled from the top q
the superheater by the pressure Of I'll
alr.blasts, while heating up the appa
atus preparatory 10 making gas. Tll