The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-06
MAKING LIQUID AIR.
PLANT NOW OPERATED FOR FIRST
TINE IN THIS COUNTRY.


for 2 Cents a GaIIon-Its Various
Uses Explained.
From the New York Times.
For the first time in this country a plant
has been established and practically oper-
ated for the production of liquefied air, or
liquid air, as it is called commercially. This
Plant has been devised and constructed
under the direction of Oscar P. Ostergren
and Moriz Burger, and is located at j3l
West Thirty-third street. 1t is capable
with 100 horsepower, developed by steam,
of manufacturing about 1850 gallons Of
Hquefied air in twenty-four hours, or about
gallon a minute. It's practical success is
demonstrated by the two facts that it can
produce liqueded air, comparing equal ex-
penditure Of power, three times as rapidly
as the best apparatus devised by Prof.
Linde of Munich, and at a cost Of about
third. The cost of liquefying air by
the Ostergren process is also about one
third Of the cost by the process used by
Charles E. Tripler of this city.
Mr.. Ostergren and Mr.. Burger have been
working at their process for about three
years, and have now perfected it. in 50 far
d. lLt QtflCE llSCll Is COitGtuttl dilllOle9il
they expect to improve the machinery 50
as to reduce further the cost Of manufac-
turing the liquefed air from TO cents
gallon as at present, 10 about ,. This can
be done, according to both, by the use
of the best engines, instead of the uneco-
nomic engines they are now using. Even
when the liquefed air is reduced TO a cost
of cents a gallon, il viii then be consid-
erably more costly than an equal power of
steam but il is exceeding portability Will
enable II to be used economically as
power just as electricity is now used, and
with greater advantages than electricity
or compressed air Both of the inventors
of the process have had previous expert
ence in this line. Mr.. Ostergren is a we'll
known inventor, and Mr.. Burger studied
the process of manufacturing liquetied air
under Prof. Linde in Munich, three years
ago.
The machinery and the process for the
compression and cooling of the air are
the work of Mr.. Ostergreu, while the
liqueher which is claimed to be a vast
improvement upon the liquefiers used by
Prof Trpler and Prof Linde, is the Joint
work of Mr.. Ostergren and Mr.. Burger.
The Apparatus at Work.
Yesterday morning the apparatus of Os-
tergren and Burger was producing ique-
fed air at the rate of one gallon a min
ute, and a large number of experiments
were made for the purpose of photo
graphing them for an illustrated paper.
More than 200 gallons were manufactured
| and wasted in this way. In the after
| noon, while the experiments were contn-
| uing, the steam engine got a hot journal
| and the experiments had to be stopped.
| The engine will be running again to-day,
! however, and the company, which is
| known as the Liquid Air and Refrigerat-
| ing Company OF New York, will resume
the production of liquefied air.
The object of the manufacture of liz
uefied air in such quantities, before it is
| used practically as refrigerant or as a
motor, is merely to demonstrate its prac-
| tCa bility for commercial use. Heretofore
the cost of liquefying air has been pro-
| hibitive from the tremendous cost of the
| laboratory experiment of Prof Dewar-
something like s., 500 a gallon-to the cost
| of 20 cents a gallon, as shown by the
| larger experiments of Mr.. Tripler. But
| when it can be produced, as shown by
| Oslergren and Burger. at a cost of only
| 6 to cents a gallon, with rough apparat-
US, or TO 8 cents a gallon with perfect
| ed apparatus, its commercial future is
| considered assured, both as a refrigerant
| and as a motive power.
President Morton of Stevens Institute
says in an article in the Stevens Insti-
tute Indicator for April that gallon of
| liquefed air is equal TO only three-fOurths
| horse power for an hour and declares
| that the eXpensiveness of hquefied air
| wiz prevent it seriously competing with
| steam, which costs only l cent per horse
power for one hour. Mr.. Ostergren does
not agree with either of these statements.
| He said yesterday that he has demon
| strated, in the first place that he can
| manufacture liquefied air at a cost of 216
cents a gallon, or perhaps cents a gallon,
| and, in the second place, the power of a
| gallon of liquefied air is not three-fourths
| horse power, but one and a half horse
| power. He says that the heating of the
| liquefied air from a temperature of $50
| degrees below zero to the temperature of
| atmospheric air, or, say, 70 degrees above
zero, will develop three-fourths horse pow
| er, but that this air, by being retained
in its compressed state is still available
| for use as a power and will develop about
| three-fourths horse power more.
It's Great Portability.
According to this theory a gallon of
| lQuefied air at a cost of 215 cents. is
| equal TO one and a half horse power for
one hour. An equal amount of steam
! power would cost ~ cents, as against 2Ia
cents; a discrepancy that will not, In the
| opinion of Mr., Ostergren, work against
the use of liquefied air as a motive power
! on street cars, automobiles, etc. Its great
| portability will make 1t, he says more
| air.
Mr. Ostergren does not agree with Mr..
| Tripler in the theory that one gallon of
| Hquefied air will produce three or more
| gallons of the same material. He says
that the loss of power by friction, etc.
| is still very great, at least so per cent.
| If he were to start with certain guam
| tlty of liquefied air in his engines, using
| it in place of steam, for the purpose of
| generating more udueffed air he saws he
would not be able to produce more than
! one-half Of the quantity of material he
would be using as a power. The cooling
! process, which Mr.. TRIPPING considers as
a pure gain from nature Mr.. Ostergren
| says costs as much as il is worth that
! is, that you cannot get something for
| nothing. The liqueied air that is used for
cooling other compressed air prior TO the
| process of liquefaction is heated thereby.
| and more expenditure of force is neces-
| sary TO compress and cool it, The best
| results he saws will show a loss of q