The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-06-15
MOND GAS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
a Remarkable Fuel Discovery At
tracing Widespread Interest.

ah-asAiH- - i0eNFTeSG interest
James Boyle the United States Consul
at Liverpool. has written to the State
Department that British commercial and
scientific circles are much interested in
q discovery made by Dr. Ludwig AIond.
Of the chemical firm Of Drummer. Moud
K Co, Limited. This discovery is a gas
for furnaces and gas engines. which. it
it claimed. can he supplied to consumers
at maximum price of cents per Lf5J
cubic feet.
Public attention has been drawn 10
this discovery" the Consul states. by the
recent application of a number Of leading
manufacturers in the South Staffordshfre
district for Il bill in Parliament to give
the necessary legal authority to erect
plants. construct mains. etc to supply an
area of I35 square miles The bill has
been read twice in the House Of Gem
mons. and has passed through the com
mittee stage successfully. so that the
scheme will in all probability, be in
actual operation within the next few
years. Five generating stations are to be
established. and from these the gas viii
be conveyed. under pressure in under
ground pipes, to the various marufactur-
ers in the district for use in furnaces and
gas engines, but not for illumination
Mond gas is a producer gas, made from
the cheapest class of small coal and dust,
commonly called 'Bituminous slack Dr.
MOnd discovered a process by which this
cheap slack can be converted into a
clean gaseous fuel in such a way that a
very large proportion Of the nitrogen Of
the coal is recovered (as ammonia) and
converted into sulDhate OF ammonia,
which is very valuable manure and fer
tiIizer- The distinguishing features OF the
Mond process are
% The utilization Of cheap bituminous
slack.
"C2) The recovery Of 80 pounds Of sui
phate Of ammonia Cvalue at present. $3.50
for every ton of slack gasided-
% Low temperature working, 50 that
no cIiakcrs are formed in the producer,
and the ammonia is not destroyed.
20 Very perfect regeneration of heat
by an ingeniously designed system, using
water as a heat carrier
t5 The production Of a clean gas Of ex-
tremely uniform quality. free from tar
and grit. and of a higher caIorihC value
than most other producer gases
''dond gas is not Il lighting gas; it
burns with a pale blue fame and has a
much lower heating value than iIIuminat-
ing gas It is 4 gaseous fuel, adapted Tor
wholesale use as d heating and power
agent and the gas engines at Winning
ton Cheshire, using Mond gas. hold the
worlds record for economy and for long
and continuous runs. An experimental
oDcn-hearth steel furnace has been work
ed with excellent results, using A0nd gas
and the gas Is in daily use for glass melt
ing. ore roasting. many kinds Of fur
mace work. evaporating liquids, heating
buildings. etc.
The following technical description Of
the 4oud gas Is taken from paper read
by H a Humphrey. Il distinguished eN-
pert. at the Institution Of Mechanical En-
Eineers IN London
The possibility Of using cheap fuel
and Of recovering its ammonia has been
the subject Of Dr. Iond's experimental
work on gas producers, which was started
in 1873 and has been ---Tied out on q
large scale for q number of years at Win
rinztou Cheshire. This work resulted in
the solution Of the difficult problem Of
converting the cheap forms of fuel into a
good gas of uniform quality in such a
way that the ammonia existing in the fuel
Il not destroyed. but recovered as q by
product Common bituminous slack.
brought by railway wagons into the
works. is mechanically handled by elc-
vators and crecpeTs and deposited III hop
pers above the producers From these, II
Is fed in charges OF eight to ten hundred
weights at a time into the producer bell
where the first heating of the slack takes
place. and the products of distiIlau0u pass
downward into the hot zone Of fuel before
joining the bulk Of the gas leaving the
producer. The hot. zone destroys the tar
and converts IL into a fixed gas. and also
prepares the slack fer its descent into
the body Of the producer, where it is act
ed upon by an air blast. which has been
saturated with steam at 1s5 degrees Far
enheit, and superheated before coming
into contact with the fuel Unlike what Is
done in other producers, the quantity Of
steam introduced into the blast is rela-
lively large. and amounts % two and one
half tons of every ton Of fuel gasihed.
This large quantity of steam keeps
down the working temperature Of the pro
Queer within such limits as to prevent
the formation of cIinkers or the destrUC-
ton of the ammonia, yet permits the fuel
to be so thoroughly burned that good ash
IS are obtained Half ton of steam is
decomp0sed in the producer for every ton
of fuel burned, yielding thereby free by
drUgeU to the extent of - per cent by
volume IN the final gas. The hot gas and
uudecOmpOsed steam leaving the producer
pass first through a tubular regeneration
in the opposite direction to the incoming
blast An exchange of heat takes place,
ana the blast is still further heated by
passing down the aDnulaT space between
the Two shells Of the producer on its way
to the fire CRATE then the hot products
from the producer are further passed
through q washer which Is large rect
angular. wr0ught-IrOu chamber with side
lULgS- and here they meet a water spray
thrown I'D by revolving daSherS. which
have blades Swimming up the surface Of
the water contained in the washer The
intimate contact thus secured ca uses the
steam and gas to be cooled down 10 about
9D degrees g GJt degrees + }. and by the
formation Of more steam, tending to satu-
rate the Gas with water yapOr at this
temperature, the bulk Of the sensible heat
is converted into latent; then passing up
ward through lead-liDeG tower. filed
with tile to present large surface. the
producer gas meets "a downward flow of
acid liquor. circulated by pumps contain
cent excess of free SulphuriC acid.
Combination Of the ammonia of the gas
with the free acid takes place, giving still
more Sulphdtc of ammonia, so that to
phate liquor IS constantly withdrawn from
circulation and eyapOTa ted to yield solid
Sulphate Of ammonia. and some free acid
is constantly added to the liquor circuIat-
ing through the tower
The gas. being now freed Of its ammo
MIA, IS conducted into a gaS-COOiiug tower.
where it meets a downward flow Of cold
water, thus further cooling and cleaning
il before il passes TO the various furnaces
and gas engines in which it is used. The
cooling Of the gas with its burden Of
steam results in The condensation Of the
steam and IN raising the temperature Of
the cooling water. so that the latter
leaves the bottom of the tower as hot wa
ter. which IS utilized in third tower
called the aiT-heating tower through
Ell. l.