The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-29

The scientific and mechanical world is
discussing the remarkable discoveries now
being made by United States government
experts in ST Louis in increasing the po-
tential energy of coal Experiments are
steadily raising the ratio of the power of
coal, which has been almost trebled, and
now stands at 81 times Its former value.
The result of these experiments by the
government is of such tremendous i'm
portance that an entire revolution in the
methods of manufacture and transporta-
ton is expected. 1t means that the BIZ
luminous coal of the United States, which
has been considered less than half as val
liable as anthracite, can be made to pro-
duce as much net horsepower per ton Of
coal used as the best Pennsylvania hard
coal.
1t means that Ignite, common through
all the west, heretofore considered almost
of no value, can be made under certain
conditions to yield more horsepower per
ton than does the best anthracite. How
are these wonderful things to be done?
| Simply by making use of the discovery
that any grade of coal from the least to
the most valuable. when judged by old
| standards, mas a Ndiue lOI piOuutiii5 Bu|p
| exactly inverse to that shown when used
| directly to produce steam in a boiler. In
the past coal has been valued by its d.
rect steam production-that is, when
burned under boiler. The fact now
proved is that the poorer the coal for TINS
purpose the greater It's value in yielding
gas.
Having found the value of common coal
in producing gas, the next step is the
application of the gas to make power
which is done by the use of gas engines.
Soft coal turned into gas and the gas
burned in gas engines, will produce as
much net horse power per ton of fuel as
the best hard coal or anthracite.
Considered without reference TO the
value of power of anthracite In producing
steam by direct use under boiler, the
result of the St. Louis experiments shows
that soft or bituminous coal Is capable
of more than two and onelhalf times as
much power when turned into gas ana
used in a gas engine as when used, as
heretofore been the case, directly TO hre
under boilers In producing steam. In
fact, the experiments have demonstrated
that lignites and Goals considered pract-
cally worthless for fuel in producing
steam, are now available II first made
into gas
The saving thus made possible In the
cost of coal for steam-producng purposes
IN fndIuIdCluTts ny TIC hoN VI liz 80 -
soft coal in gas engines for the New Eng
land manufacturers alone, 1t Is estimated,
would reach $40, 900. 600 per year. The cost
of producing this same power in the New
England states, where no coal is mined,
by the old methods, has been placed APP
proximately at s50.00O. 900. These striking
figures serve at once to show the I'M
portance of the new discoveries.
Another illustration of the influence OF
the discoveries made may be gained by
turning to the United States navy. The
| naval vessels of the United States In 1903
! used about 100000 tons of coal, at cost
| of 81, 500, 900. If the perfected gas producer
| of the future and the gas engine are sub
| stituted on the cruisers and battleships
for the existing steam boilers and engines,
| the saving in the cost of coal Will be
| not less than 1000. 600 a year.
And in this instance of Illustration the
| cost is not the greatest consideration;
| the distance war vessel can travel with
| out eoaling Is of the utmost importance.
| The discoveries. If applied to the battle
| ship. mean that 1t can travel twice as
far with the present power without coal
| ing.
Another entirely new feature of this dis
| covery is that the use of gas engines and
gas producers on the war vessels or the
| country, or even on the freight and pas
| senger ships will increase the capacity
| LOT al1lIDuullun anu hiiaf VI ~ NS@s7N "a
the trade vessels. for passengers or
freight The gas producer and gas engine
| take up a great deal less room than the
| old-style boilers and engines.
1t is estimated that the cost of coal and
| other mineral fuels used In the United
States means an outlay by the consumer
| of 81 5OO,OO0OO0 annually. The use of the
| gas engine and the gas producer will
now make II possible to reduce the con-
sumption of coal sufficiently TO save at
| least s6O0O0O0oO yearly to the nation.
| These figures would seem Incredible. or
| dinarily, but they are vouched for by
! the United States government experts.
The fuels tested by the gas producer at
| the ST. Louis testing stations were also
tested under steam boilers for a direct
comparison.
| The ratio obtained showed that the eff
| ficiency of the soft Goals tested for power
| purposes was 257 times as great when
used in the gas producer as when under
| the steam boiler or. in other words. this
| experiment demonstrated that one ton of
! these Goals used in the gas producer will
generate as much power as 2.57 tons of
| the same coal when used under the steam
! boiler.
! But the result of 2.57 was obtained in
| preliminary tests. Since they were made
| many comparisons have been secured, and
the ratio in favor of the gas producer
over the first ratio. of course, advances
the savings and reductions in the figures
| given but they will stand for the pur-
| pose of illustration as approximate.
| Now. although the statements made and
! the figures given are startling. the fact
! that the gas engine is passing through a
| transitional period and is not perfect
/ makes the discoveries still more signif-
can't The gas engine is going through
changes, is developing. just as did the