Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-17
COKE FACTORY
PROVES SUCCESSFUL
INVENTION MAY MEAN MUCH TO
MANUFACTURERS
Heavy Freight Costs Eliminated by
Fuel Being Made on Ground.
Gas Byproducts Are
Utilized

Prof T. S. G. loves new works,
combined smokeless gas plant and re-
verberating ovens for producing coke,
were open for inspection yesterday and
were visited by capitalists from Southern
California and from old Mexico.
The latter were c. A. Heberlein, metal
lurgical engineer of the great copper and
silver mine at Torreon, Mexico. and Cap
tain c. H. Thompson of Durango.
A long battery of coke ovens, termin-
ated at each end by high smoke stacks,
or rather draft stacks, for no smoke is
sued from them, formed the specially
novel feature of the exhibit. Into these
ovens the crude oil is injected in sprays
and an intense heat soon associates the
chemical elements it contains. The gases
are then forced through the washer,
which deposits the heavy carbons in the
form of lampblack-a valuable by-product
and then they pass through the scrub
ber, which eliminates tarry substance,
from which aniline dyes can be made.
The bases are then carried through the
condenser and the purifier, depriving
them of all remaining impurities, and
then into the great holder, whence the
pure illuminating gas is pumped under
an even pressure into the mains and dis
tributed through the city.
Use of Byproducts
The most important and striking fea-
ture of Prof. loves works Is the manner
in which he turns the two by-products-
tar and lampblack-into most useful
and valuable commercial product
These substances are mixed in certain
proportions and conveyed by a tramway
to the ovens, which are in series and
communicate with each other by spe-
cial arrangement of connecting f1ues, and
then the muxture is subjected to an in
tense heat for twenty-four hours, when
a charge of hard, firm, silvery metal
lurgical coke can be withdrawn.
The result is a surprise to the oldest
and most experienced furnacemen and
metallurgists.
Yesterday melting of pig iron inn
ported from Germany took place at the
Johnson foundry, 1913 North Main street.
For this purpose the foundry generally
uses Connellsville coke, brought across
the continent from Pittsburg at freight
cost of $40 ton, in addition to the origi-
nal invoice cost of S. ton.
The freight represents two-thirds of the
cast of the coke to California users.
Yesterday the melting was made by
using the coke derived from crude oil as
a by-product in the new Lowe coke ovens.
1t was an experiment to ascertain what
the Lowe coke would do In this case
700 pounds of coke were sufficient to melt
$500 pounds of iron, and it was accom-
plished in a shorter time than required
when using the eastern coke. The test
was highly satisfactory in every way.
important to Manufacturers
The Importance of this invention to the
state of California and the entire Pa
cific coast is great.
There are immense deposits of hematite
iron ore in San Bernardino county, and
also large bodies of the ore in Southern
California and in southwestern Utah,
which can be brought to Los Angeles at
small cost, and the entire cost of the
freight for smelling that ore can be
saved by using the Lowe metallurgical
coke.
The millions of tons of structural iron
required for the construction of build
ings bridges and other uses on the entire
Pacific coast from Alaskn to the 18TH
mus can be manufactured in the vicinity
of Los Angeles at price with which
eastern mills connot compete, even If the
long and expensive freight haul is disre-
garded One engineer tersely remarked
that Prof loves invention will add
800, 200 to the value of California crude
oils, and another added that another $780,
OOO. 900 of new enterprises would be stiTn-
ulated and fostered by this discovery and
invention.
One of the comparatively new indus
tries which will be greatly extended by
the nominal cost of the Lowe gas, owing
to the production of valuable by-products
is the use of gas engines of large capac-
ity. especially for the purpose of gener-
ating electricity These are rapidly sup
planting steam engines both for indus
trial establishments and for traction on
railroads
Gas Engines Needed
All New York Central trains now en-
ter New York city with electric locomo-
tives. Electric trains will connect Wash
ineton and Baltimore before November l.
Tn the near future Albany and Buffalo
will be similarly connected. All these
systems will require gigantic gas engines.
changing it's steam motive power to the
new system and is having gas engines
ranging from 5000 to 5000 o. horse power
Installed in it's billion dollar works. In
Buffalo gas engines of large capacity are
successfully competing with the Niagara
electric plant only twenty miles distant.
TJonnalass, children received and placed