The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-21
STEAM ENGINE MAY ID THE JUNK PILE Gas Engine is Fast Crowding It
 Out of Business INTERNAL COMBUSTION It Is Argued That the Gas Engine Is Much Cheaper and Requires
 Less Consumption
 of Coal.
INTERNAL COMBUSTION

Washington, July 2o.-(special.)-Hav we come to the passing of the steam en- zine?
 Eminent engineers and others who are constantly making a study of power plant economies are all answering In the affirmative.
 The gas engine, the toy of yesterday, has come into the industrial horizon as the giant of today, and already it is rapidly crowding the steam engine back to the junk pile.
 So marvellous has been the develop ment of this power producer that the old title, "gas engine" has become utterly inadequate and has almost disappeared. Now the United States, and in fact the whole world is confronted with the in ternal combustion motor"
 In hundreds of big manufacturing es- tablishments the steam boiler and the steam engine are being oslerized and re- placed by producer gas plants with their accompanying internal combustion en- zines.
 And there is a reason for it; In fact several.
 The internal combustion engine has de- monstrated its ability to. produce from two to nearly three times as much pow CT with a given amount of coal as the steam engine. Not only this, but 1t has proved that the very poorest coals in the gas producer generate twice the power that the same coal does in the steam plant. Still further It has generated pow CT from Ignite (the lowest form of coaD, where the Ignite has refused to do any work under the steam boiler.
 Will Save Millions.
 This will eventually mean saving of millions of dollars a year to the manu- lecturers of this country. Various esti- mates place the saving in the country's coal bill at from S100, 600 to $2O0,0O0,- GOO.
 The peoples coal bill in 1905 was $,- 800, GOO, ,0O0 One-third of this, or $500, 100000, it is estimated went for coal to produce power.
 Thus it will be seen how important this newest factor will become to those who buy coal for the purpose of making steam.
 In these days of gigantic industrial en- deavor, with the great nations of the earth, struggling for supremacy in the worlds marts, the prizes will go to those countries that can manufacture the most economically. Realizing this the manu- facturers of the United States are taking an intense interest In the work now be- ing done by government experts in solv- ing the problem of the best utilization of the fuel resources of the country. bet ter utilization of fuel means more econo- my in the production of goods and more economy means a larger opportunity for the Yankee manufacturer in the trade or the world.
 The Technologic branch of the United States Geological survey has been en- gagged for several years testing coals Tor 1.-the use of the government and in these tests the possibilities of the gas engine for internal-combustion engine, have been developed to such a marked degree that IL the entire commercial world Is taking mo- ltice. A s
 For three years the government experts llabored at the fuel-testing plant at St. ALouis, Mo-, with wonderful results. The plant so far as fuel-testing is concerned has been moved to Norfolk Va, where the tests are being continued.
 Difficult Problem.
 The experts at the beginning found they had a most difficult problem on their hands. They found thaat the losses In the utilization of fuel for the develop ment of power heat and light were so great that In a ton of coal consumed ln an ordinary manufacturing plant, less than 5 per cent of the total energy was availabs for the actual work Of manu- featuring. They also found that In or dinary locomotives, only to Q per cent of the fuel energy Is obtained for pull
 
 as if a housewife took barrel of hour and succeeded in getting but one small biscuit as the entire result.
 In the hope of stopping this tremendous waste which is going on, the government experts have been experimenting for some time method of combustion, whicfe 1t Is believed, will eliminate this waste, has been found in the gas pro- ducer and the internal-combustion en- zine.
 Gas engines and gas producers have been in operation in the United States for many years. but the development was slow and unimportant until the gov ernment experts proved by tests that soft coal and even Ignite and peat could be utilized in the producer. Prior to the year 1904, no one in this country had sue reeded in using soft coal and Ignite in this way, and with the big prices for anthracite there was but little economy in the gas engine. For many years the natural fuel of these internal combustion engines was ctiy gas, but even this was too expensive except for engines of small capacity. It was seldom found feasible to operate engines of more than seventy five horse power on this fuel
 The theoretical possibilities of the inter nat-confbustion engine operated upon cheap fuel promised so much that the practical difficulties were soon overcome, with the result that the internal-combus- tlon engine at once became a serious rival of the steam engine. The development of the gas engine in point of size has been exceedingly rapid. It was only few years ago that a 600-horse power engine exhibited at the Paris exposition was re- earded as a wonder but today, four-cycle, twin tandem, double-acting gas engines run as high S0O0-horse power.
 Robert Haywood Fernald, professor of mechanical engineering, Washington Uni verslty, St. Louis, Mo, and engineer In charge of producer gas tests of the Unit ed States geological survey fuel-testing plant sees Immense possibilities in this new mode of power production In speak ing of the results of the investigations he paints rosy picture for the future not only in the cheapening of production but also in abatement of the smoke nuisance throughout the United States, for the pro- ducer makes no smoke in its generation of power.
 ''The value of the results of these inves- tigations is of course not limited to the coal producing section of the country" says Professor Fernald, but extends through every state and territory where coal or other mineral fuel Is used as a source of power. Thus in the New Eng land states no coal is mined, but in the year 1902 the steam power produced through the consumption of coal and used for manufacturing purposes in these states cost approximately $50000,0O0. The devel- opment of this power through the more ath