The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-26
ENSLEY ID HAVE GREATEST COOLING PLANT IN WORLD Will Be Used To Take MoiS- ture From Air For Blast
 Furnaces
COKE OVEN GAS USED
 TO HEAT THE BOILERS
Plant Will Have 16oo-Ton Capacity and Will Use About 1e3,o0o Gallons of Water Per Hour.
 Asking Bids.

Ensley, March 25.-(Special.) )-The Ten nessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company has plans under consideration for equip ping the blast furnaces at the Ensley plant with an air cooling apparatus known as the Gayley process by which the moisture may be removed from the air before being blown into the furnace. To do this 1t will require the construction of an Ice plant of 1900 tons capacity, which when completed will be probably the largest ice or refrigerating plant in existence.
 There is but one plant for this pur- rose in use, that being at Pittsburg. It was constructed about F months ago and is said to be a great success By blowing air entirely free from moisture put of the furnace is increased by very large per cent, thereby making the cost of production considerably smaller.
 The total cost of this plant at Ensley will be in the neighborhood of $20O,0o0, and successful result with it will prob ably be followed by the equipping of all .he blast furnaces of the Tennessee com pany. Part of the plan is for the utilizing of the gas from the coke ovens for the operation of the plant. This in itself will mean a saving of 70 tons of coal per day, and will mean the using of product which has been going to waste.
 Moisture Will congeaI.
 The air will be cooled by passing It through refrigerating storage room and causing the moisture in the air to con- seat on frozen pipes. The refrigerating medium will be anhydrous ammonia, which will be handled through large com- pression pumps. Eight of these pumps will be used, each of which will be able to produce 200 tons of refrigeration.
 So far it has been impossible to build compressor of sufficient capacity to produce 1900 tons. The ammonia gas has to be compressed under from 1S0 to 220 bounds pressure. If wen or other cool water at a temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit can be secured in sufficient quantity, which in this instance will be about 193,000 gallons per hour, the pres sure will only be 1SO pounds, but if the water is warmer than 65 or the supply limited, the pressure will run much higher.
 These eight compressers will each re- Guire a AGO horsepower engine, or a total of S2O0 horsepower. To furnish this power it would require about 70 tons of coal per day to evaporate the water with
 
 used. The gas from the coke ovens, how ever, will be used, and for this purpo SC eight 400 horsepower gas engines will be installed.
 How Plant Is Arranged.
 The refrigerating plant in addition to the eight compressers, and eight gas er- zines, will consist of ammonia conden- sers containing about 64, 900 feet of two-inch extra heavy pipe; traps to trap the oil used for lubricating the compressers ont of the ammonia, and gas receivers. Tho low pressure or expansion side will have some 2S0,000 feet of one and one-fourth- inch pipe in coils, which will be placed m tanks covered with brine in a large well insulated room as near air tight as possible. The ammonia will be expanded into these coils and the brine cooled To about 10 degrees.
 This brine will be circulated through a network of pipes in the refrigerating room and will cause the moisture in the air to come to the pipes in the form of frost, thus drying the air. The sue tion pipe to the blowers will be placed III this room and suck the dry air to the furnace. TEere will be a tube with an au- tomatic lid at the opposite end of the room through which the moisture laden air will be brought into the room
 The construction of the plant has been taken up with manufacturers of ice ma chinery and bids are being received. It will be one of the largest enterprises or the kind ever undertaken in this line and lromises to cut a great figure in the les sening the cost of pig iron production.