Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-05-06
WATER
And D MIXED GAS
Their /! Advantages an Sci Forth
IN I ndilonaI Bureau Of
Standards !

WASHINGTON, May tin Its forth
coming report on the subject 81 IL
Illuminating gas, the national Bureau
Of Standards, department Of Com:
merce and Labor, states that the ad.
:yantagess Of coal, water and mixed
gas, must be considered primarily
from the economic or manufacturing
standpoint, since the advantages Of
each to the user are In most cases
only the idirect result Of the economy
of manufacture. IA. Isl. z.s,, /: I,
Coal gas finds its greatest advan'
tage over water gas in the sale OF
its by.products, namely, coke, tar,
ammonia, and occasionally cyanide.
Under favorable conditions these re.
turn to the manufacturer large per
centage Of the cost OF the gas manu-
featured; and, indeed, unless the by
products are intelligently and econ
omicaliy handled and unless favor.
able market for them is available,
coal gas cannot be made at sufficient
~ low net cost to allow it to com
pete with water, gas, The greatest
difficulty in extension OF large coal
gas wrks is the hack of q suitable
outlet forthe coke, as the coke pro.
duced is ordinarily not suitable for
foundry or metallurgical purposes.
The demand for coke for domestic
consumption may often be increased
by active advertisement, but in some
cases this automatically reduces the
use of gas for heating and Industrial
work. This result Is; Of course, not
desired by the eas maker. In distri.
button, coal gas can be subjected to-
pressure and low temperature with
less loss Of heating and lighting value
than water gas. Because of this ana
the greater uniformity of its manu-.
facture. to product delivered to q con-
'sumer Is at times more uniform in
the case Of coal gas. This IL large
factor in determining satisfaction in
the operation of gas appliances. The
advantage Of the less toxic character
OF the coal gas is discussed later. ;:
Water. Gas Advantage.
The remarkable increase in the
manufacture of water gas has been
due, In at least, to the following:
The abundant production of anthracite
coal at a reasonable price Tin certain
parts of the country. the low price
OF the gas oils (the oil now used for
gas making is utilized for practically
no other purposes); the ability tol
make both economically q g&s of
high candlepower to meet municipal
requirements and popular demand
(both Of these no longer 50 promin.
ent, due to increased emphasis upon
heating valued; the lower investment
required for manufacturing plant (ap-I
proximately only one-half that for|
coal gas); greater flexibility of oper-
alton from hour to hour or day to day
(allowtng rapid change in rate Of man.
ufacture to meet the changes in de.
mand); freedam from labor difncul-
ties, due to small er number of men
required to operate a water-gas plant
and. perhaps most important Of all,
no difficultf Is met In the disposal of
the by products which are produced
in much smaller quantity than In al
coal gas plant. No coke is made;
much less tar is formed than in tbe|
case of coat gas, and this is often
burned under the boilers; and prac-
tically no ammonia need be cared for.
All of the advantages Of mixed gas
would also be influential in Increasing
the amount Of water gas mad TIE
advantages Of mixed gas are as fol.
lows: The coke made In the coal
gas works can be used to make wat !
er gas; the candlepower Of th mix.
ture can be economically raised byl
the use Of high candlepower water
gas; the more stable character OF |
the coal gas permits distribution OF
the mixed gas without undue foss OF |
the illuminants; the coal gas is usual |
~ cheaper when uniform rate OF make
and good coke outlet are assured,
the water gas part taking care Of vari. |
atoms in demand and utilizing surplus
coke. The relative amounts Of coal
and water gas in Z mixture are de-
termined by large number of local
factors, but mixed gas Of varying pro.
portions. is distributed to some extent
in practically all Of the large cities
of this country. -