The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-04-12
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC ,. HAgKN. Direcaor.
washington. ID. O
BURNING WATER AS FUEL.

2
/ ton barracks in this city has been OPP
] Grated by burning water IN connec-
4 ton with oil. Water, looked upon
7 as the other extreme from fire. and
the great factor in putting out fires,
| is actually being burned under
! boiler to produce heat.
I Scientists until very lately have de-
/ clared this to be impossible. However.
there is a patent record in the archives
/ in this city showing that Mrs. Francis
Dowdau Shaw secured a patent for
a certain kind of burner in 1915, in
which oil of practically any kind is
combined with common, ordinary
water and an intensely hot flame pro-
duced at a low cost.
Mrs. Shaw, who is personally in
charge of the power plant at the
Washington barracks under contract
with the government, has tried out
her invention in many ways, and says
that her records show saving OF
more than SO per cent over supplying
power from burning coal, and a 90 per per
cent saving over using fuel oil IN the
usual way.
To secure the heat desired at the
barracks plant about three parts OF
oil are used to one part OF water.
Ridiculous as it may sound, If more
water were used, the flame would be
SO hot that the brick foundation under
the boiler would melt down. Mrs.
Shaw has experimental with greater
quantities of water, and found the heat
so terrific that ordinary brickwork
melts down quickly.
Mrs Shaw has been engaged in
manufacturing bricks and tiles for
some time 1t was an accident in
connection with her work that showed
her that water could be combined
with oil as a fuel, effecting consid-
cradle saving over the ordinary use
of fuel oil or coal. 1t happened in
this way: Mrs. Shaw was drying. out
a kiln. and for this purpose was burn
ing kerosene under it. Some of the
kerosene cans had been standing TOT
quite a while, and water had accumu-
lated in them. BY accident, the whole
combination was used, and an i'm
mensely hotter flame was produced.
Scientists have declared until very
lately" says Mrs. Shaw, that 1t is OF
course impossible to burn water. How
ever. / had done it, and not being
scientist. I kept on experimenting
until found out what was happen
ing. The oxygen and hydrogen gas
in water was being burned. and after
I had perfected burner, I patented
the thing"
one of Mrs. shaw's oil and water
burners has been operating an $4,000
horsepower plant in Texas for some
time. This is the only big private
plant using the invention thus far.
Uses Any Kind of Oil.
Mrs. Shaw has used everything in
the way of oil from kerosene to the
very poorest grades OF crude OIL nun
of dirt and foreign substances she
has vet to record failure. Naturally,
the government is taking keen in
terest in this development and is max
ing tests periodically to determine eX-
actly how much of a saving over other
fuels can be effected. These tests
have not been completed and the fig
ures therefore are not available
Mrs. Shaw says that in its present
form the invention is practicable for
plants. office buildings, locomotives
and ships. 1t has been successfully
tried out on a ship, but until 1t is
bit more refined probably will not
come into general use. Mrs. Shaw
herself is authority for this statement
Il will install the thing and get steam
up for them, but I want to leave the
ship before it leaves the dock" she
declares.
The best kind of oil for use in Mrs.
Shaw's invention has proven to be
good fuel oil or the oil known as
every kind of oil has been tried out,
and it has been found that the very
lowest grades will work all right, If
they are heated so that they will run
freely. In using the heaviest grades
of oil, steam pipes are run thru the
tanks to heat the oil in cold weather. |
In really warm weather this expedient |
doubtless will be unnecessary.
One great advantage claimed for
the new system over, coal firing is the
saving in labor. Mrs. Shaw says 1t
has been demonstrated that 70 oper-
ate a plant requiring a dozen men
installed only four men would be |
needed There is big saving, too, in |
the cost of the two fuels. as the |
cheapest grades of oil can be burned, |
without having the oil put thru any
refining process at all.
BY combining the water with oil, IT |
is claimed that tests have shown a |
saving of, roughly, so per cent over
the ordinary burning of fuel oil. This |
is because a hotter fire is secured |
from the use of considerably less oil. |
No Waste or Ash.
Another advantage in the use Of oil |
instead of coal in any kind of power |
or heating plant is the absence of 1
any ash. To engineers this means a
two-fold saving-first. no labor is !
necessary in feeding the fuel to the /
boilers nor in removing the ashes: /
second. the whole weight of the fuel /
used is burned up and all of it pro- |
duces heat which is transformed into /
power.
Most of the system is simplicity it.
self, and is easily comprehended by a |
casual inspection The pipes leading
from the water supply and the oil sup
ply open into an ordinary funnel. The /
feed of oil and water into this funnel /
can be watched and easily regulated. |
Leading from the bottom of the fun
mel is single pipe which connects
with the burner.
The burner itself is simple. 1t has
somewhat the shape of a silk hat, but
with considerably more taper. In the
small power plant being operated at
the Washington barracks, this top hat
affair has a diameter at the bottom
of ~ or 8 inches and at the top is
about or inches wide. 1t is about
a foot high
Around the bottom this continuance
is punched full of holes to admit air
No artificial blast of air is required |
once the burner is going and heated
up a bit. The heat seems to separate
the water into its constituent gases
and these with the oil produce an in
tenseiy hot flame.