The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-07
GAS AS FUEL ON INCREASE IN FACT DRIES
Pipe Making Plants About Birmingham Introducing Or Are En|arging Facilities For By-Product Service
EVENTUALLY ELIMINATES SMOKE FALL NUISANCE
Expert Says s1,ooo Worth
 Of Fuel Lost In Air Each
 Day--City Better Fixed Than With Natural Sources

Extension of the use of by-product gus to the plant of the United States Cast Iron Pipe company at North Birmingham will be made possible next week by the completion of the lG-inch gas main laid by the Ala bama ByProduets company from its Tarrant City plant, it was announced Thursday
 The National Cast Iron Pipe com pany at Tarrant City is already us- ing gas fuel almost exclusively. the consumption at this plant amount ing to 1,250,000 cubic fee. per day. Since 15000 cubic feet of by-product gas is equivalent in heating value 10 one ton of coke. the use of this quantity of gas as fuel displaces near S9 tons of coke daily.
 It is expected that the United States Cast Iron Pipe company will use more than 1,000,000 cubic feet of the gas per day. By January | the gas line of the Alabama By Products company will be completed as far as the plant of the American Cast Iron Pipe company, at Acipco, and another million-foot consumer will be added to the list.
 The Industrial Gas corporation in the subsidiary of the Alabama By Products company, which is distrib ;. uting the gas. Morris Bush is the head of the companies.
 o o o
 Only For Industries.
 By product gas will be sold only for industrial purposes, since the company has no desire to go into the domestic field. Plants of the American Radiator company, kilby Frog & Swith company and numer- ous cthsrs in the Nortl Birmingham.
 
 will be served.
 By-product gas is being used Tn %as-fired boilers for heating of man ufactnrins establishments, in the pipe plants for core ovens, drying cores, drying molds, annealing ovens and for other purposes.
 From 10 900. 900 to 50,00O O0O feet of by7product gas. generated at Bir- mingham industrial establishments. goes to waste every day, s. C. Brat ten. consulting engineer of the Ala bama By-Products company. declared Thursday, in discussing the. impor- tance of this development. A very low value of % cents per thousand feet placed on this gas would indi- cate that Birmingham manufacturers are sending up in smoke daily sum of money ranging from S20o to Sl,25o.
 " ' UO Hpt iteu to tllNN lHt tiliCS that are situated near natural gas fields" said MT. Bratten. "We have greater riches here in this endless source of fuel-by-product gas-than any city which uses natural gas.
 o O O
 smoke Problem.
 The smoke problem recently dis cussed by the Birmingham members of the American Chemical society will cease to be a problem when Br- mingham has stopped it's daily waste of millions of feet of by-product gas. The use of gas-fired boilers fo: house heating has become general in q great many cities which have not the abundant supply of cheap gas fuel that we have here. Birming- ham homes on the South Highlands are being equipped with Gas-fired boilers. but .Se public is slow in real lzing the economy, convenience and efficiency of this type of heating plants. Gas-fired hot air furnaces arc also coming into use.
 When the great quantity of Bir~ minghams byproduct gas that Is now going to waste has been util- ized, there will be little smoke, for there will be few boilers and fur naccs using coal for fuel"