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Show I - I i J B Special to Tho Tribune, WASirJJiGTO', July 20. nave wo B come i '-'no passing of tjio steam en- B ginc? Eminnnl engineers and others B who .iitintly making a study o powc -pkuif cconoinics are all auswer-mg. auswer-mg. in U nfliriiiative. Tlio gas engine, B Hit: toy vestcrday, has come into llio B industrial cJjDfl as tho giant of today, H and already "a pi illy crowding the steam engine back to the junk pile. So marvelous has been the development of this power producer that the old title "gas engine" has become utterly inadequate inade-quate and has almost disappeared. Now the United States, and in fact tho whole world, is confronted with tho "internal combustion motor. M Tn hundreds of big manufacturing establishments the steam boiler and the steam engine are being oslerizcd and replaced by pro-ducor pro-ducor gas plants with their accompanying accompany-ing internal combustion engines. And there is a reason for it; n fact, several. sev-eral. Tho internal combustion engine has demonstrated its ability to produce from two to nearly three times as much power with a given amount of coal as the steam cngino. Not only this, but it I has proved that tho verr poo Mg in the gas producer generate power that the samo coal W steam plant. Still turther, fWMjl crated "ower from tote BJBf form of coal) whero the gW reinsert to do any work nj, steam boiler. Tins, will f$Jb mean a saving of n"11'00 f Continued on Page SixiB.W , , v I. PASSING OF STEAM ENGINE Continued from Page Twelve, year to the manufacturers of tins coun-tr"Varioua coun-tr"Varioua estimates placo the 8vi"Pn the countrv'a conl bill nt from $100,-. $100,-. .(100,000 to $200,000,000. T lie PfnIf 8 1 coal bill in 1H05 was 1,500,000,000. One- third of this, or $500,000,000, it is estimated, esti-mated, went for coal to produce power. Tims it will 1)0 seen how important this newest factor will become to those who buy coal for the purpose of malting Bt lir'the-sc days of. frantic industrial endeavor, with the groat nations ot t it earth strangling for supremacy m tae world's marts.' the priv.es will .go to to those countries that can mnnninelurc J tlio most economically. Kcalizuig tins, the manufacturers of the United btates are taking iin intense interest in the work now hemp done by government experts in solving the problem ot tlit best utilization of the fuel resources ol the country. A .better utilization ot fuel means more- economy in the. pro; . du'etion of poods and more economy inonii n lnrrrpr O linOrtll II ltV TOT tUC I Yankee manufacturer in the trade ol the world - I Tho technologic- branch of the United States geological survey . has been engaged for soveral years testing coals for "the use of the government, and in these teats the possibilities ol the gas engine or internal combustion engine, have been developed ,to such a marked degree that the entire commercial com-mercial world is taking notice. For three years Lite government experts ex-perts labored" at tho fuel-testing, plant at St. Louis. Mo., with wonder! ul results. re-sults. The plant, so far as fuel-testing is concerned, has been moved to Nor-folkt Nor-folkt Vu., where tho tests are being continued. , .. The experts at the beginning found they had a most dillicult problem on hclr lmnds. They found that the I losses in the utilization of fuel for the i development of power, heat and light were so grunt that in a ton of coal consumed in an ordinary manufacturing manufactur-ing plant, loss than 5 per cent of the total energy was available for the ' actual ac-tual work of manufacturing. I hey also found that in ordinary locomotives, . onlv 15 to 5 per cent of the fuel energy is obtained for pulling the train. This is about the same as if a housewilc took a barrel of flour and succeeded in getting but one small biscuit asHhc entire result. In tho hope of stopping this tremendous waste which is going Ion, the government exports luivc been experimenting for some time. A method of combustion which,' it is believed, be-lieved, will eliminate this waste, has been found in the gas producer and the I internal combustion engine. I I Gas engines and gas producers have j boon in operation in tho United States ' for manv years, but the development -was slow "and unimportant until the government oxperts proved by tests that soft coal and even lignite and peat could be utilized in the producer. Prior to tho year 1904, no one in this j country had succeeded in uniug soft coal ahd lignite in this way, and with tho big prices for anthracite there was but little economy in the gas engine. For manv years the natural fuel of these internal combustion engines was city gas, but even this was too expensive expen-sive oxcept for engines of small capacity. ca-pacity. It was seldom found feasible to operate engines of more than seveu-ty-livo horsepower on this fuel. The theoretical possibilities of the internal combustion engine operated upon cheap fuel promised so much that tho practical dilliculties were soon overcome, over-come, with the result that the inlernal combustion engine at once became a ; serious rival of the steam eugine- The development of the gas ongine in point of size has been exceedingly rapid. It was only a few years ago that a 000-borscDOwer 000-borscDOwer cneine exhibited at the B Paris exposition was regarded as. a H wonder, but today four-cycle, twin- H tandem, double-acting gas engines run H as hiph as S000 horsepower. "jjjB H Robert TIcywood Fcrnald, professor H of mechanical ongineoring, "Washing- H ton university, St. Louis, Mo., and on- H ginccr in charge of producer gas tests H J of the United States geological survey H fuel-testing plant, sees immense possi- H bilitics in this iicw mode of power pro- 1 duction. In speaking of the results of H the investigations he paints a rosy H( picture for tho future, not only in tho B cheapening of production, but also in abatement of the ' smoke miisanco B throughout the United Stales, for. the H producer makes no smoke in its geno- B of power. H The value ot the results of these In- H vestigaUons Is of course not limited to j , the coal-produclnp section of the country. H . says Professor Fornalil, but extends B i through ovcry Stalo and Territory where K coal and other mineral fuel is used as H 1 a source of power. Thus in the New h ' Knglaud Stales no coal Is mined, hut In H 1 the year 1002 the steam power produced H I through the consumption of coal and B used for manufacturing purposes In these Bm States cost approximately $50,000,000. Tho BVBT I development of this power through the 1 more efficient method suggested by these K investigations would mean a saving to H the manufacturers in these States of $lf,- j ' 000,000 to $20,000,000 per annum. Again, H ' the total consumption of coal In SU H Louis, Mo., for Industrial purposes alone K amounts to more than 6,000.000 tons nn- B nually. If gas producers and gas engines H ' wore substituted for tho steam plants, H tills tonnago would be reduced 2)500.000 H to 3,000,000 tons and at tho samo time H , omoke would be practically cliinliuvtaL Further. If PP'bouw not only duoed " n shlP and rlvor bo a fnr will mlllionH be J" L' board for " SJ"' Wlth'fd'r'mueh cjper oner" in. steamboats an rijei St.aii- rMSS! ,,crc- l5KSther important fact ?H A ti e J ivftU'Ht ease In the uon of This opens the way to t e m rC manyuels itat tovn 1" ofore p , gnrded as practical!) oi lumn0ii5 coa s of the poorest grades or "','(. in tl c hive shown 'R.rlVft ea " CTS-prodHcers '"f ' 1 readiness to f.ave responded j';. generator. A the demands of t11,1?. tls wa that remarkable feature o( : t I t n ugnlte North Dakota and ftn8'oyj power In ami Florida peat ylo hied morj, , i t the gas-producer than "io crj holler. Virginia' coal under f'&ta and I The lignite elds of N" , and as Texas arc almost mcx''a,"iii has been very Hill use. commercial . hb wW found for the llRfi to a I suvlc8 lC,irgrow InrinUe proportions as tho yenr?m.'iv-nnre'this form of power The possiblllt ea of cV"Conndcnco have been received wit aIU, ,an-mul ,an-mul cut hUHlusm wi, ars ftrft FC,.pf lawe Plan1 a,one over aircnuy i V i tiftv mis-proi nicer nc hujidrcd and lif L m nfloCn siftllatlonsf rang n I l -al ower; luindrcd to nine. ho s. ud nor i for Industrial Purpost-s arc f m 0f the almost complete elimlnat on oi . The great reduction In ll e cost v rlm..s no centers, the sreal railroads Mw. United States can send tnoir tfalns speeding from the Atlantic to the 'ifwouhfHeem to some chimerical to predict the doom, in uic m. y,:'nf the steam locomotive, yet one of the i of-flclals of-flclals of the New York Central railroad WVl T rail lie v slated that in his opinion there w be no -steam locomotives oner-n oner-n ing on tho New York Central road In ten years. Already the New 'York Cental Cen-tal 'isrranging 'to 'bstltule electric nower on Us lines from New iorK cu to a point forty miles from the Grand Cenmft "tat ion. and extensive tests In life use of the electric locomotive arc , bo-I bo-I g made between Itpchester and Buffalo. Buf-falo. The Pennsylvania is now pperallne electric trains botwecn Atlantic Cll and IMillndelpbla with much bucccm. The New York. New Haven & Hartford rail-road rail-road Is operating lis trains from Stamford. Stam-ford. Conn., to Now York by electric PThesc rapid changes are leading to one end the centralization of power development devel-opment and distribution. They point to the time, and at no distant day. when great central plants will hp located at the various mine centers and the c ectrlc power will be transmitted and distributed to railroads, industrial plants, cities and the various institutions where electrical energy is needed. The great railroads will operate their trains by electricity, and the passengers will be freed from the annoyance of smOke and cinders; and the railroad locomotives and the railroad yards which are now the most unsightly places In our cities will become comparatively compara-tively clean and free from smoke. Fur-j Fur-j thormorc, the Introduction of cheaper I eloctrlc power-will displace the scores of smokc-belchlng chimneys and the befogged be-fogged atmosphere of our cities will bo cleared, and the clly clean and comfortable, com-fortable, will become a reality and not n dream. , Professor Fcrnald but recently completed com-pleted an estimato showing tho" differ-onco differ-onco in cost and operation of a G00-horsepower G00-horsepower inlcrnal-conibiislion engine and a G00-horsepowcr steam engine. In offering tho estimates, Professor Fcrnald Fcr-nald declares ho has made tho best possible pos-sible showing for the stoam engine, while that of tho producer gas plaut is hut a fair figure. In conclusion ho adds: "I believe that the producer pas plant can bettor the figure given, but ! doubt very much whothcr tho steam plant figure can be excelled, even if it can bo reached." Professor Fcrnald gives the cost of tho GOO-horsopowcr gas plant at $48000 and the steam plant at ?10,000, a difference differ-ence of $8000 in favor of tho- stoam plant. Operating both plants.100 days, . twenty-four hours a day, tho total cost for coal in tho producer" gas plant would be $3GS0; in tho steam plant $8250. Tho total operating cost and fixed charges for the gas producer plant for Uig yoar is $1G,2G2; for the steam plant $21,378. Tho total saving por year by operating tho producer gas plant is given at $i311G. With tho increased cost of tho gas producer plant ovor tho steam plant, it is estimated that it would tako nineteen nine-teen months of operation of the producer pro-ducer plant to pay tho difference by saving in operating expenses. Professor Fornald finds thoro is no difference in tho coBt of .a gas producer plant of G000 horsepower and a steam Clant of tho aamo horsepower, tho cost eing placed at $420,000. Running these plants continuously for one year, tho flfaa producer plant -would rcquiro i 21,000 tons of flifn plant would IsiyiOO, .Yi'J VonH at cost of $105;-consume $105;-consume 42,000 tons i at pcnHca and 000. The total opomtiug fixed charges of ho ftt H1,- gan producer P",?, would cost ?7H, while t c oamonyu . 2rj3 The total saving V J operating the K-l l" u e Bame horsc- fo the "bin.anu'facturers. I That the United St thin lMt,J20K on in Kurope tue agitation now goi k , e. apainlt the waato oT fie I. 1. U Kino hiis alrpai y oi . Kn.liui has Spment in "'"""icS An eminent pronounced, ,L-ra.,f Siting the waste British engineer Jiguiw of the fuel resoun.es factories In the n nea 6orfsurnplU)n of that on an average -"- wer vcr hour t'oSl per "n;""1 Ik live pounds, V., the consurnp- M&rW "b .f.ome.ouS will e fta nod f uie c... ,,nduS. of waste 1 V,, r Indinl Hal oporntions there tries. "U',,Vr,Mlcr 80,000.000 tons con-Is con-Is probably a furtl cr HUlc purposes the sumcd. whne for iomcbu i consumption 0500U0 tons nearly 25 annum. Of " ' 1 ' .iir0Kis ways It per cent is vasicu i u i)flCkbone a tr,l,l?,n,rinl Gosper liy lies In bavlng of our Industrh P".""1 at our doors, enormous suppes o c, and that oui indi si rim i ln pr0 rtirfomamouo waste of coal Hint Is going on. , , Tames McKechnie, engineering director tas coiiierSg-. iidnNo In -the waste heat from metal HndN Iron and Steel institute, said that he large gas engine had becmno a com-nerciar com-nerciar fliiccess on the Continent and roeTubt it would ijjfimuloly ac hie e equal success in hngland. In ttsts no c nducted. the gas PftJS ouc:third as much coal as the steam ongine. |
