OCR Text |
Show HARNESSING A VOLCANO Larderello, Italy, has an electric central station which is one of the 'most extraordinary installations in the world. Three big turbo-generators supply the townspeople with electricity for illuminating purposes at night. During the day the power is used to operate big munition factories. fac-tories. And not a pound of coal is consumed to supply the turbines with steam, for the steam is piped to the turbans from a smoking volcano and the whirring dynamos change the waste energy of nature into electricity elec-tricity ready to furnish heat and power pow-er to the towns and villages of Tuscany. Tus-cany. Two of the generating units have been operated with the volcanic heat for nearly a year with complete satisfaction, and electric energy for manufacturing and domestic purposes pur-poses has practically displaced coal which is both scarce and expensive. Prince Ginori-Conti was the one to whom credit is due for the hitching up volcanic heat to perform the work of the neighborhood. He experimented experi-mented with the powerful jets of steam forced up through the cracks in the ground and in 1903 tried to apply the waste energy to a steam motor. Afterward a small jet was used to run a small electric lighting set and enough electricity was generated gene-rated to light the borax workings. The scheme was improved upon later when holes were bored into the ground and pipes driven down to tap the source of the steam some 300 or 500 feet below the surface. With bore holes varying from a foot to twenty inches in size, steam under a pressure of from two to five atmospheres at-mospheres and with a temperature of 150 to 190 degrees Centigrade enough power was obtained to operate oper-ate an ordinary steam engine of 40 horsepower in 1906. The mechanical mechani-cal operation of the engine was a success and it ran for several years with volcanic steam at practically no expense. The only disadvantage lay in the rapidity with which the natural salts and gases, mixed with the steam, rusted away the working parts of the engine. Not to be discouraged by this difficulty dif-ficulty Prince Ginori-Conti removed this undesirable feature by piping the superheated steam to a boiler and using it to heat the boiler and generate steam which did not contain con-tain the Injurious salts and gases. Using the volcanic steam instead of fuel beneath an ordinary tubular boiler, he socured steam under a pressure of two atmospheres which he applied to a steam turbine connected con-nected to an electric generator and distributed the power to the city and outlying villages. So successful was the Bcheme that an extensive plant was planned and three turbo-electric turbo-electric generating units, each with a capacity of 3000 kilowats were Installed. In-stalled. A specially constructed group of boilers with aluminum flues to prevent the corrosive effects of the natural steam was erected in connection with them, and in January Janu-ary 1916. the first unit was started. Since that time all three units have been unt In operation and have given giv-en entire satisfaction thus proving the success of the scheme and opening open-ing up a new field for the use of natural resources made to furnish heat, light and power. |