File:Pacific Gas and Electric magazine (1912) (14597371109).jpg

Identifier: pacificgaselectr41913paci (find matches)
Title: Pacific Gas and Electric magazine
Year: 1909 (1900s)
Authors: Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Subjects: Pacific Gas and Electric Company Electric utilities Public utilities
Publisher: (San Francisco, Calif.) : Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
Contributing Library: San Francisco Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: San Francisco Public Library

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C. Lowe. The best preparation for a comprehensiveknowledge of water gas, is a careful studyof the principles of combustion. Water gas,sometimes called blue gas, because itburns with a non-lummous flame, is madeby the decomposition of steam in the pres-ence of incandescent carbon. To get carbon in this condition it is nec-essary to place some form of carbon, usuallyanthracite coal or coke, on a grate in asimple form of generator. This fuel is ig- is regulated and the fuel bed is deep, thetemperature of the carbon is raised and afurther reaction takes place. CO::+C=2CO.This is generator gas, and is commerciallycalled producer gas. This gas issuing from the top of thefuel bed is met by a secondary air blastand the CO is burned to CO- and the re-sultant heat is stored in the checker brick tobe used for vaporizing oil. The nitrogen in the air is inert and playsno active part in the heating process. Prof.Lowe aptly called nitrogen a thief ofheat. FIRST FORM OF LOWE WATER GAS APPARATUS 1875
Text Appearing After Image:
CCaCRATOB SOPEBHCATER SCRUBBEB nited and could be raised to the desired tem-perature by natural draft, but this wouldbe too slow. To economize time and energy, a forcedblast of air is applied to the fuel, the airentering below the grate. Air consisting ofoxygen and nitrogen impinges on the heatedsurface of carbon, and the oxygen uniteswith the carbon to form CO--. If theamount of air is excessive and the fuel bedis shallow, the reaction ends here and thefuel is burned to ash. but if the air supply The generator gas always contains asmall amount of hydrogen due to the mois-ture in the fuel, and to the use of steamunder the grate bars during the blowingperiod. A small amount of steam used inthis way increases the heating value of thegenerator gas, and at the same time protectsthe grate bars and prevents the formation ofclmker in the fuel bed. The incandescent carbon is now ready todissociate steam. During the blasting periodthe final products of combustion pass out 429 A* Pacific Servic

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