The Complete Gasification of Coal

Abstract

IT is well known that the percentage thermal efficiency of gas production from coal can be increased by gasifying the coke resulting from the high temperature carbonising process, and various processes and plants for effecting this conversion have long been available. Shortage of fuel supplies during the years of the War, and afterwards, resulted in the Board of Trade issuing instructions to gas companies to “stretch” their supplies of gas. The “stretching” process intended was to consist of a reduction of calorific power of the gas supply, accomplished by dilution of straight coal gas with either blue or carburetted water gas. The attention of the industry in all countries was, at the time, naturally directed towards increasing the efficiency of production of water gas and its efficient utilisation admixed with coal gas in a towns' gas supply. In England considerable work on these lines was done by George Helps, the “big noise “of Nuneaton.