THE DESTRUCTOR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 179, 24 April 1908, Page 8

THE DESTRUCTOR.

WORKING SATISFACTORILY,

WHAT IT DOES AND WHAT IT MIGHT

On his return yesterday from a. visit to Australia, Sir. T. C. Ormiston Chant found tho new destructor which lie, as engineer to Messrs. Heonan and Fronde, has installed for tho City Corporation, working very satisfactorily. A representative of The Dominion met him when ho had just finished a round of inspection with Mr. Anderson, who has been in charge during his absence. Mr. Chant stated that the destructor is taking all the City's refuse, and could actually do better work if it had more. The sixty or seventy tons of rubbish that are tipped into it.overy day only keep two units m action out of the three that .have been installed. Each unit, it may bo stated here, comprises three cells or combustion chambers. Rather Warm. Die temperature in these colls yesterday a tornoon was about 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, nero it only 1500, it would convert, all the refuse into harmless clinkor and non-poison-ous, non-odorous gases, but for tho production of first-class clinker, suitable for conoonrP n" t '. O W lOr purposes,. a temperature of _ijoo E. is required.- If siicli an enormous heat were maintained, however,-tho refuse now being brought in would not suffice to keep the, cells going night and day, and therefore it would be necessary to burn coal in connection : with the sewago pumping plant. \\ hat will probably be done will be to use only 0110 unit for the present and keep the temperature higher. May Li°ht Part of the City. _ Besides the pumping plant, tho dcstructor is • now working an clectric light installation for tho buildings, and the Corporation stables, and it heats the air before it reaches the cells and the water: (up to about 300 F.) for the boilers. At the present time 170 h.p. is being used constantly in connection with the heat generated by tho destructor, and this is very far from all that can be done. Mr. Chant says that a portion of tho City may bo supplied with electric light from tho same source of power. And all this from rubbish, for tho destructor burns 110 fuel, commonly so called. Tho fires arc started with the masses of paper that are sent for destruction. All the other destructors in Now Zealand use coal. The heat from one of tho units is now going to waste for want of suitable -employment. 1 Mr. .Chant stated' that 170 tons of refuse could be dealt with' by each .unit in a day,'instead of the 120 guaranteed. Ho hopes the City Engineer will bo ablo to devise more comprehensive methods of collecting rubbish in the City, so that tho destructor may cpmc a little nearer its full ciiiiacity.• Further Improvements. One or two minor -improvements in the plant aro being made. A truck running along tho ridgo of the dcstructor house roof has yet to bo connected with a downward truck, through: which, a-.-fan-will draw all smoko, vapour, and dust that rises in tho place, and drivo it into tho combustion cells. An additional steam main for cmcrgcncy purposes is being conducted to tho puniping plant. All tho parts -will then he in duplicato or triplicate, *so that thero will be 110 fear of a breakdown. A plant for crushing and sorting tho clinker will bo put.in, but tho Corporation has not, so far, ordered the proposed machinery for making paving flags. Mr. Chant added that tho destructor was made to b.st 30 years, and should be kept 111 good condition for'£so a vear at the outside. \ .