STARTLING FACTS IN GASMAKING.

Evening Star, Issue 3655, 9 November 1874, Page 3

STARTLING FACTS IN GASMAKING.

The ‘ Glasgow News’ comments as follows on Mr Malam’s new mode of manufacturing gas:— _ The visit of the North British Association of Gas Managers to this city will doubtless become a somev bat memorable event in the history of the manufacture of illuminating gas, if the very startling statements mado ‘ in the course of a discussion on a paper by Mr Malam, of Bnmfries, should turn out to be indisputable facts. Mr Malam has devised a system of distilling gascoal by which he can avail himself of very high temperatures, and thereby convert what would otherwise be liquid hydro-carbon compounds into permanent illuminating gas. Of course, by such an arrangement, he gets a less quantity of _ tarry matter, and what he does obtain is less rich iu what are generally termed the secondary or incidental products of the gas manufacture; that, however, is practically of little or no importance in a commercial point of view. The broad fact then comes to be, therefore, that this South-country gas engineer is able to lake from three or three and a-lialf to four thousand cubic feet of illuminating gas out of a ton of coal more than is extracted by any other system of carbonising coal that is in general practice among gy* managers. And let it be understood that the gas produced does not owe its increase in volume to any increase in the ordinary dilulents, such as carbonic acid, carbonic oxide, or hydrogen gas, for the illuminating power of the very complex product known as coal gas is in no way dimished. By his new system of working lie still gets 17-caudle gas from Newcastle gas-coal, and 28-candle gas from Scotch cannel-coal, while the actual yield of the marketable commodity is brought up to 11,000 cubic

feet per ton of raw mineral in die former case, and to nearly 15,000 cubic feet per ton in the latter. Already the Dumfries Gas-Light Company have begun to get the benefit of Mr Malam’s new system of carbonising. They hj ave certified within the last few days that previous to the reconstruction of their works according to the new system, in 1873, they had very great difficulty in furnishing a sufficient supply of gas in winter, whereas nothing of the kind was experienced during the past season, and, indeed, some of the “ benches” of retorts were not kindled at all. There was a saving of 986 tons of coal during the year, which was equal to 30 per cent., as compared with the previous year under the ordinary method of working. This saving has enabled them to declare their usual dividend, which otherwise, with the high price of coal, they could not have done.