October, 1926
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The Relation of Chemistry to the Development of Power’ By R. T. Has1am2 MASSACBUSBKS INS’I’xTWTs
08
TBCENOLOW, CAMBRXDGZ, MASS.
N T H E United States, one of the foremost industrial
I
nations of all history, dependent a t every turn for electrical or mechanical power, 95 per cent of all this energy is released and made available through a chemical process, combustion. The importance of chemistry in the field of power development is realized seldom by chemists, infrequently by the engineer, and almost never by the general public. This is largely due to the almost limitless resources of all kinds of fuels which were originally here in America. With the depletion of some of the choicest portions and with increasing costs of all fuels, but more especially with our growing dependence on fuel, making a temporary or permanent failure of supply partake the nature of a catastrophe, all this is changing. Today we have an ever increasing weight of evidence that the importance of chemistry to power production is being realized not only by the engineer, but by the public as well. As examples we have on the one hand an editorial in a coal trade journal stating that chemical and physical research is the root and foundation of the coal industry, and on the other a feature article by a chemist in the London Morning Post giving to the public a report of progress in fuel research of a chemical nature. Such appreciation is proper because the future will show an even greater dependence of fuel supply and power from fuels, on chemistry. Today power is no abstract thing of interest to engineers and scientists only. Its use is so interwoven into our family life that anything dealing with power is vital to every one. Power for manufacturing and lighting our homes has, of course, been a well-recognized thing for a long time. The other uses of power in the home are not so quickly remembered, largely because the units using the power are so reliable and free from trouble. However, it has been estimated that the next few years will see installed in each home, on the average, at least five small electric motors all using power derived mainly from the release of chemical energy. Considering the widespread use of electric washing machines, ironers, vacuum cleaners, iceless refrigerators, electric dish washers, the electric fan! and the electrically driven oil burner, the estimate indeed already seems low. The uses to which we put chemically generated energy expand daily. The increased power that is being used in our manufacturing industries is the secret of our national prosperity. The effectiveness of human labor can be greatly enhanced and multiplied only when such labor directs and uses large quantities of power. I n this way only can the number of persons needed for the production of the necessities of life be decreased, thus releasing others for the production of the refinements and luxuries. I t is said that in China, where the power developed per capita is low, eighty-five workers out of each one hundred are needed for the production of the necessities of life, leaving only fifteen workers free to produce those articles of commerce which make for a higher standard of living. In the United States, with a high ratio of developed power per capita, almost 1 Presented at the conference on “The Role of Chemistry in the World’s Future Affairs” at the sixth session of the Institute of Politics, Williamstown, Mass., August 2, 1926. 1 Professor of Chemical Engineering, in charge of Fuel and Gas Engineering.
the exact opposite is true-namely, that by the aid of power, largely chemically produced, fifteen workers make the necessities for the hundred, leaving eighty-five available for the production of luxuries such as the automobile, the radio, and silk stockings. An inspection trip through any modern factory readily shows the multiplication power of applied energy. With this in mind it is gratifying and encouraging to note some specific examples. During a ten-year interval, in which progress was partly hindered by the World War, the power consumed per worker in the production of glass increased 50 per cent. I n the manufacture of cement there was a 38 per cent increase in power used per worker in the industry, leather 25 per cent, automobiles 37 per cent, silk goods 40 per cent, men’s clothing 47 per cent, and lime 133 per cent. This increased use of power per worker all along the line of American industry stands out so clearly that even “he who runs may read” the secret of our prosperity. The improvement in the economic conditions for mankind depends largely on utilizing properly Nature’s supplies and sources of energy. The question under discussion is therefore vital to the labor world because it offers the only true and lasting method by which the condition of labor can be improved. Labor leaders may well give special attention to the significant fact that here in the United States, where the utilization of power is greatest, laborers have more luxuries than those of any other country. The fact that the United States has more than one automobile to each six inhabitants, while Europe has about one auto to each fortyfive people is due, not only to our great supplies of gasoline, but also to the great prosperity brought about by our widespread use of power. The United States is particularly fortunate in possessing cheap and abundant fuel for the building and operation of railroads and autos. Otherwise, without such annihilation of distance and encouragement to travel and intercourse among the people of different sections of the country, our nation might not have the homogeneity of thought necessary to keep us a single, great country. Sources of Energy and Its Uses
Let us take a very general survey of the sources of our energy and the main uses to which it is put. As just stated, 95 per cent of all our energy is liberated by a chemical process, combustion; that is to say, 95 per cent of all our energy comes from the mineral fuels, coal, oil, and natural gas. The balance, 5 per cent, comes from water power. It is the mineral fuels with which we are a t this moment concerned. About 5 per cent of the energy from mineral fuels is derived from natural gas, which is largely used for the production of heat, carbon black, and casinghead or natural gasoline, a most important blending agent for the oil refiner. Oil, or petroleum, contributes about 23 per cent of the energy from mineral fuels. Roughly, 5 per cent of all our petroleum is used to produce lubricants invaluable to all industry and particularly to the automobile; 8 per cent goes into kerosene and is used for domestic lighting and heating; 37 per cent into gasoline without which our autos and our gigantic automobile industry would be helpless; and the
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balance, 50 per cent, is gas oil and fuel oil, used for the production of gas in all our larger cities and for steamraising in the power plants of industry. However, our main source of energy is coal, both bituminous and anthracite, and this constitutes 72 per cent of the energy obtained from the mineral fuels. A very brief glance a t the uses to which it, is put, as given in the accompanying chart, shows how vital coal is to our national life. These data are only approximate but will give a general picture regarding our supplies of energy.
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dwindling supply of gasoline. Numerous other examples might be cited, but these are sufficient to show the interlocking character of our present-day production and consumption of fuel. The question may naturally be asked-Have we sufficient stored-up mineral fuels to supply the ever increasing demand? It is not within our immediate province to go into this question thoroughly. All seem to agree, however, that we have large quantities of bituminous and similar grades of coal sufficient to last for many thousands of years,
Sources of Energy and Its Utilization
1
Natural gas 5%
Heating Carbon black Casinghead
Petroleum 23%
Lubricants 5% Kerosene 8% Gasoline 37% Gas and fuel oil 50%
Mineral fuels 95%
1 Coal 72%
Those industries which are essentially chemical in character are large consumers of fuel and power. Industries which are concerned with changes in composition or properties of their raw material are essentially chemical. The manufacture of clay ware, glass, cement, coke, coal gas, petroleum products, pig iron, refined sugar, paper and wood pulp are examples of chemical industries that are large consumers of power and fuel. Those industries dealing with a change in shape or form of their raw materials are essentially mechanical. Foundry and machine shops, automobile manufacturing, cotton manufacturing, iron and steel rolling mills are all examples of what may be called the mechanical industries. It is seldom recognized that, based on this classification, the chemical industries consume over twice as much fuel and power as the mechanical industries. All have recognized the essential character of the chemical industry, but such a comparison emphasizes their immensity, scope, and the intimacy that must exist between chemistry, fuels, and power.
The Liquid Fuel Problem I n discussing power and the fuel required to produce it,
it is also essential to consider the fuel required for the production of heat or in manufacturing where fuel is used otherwise than for power production. It is necessary that our supplies of fuel be adequate for all purposes and one branch of industry often processes and produces fuel of enhanced value for another branch. The necessity for looking at the fuel situation in its entirety and n t merely as a raw m:iterial for power is being emphasized daily. This inter-relationship becomes obvious when, for example, we consider that the increase in the number of automobiles threatens to disturb seriously an important raw material for the production of city gas and that, on the other hand, the city gas plant or some of its processes, as we shall see later, may in the future secure the automobile from the
1
1
Anthracite 16%
1
Bituminous 84%
I i
Public utilities Metallurgical coke Domestic use Railroads Industrial steam ( Miscellaneous
6y0
13y0 17% 25%
3Oy0 9%
although it is also admitted that many of our best and most available coal seams are being depleted rather rapidly. A l r e d y chemists are taking time by the forelock and are pursuing investigations looking into the best methods of utilizing these lower grade soft coals, so that there is no doubt that when the need for using them on a comprehensive scale shall arise the problem will have been solved. Oil, petroleum, and natural gas supplies are differently situated. I n the first place it is possible to drill and survey a coal area, know quite accurately the extent of the deposits, and then leave them. Under our present economic system the contrary is true with oil; we are neither so sure of the extent of the supply nor can that supply be left there for the future. This touches a topic on which there has been much discussion and it is sufficient for us a t the moment merely to appreciate that, from the very nature of things, our future assured oil and natural gas supply will be small and the total available in the future doubtful. Considering all the figures available, calculations show that our oil supply may last anywhere from ten to seventy-five years, an exceptionally brief period for such an important material. Figures and calculations, however, do not tell the entire story of our oil supplies, and while we may have faith in the future it is the part of wisdom to have other sources available. T h e r e fore, we are forced back to coal as the basic reserve of stored energy for our future power production. But what of the supply of gasoline for our automobiles and motor transport, and fuel oil for ships? The answer to this question is the greatest chemical problem in the production of power. Nature left us an abundant supply of soiid fuel, but our civilization has built up an enormous demand for liquid fuel. The problem, therefore, is one of converting our solid fuel, coal and lignite, over into gasoline and fuel oil, a problem essentially chemical. It is, moreover, a problem that will be attacked by chemists vigorously and with enthusiam
October, 1926
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
because, after all, in the entire field of fuel supply and the generation of power from fuel there has been no branch in which chemistry has played a more important role than in the conversion of fuel of one form over into that of another. The work of the chemist in converting solid and liquid fuels into gas was so well done that the gas industry has become a tremendous factor in all our larger cities. In supplying us with oil, Kature gave us a fuel utterly unsuited to the automotive engine, but chemistry has separated this oil into portions-gasoline, kerosene, gas oil, fuel oil, and lubricating oil-each well suited for its own purpose. When the great increase in the number of automobiles called for a greater supply of gasoline than was to be found in the crude oil, the supply was augmented by a change in form from a heavy, high-boiling liquid to a light, low-boiling one, by means of a chemical process, cracking. Cracking is, of course, nothing but the thermal decomposition of the heavier fractions of the oil, under controlled conditions, into lighter ones. By this process our supply of gasoline has been doubled. but only a t the expense of the heavier fractions gas and fuel oil. Cracking does not increase our total supply of liquid fuels; rather it decreases it slightly by converting a small amount of liquid fuel into gas. Methods for Conversion of Coal into Oil
What is the situation with respect to increasing our liquid fuel supplies by the conversion of coal into oil? Work along this line has recently taken remarkable strides, particularly in Europe, where through the economic force of a deficiency in oil supply their chemists have already been obliged to undertake work on this problem. Even in the United States, the greatest oil-producing nation in the world, a start in the solution of this problem has been made. There are four main processes which may be considered in converting our solid fuels, coal and shale, into liquid fuel oil. They are: (1) .The partial conversion of coal with a relatively small increase in the supply of oil by the low-temperature carbonization of caal. (2). The almost complete conversion of coal to oil by the Bergius hydrogenation process. ( 3 ) The conversion of coal into gas and the transformation of the gas into oil by the processes put forward primarily by Franz Fischer, of Mulheim-Ruhr, Germany. (4) The distillation, or rather cracking, of the immense deposits of oil shale.
Low-Temperature Carbonization Low-temperature distillation of coal is attractive inasmuch as coal that is being produced for other requirements may be specially processed so as to yield a supply of fuel oil. If necessary this fuel oil can, of course, be converted to gasoline by cracking. From the standpoint of supplying oil this process has the objection that only a small portion 01 the coal is converted to oil, leaving the residues to be consumed in other ways. At most, only 12 per cent of the original coal appears as oil, and if all of our public utilities (the class of coal consumers by whom this process can be most readily adopted) carbonized their coal prior to burning it under the boilers, there would be an increase in our liquid fuel supply of less than 6 per cent. Furthermore, the oil so produced would not be equivalent to gasoline but would have a value about equal to that of a low-grade crude oil. Although not suitable as a potential process for the major supply of liquid fuel, such a process offers very real possibilities to the public-service electric company. Coal which is to be burned under the boilers may be carbonized at low temperature to save the oil, tar, and gas. I n addition to the oil and tar, having a value about equal to crude oil, the gas may be sold to the local gas company. Gas from
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the low-temperature carbonization of coal, having quite a high heat content (800 to 1000 B. t. u. per cubic foot) is particularly valuable to the gas company since it replaces gas oil, a product that is being taken more and more as a raw material for the production of gasoline by cracking. hlthough not suited for the main supply of liquid fuel, we may look upon low-temperature carbonization of coal, a chemical process, as a means whereby our supply of liquid fuel may be augmented, the gas works protected against a dwindling supply of gas oil, with a resultant decrease in the cost of power from raw coal. Bergius Process Turning next to the Bergius process we find quite a different situation. This process consists in treating finely divided coal, suspended in an oil, with hydrogen under high pressure (1800 pounds per square inch), a t a temperature of 450' C. The coal is largely converted into an oil, although some gas is formed and a small amount of residue remains unconverted. This process is an elaboration of the low-temperature carbonization of coal, using hydrogen, however, to prevent the cracking and polymerization of the heavy molecules of coal, thus facilitating the formation of the lighter weight (liquid) hydrocarbons. Although all coals from high-grade bituminous to lignites and semicokes, as well as tar, asphalts, etc., have been converted to oil by this means, the Bergius process is more particularly suited for the conversion into oil of the poorer grades of coal such as lignites. Already there is one small plant in Germany using this process. From the standpoint of the production of oil there is a fundamental difference between the Bergius process and low-temperature carbonization-and that is, the Bergius process converts practically all the coal into oil. The character of the oil depends on the coal used and conditions of conversion, but already the oil produced has yielded 30 per cent of gasoline, 30 per cent of a heavier oil suitable for Diesel engines, and 30 per cent of heavy fuel oil suitable for steam raising, for use as a bunker fuel, or for cracking into the lighter gasoline fractions. It should be recognized that this process is not yet on a commercially paying basis, but its development has been very rapid the last few years. It is of particular interest since it is a process for the direct and almost complete conversion of solid fuel to oil suitable for automotive and Diesel engines.
Fischer's Processes Although working along different lines, Franz Fischer, of Germany, and others are seeking the same ends, the conversion of coal to oil. I n this case, however, the coal is first gasified by the well-known water-gas process and the water gas, in turn, converted to light oils or gasoline. This conversion is accomplished by passing the purified gas over oxides of various metals such as cobalt, iron, and chromium. These oxides are not consumed in the process but merely act as accelerators of the conversion. Rapid progress along these lines is being made. Only a year ago this process required the compression of the gas to 3000 pounds per square inch before passing it over the accelerating oxides. Today the conversion, on a laboratory scale, has been accomplished without this compression, thus materially reducing the cost and making the process much more feasible from the commercial standpoint. Like the Bergius process, this process also converts completely all the coal into oil without leaving a residue, such as coke, to be disposed of. The disadvantage of the intermediate step, the conversion of coal into purified gas, in this process as compared with the Bergius process is at least partially offset by the fact that the product formed is lighter and
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more readily available as a motor fuel. Such a process should not, a t least a t present, be looked upon as a competitor of natural, flush petroleum, since the cost of materials and conversion is higher than the present selling price of gasoline. However, the famous forecast of “dollar gasoline” made in the United States Senate three years ago has been put into the discard by this process.
Distillation of Oil Shale I n considering the extension of our liquid fuel supply by the conversion of solid fuel to oil it is necessary to examine the production of oil from shale as well. This process is comparable in method and product to the low-temperature distillation of coal. I n distilling shale not quite twice as much oil is produced-i. e., about 40 to 45 gallons per ton of shale as compared with 20 to 30 gallons per ton of coal carbonized a t low temperatures. In both cases the quality of the oil produced necessitates refining and therefore the product may be likened to a crude oil. In distilling coal the residue, coke, has a considerable value while the residue from shale distillation is worthless. The economic success of shale distillation will depend, therefore, on obtaining the shale a t a much lower cost than coal. Importance of Problem The successful completion of the probIem of converting coal to oil will have a far-reaching political, as well as industrial, effect. It has been stated that oil is the principal present-day international irritant and that the future peace of the world hinges, to a large degree, on the satisfactory solution of the petroleum supply problem. The indications are that this is true. If so, by making liquid fuel available to all nations having supplies of coal, the accomplishments of the W t h estate,” as A. D. Little calls chemists and physicists, will have again profoundly influenced world affairs. It is probably safe to say that the solution of this problem will have more influence on world peace than any disarmament conference yet held. Energy Transformation a Chemical Problem The problem of providing fuel in the proper form is not the only one confronting industry that is being aided by chemistry. I n addition, there are many others in the fields of fuel utilization and power generation in the solution of which chemistry is a vital factor. The power problem is not the same in all nations. Some, Norway for example, have abundant water power but limited industrial development. Such nations are forced to the utilization of energy chemically, and the problem of satisfactorily converting electrical energy into chemical energy is of the greatest importance. Better methods and the development of products having a wider market are the lines along which chemistry may be most useful in these countries. In view of the importance of iron and steel, the economical smelting of iron ores by electrical energy would be of the greatest value. Italy, however, has little coal but abundant water power. With her large population this power in Italy should be utilized for general manufacturing rather than chemically, thus furnishing the people widely with increased earning power. The same reasoning leads to the conclusion that, here in the United States, the energy from Niagara and Muscle Shoals should be used a t its source as far as possible for general manufacturing and then in the production of chemical products requiring large blocks of power rather than transporting it long distances to be used in competition with steamgenerated power. I n countries rich in coal, such as the United States, the main problem is quite the.reverse from that in Norwaynamely, the conversion of chemical energy bound up in coal
Vol. 18, No. 10
into electrical or mechanical power. To date, the efficiency with which this conversion is made, even in the most modern boiler house and power plant, is rarely over 25 per cent. Any process along the lines used a t present will, in all probability, operate a t an efficiency of less than 50 per cent. AS big an advance as this is over our present practice, it is unthinkable that scientists should be content with such a low efficiency from the conversion of chemical into electrical energy, when the reverse process, the conversion of electrical energy into chemical, may be made almost quantitative. It will be noted that the major method hitherto developed for the conversion of the energy content of fuel into power has been the liberation of the chemical energy in the fuel, followed by the mechanical conversion of heat into power. For over iifteen years, however, the chemist has known that it is theoretically possible to convert over 95 per cent of the heat energy of coal into mechanical or electrical energy provided satisfactory methods of conversion be employed. If Nature had given us our stored-up energy in the form of metallic iron, zinc, or similar metals instead of in the form of coal, this high-efficiency, direct conversion would be a very simple thing. Thus, the ordinary sal ammoniac cell “burns” zinc to give electrical energy directly a t a n exceedingly high conversion efficiency. Iron or similar metals can also be oxidized, using the oxygen in the air as the oxidizing agent, with the conversion of its chemical energy into electrical form readily and effectively. Theoretically, there is no reason why carbon could not be burned in an electrochemical cell in the same way. If, now, anyone could develop a cell which would burn carbon a t a reasonable rate under conditions comparable with the oxidation of zinc in the sal ammoniac batteries, the greatest difficulty in the solution of the problem would have been overcome. Cells of this type have been constructed and operated but, up to the present, mechanical and chemical difficulties encountered have not been overcome to an extent necessary to make these cells industrially practicable. There can be no doubt but that the future will see developments of interest and importance along some such a line as this. It seems likely that we shall have to use relatively pure carbon rather than the compounds of hydrogen and carbon which we have in coal; that is, it will probably be necessary to coke the coal, use coke electrochemically, and the by-products and gas for other suitable purposes. The point to keep in mind is that this whole method of energy transformation is chemical in character and that it offers the potentiality of practically doubling the maximum energy efficiency of power generation heretofore considered possible. I n fact, this method accomplishes the ultimate in efficiency. Furthermore, it has the promise of doing this without inordinate investment expense. Indeed, there is the possibility that the investment may actually be decreased. Power Production a t the Mine
A fielu in which much less development work is needed is the production of power a t the mine mouth and distributing the electricity thus produced at high voltages, thus saving freight charges on coal. One of the serious obstacles to such a development is the lack of sufficient condensing water. It is not usually appreciated by the public that a modern super-power plant requires a t least 500 tons of condensing water per ton of coal consumed. I n putting to one side, for this reason, the usual type of condensing power plant, one naturally thinks of the gas engine, which, compared with the quantities first mentioned, requires practically no continuous supply of cooling water. However, producer gas from soft coal has not been very success-
October, 1926
INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
ful if used in gas engines, owing to the difficulties encountered with tar. A possible solution to the problem of producing power a t the mine mouth, in which chemistry would play a leading part, would be the carbonization of the coal with the recovery of by-products, the gasification of the coke, and the use of tar-free gas thus produced in gas engines. European gas-engine practice, with heat interchangers and air purging, has greatly improved the performance of this type of power generation, and by linking such power stations with a super-power system, thus raising the load factor, this process may prove feasible. With a thermal efficiency about equal to that of the best power plants of today, the main question is whether or not the decrease in cost of fuel and the recovery of by-products will offset the increase in fixed charges on the added equipment. The production of power a t the mine mouth will reduce the amount of coal that must be held in storage. Under present conditions, however, coal storage is of utmost importance to the producer of power, to the railroads, and to the coal-mining industry itself. Storage of many of our most widely used bituminous coals has been accompanied by the danger of spontaneous combustion. With some coals this trouble has been very acute. I n studying the causes of spontaneous combustion, the factors influencing it, and the methods of prevention, chemists have rendered invaluable service to the entire fuel and power industry. Chemistry Finds New Energy Conversion Methods
In the conversion of heat into electrical and mechanical energy, chemistry in the future will play a part of continually increasing importance. To date, this conversion has been accomplished either by the Diesel or gasoline engine on the one hand or else by the generation of steam and its expansion through a n engine or turbine on the other. Such processes have seldom been able to convert more than one-quarter of the total heat energy consumed into electrical or mechanical power. However, a development of recent pears points out the way in which important improvements may be made and the complete possibilities in this new field will be realized only by the full utilization of chemistry. At Hartford, Conn., pioneering efforts are being made in power generation by first producing mercury vapor under moderate pressures, passing these vapors through a turbine and extracting power, condensing the mercury under such conditions that steam a t ordinary pressure is generated, from which additional power is extracted by means of the usual type of steam turbine. This two-fluid process, in general, has the possibilities not only of generating power with less fuel consumption but also cheaper as well. Such a process may, in the future, convert almost double the amount of heat to electrical or mechanical power as the gas engine or steam turbine. An efficiency of 44 per cent has been mentioned as being possible in the Hartford installation. Relatively little work has been done in exploring the realm of chemistry for satisfactory materials for such a process. The use of ever present water as a boiler fluid has been generally assumed to be final until recently. Now mercury has entered the field and a new start has been made which, if successful, will call on chemistry to supply the new materials and to carry on the advance. One of the principal difficulties in the way t o the wide adoption of the mercury-steam process is the supply of mercury. Whenever the supply of any material is inadequate, chemistry must be called upon and in this case, as in so many others in the past, we will not find it lacking. Increase of Power Efficiency Our main efforts to reduce the cost of power, however, have extended in two directions-first, the continued in-
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crease in the temperature and pressure of the steam; and second, the increased intensity with which our boiler furnaces have been pushed. Both of these developments have put a severe burden on the materials of construction used. Already the chemist has contributed greatly to the success of these efforts by providing better high-temperature steels, special alloys for high-pressure valves, and refractories capable of standing the highest temperatures. The demands of the immediate future call for still greater improvements in developing metals and alloys for this work. By developing proper specifications and tests, chemistry aids the production of power even before the coal is purchased, and this help continues until the energy is finally used in our various industries. On arrival a t the plant the coal must be analyzed to see that it is up to standard and suitable for the particular equipment employed. The water used in the boiler must be looked into and if necessary must be chemically treated to remove the scale-forming constituents. Combustion, a chemical process, is subject only to chemical control (by the analysis of the stack gases) and without such control high furnace efficiencies are impossible. This is recognized in all the large plants, but the smaller power plants often neglect it. It is conservative to say, however, that where such chemical control of combustion is not now used its installation will reduce the coal consumption a t least 10 per cent. Considering the small cost of accomplishing this saving, the return on the investment is very substantial. Even after the steam is generated, chemistry by developing satisfactory heat insulation and lubricants has done much to conserve the energy generated. If steam pipes were not covered with this insulation, the value of the heat lost would be between $150,000,000 and $200,000,000 each year. In the production of satisfactory lubricants, chemistry has played an extremely important part, their total value to the power industry being incalculable. Development of Automotive Power
Turning for a moment from the development of power industrially to the generation of power in the automobile, let us look a t the work of chemistry in this branch of power development. We have already seen the importance of chemistry in supplying a satisfactory fuel in quantities sufEcient for this rapidly expanding industry. I n the efficient utilization of gasoline its idluence has been equally marked. It is well recognized that increased efficiency in the gasoline engine is attainable by increasing the compression of the gasoline-air mixture prior to the explosion. However, the limiting factor to this increase is the tendency of the fuel to detonate rather than to burn quietly, thus causing it to knock. Extensive chemical researches demonstrated that this tendency to detonate could be greatly reduced by the addition of such chemical compounds as aniline, iron carbonyl, and tetraethyl lead. Owing to this increased efficiency without knocking, thus made possible, automobile engines are being made smaller and operate a t higher speed. Reduced engine weight greatly affects the entire design of the chassis. Thus, this development not only saves fuel but it is having, as well, a marked effect on the design of the engine and car. Sometimes, as a result of the vast ramifications of our civilization, we all fail to realize the significance of a technical development such as this. It is safe to say that the development and introduction of anti-detonating compounds such as tetraethyl lead will permit the saving of 40 per cent of our gasoline. With our huge consumption of gasoline, probably over 11 billion gallons this year, this chemical development undoubtedly means a saving to the country
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of over $800,000,000 yearly, or enough to pay the interest on the entire national debt of the United States. Thus at one stroke chemistry takes the front rank in promoting national economy. As a further result of the development of anti-detonants, progress has been made chemically in producing grades of gasoline capable of withstanding higher initial compression, and mechanically in designing the internal combustion chamber and piston. All this is of extreme importance and undoubtedly the automobile engine of the future, thus improved in design and using a more advantageous gasoline, will operate a t efficiencies not now considered probable.
Vol. 18, No. 10
Conclusion In considering the relation of chemistry to the development of power we have seen its importance in every phase from the supply of fuel to conserving the energy generated so that it may be dissipated only in doing useful work. In no aspect of the whole situation is the application of chemistry more essential than in changing and improving the properties and forms of our basic fuels so as to make them more serviceable and efficient. Even in the generation of power, the most mechanical phase of the whole process, we have seen that chemistry must be looked to more and more if we are to cease wasting three-quarters of all fuel mined even before the power produced leaves the generating station.
Relation of By-Product Coke Ovens to SuperPower Development‘ By F. H. Newel12 THE RESEARCH SERVICE,WASHINGTON. D. C.
IVING headlong into the subject of by-product coke
D
ovens from the springboard of water conservation one finds a t the first splash that power development on a considerable scale, or in what we know as super-power or giant power, with cheapening of cost and wider use of power in industries, in transportation, and particularly in the homes of all the people, is largely dependent upon the ability to produce enough water a t reasonable cost a t the right time or all the time. Moreover, this reasonable cost is linked up with fuel costs and the economies of the by-product coke ovens. This is the age of power, differing from all other ages since man first used tools, in the larger and increasing use of power; the present generation is getting away rapidly from dependence upon the muscular energy or the toil of animals or slaves. The modern slaves, the genii, summoned by rubbing Aladdin’s lamp (or pressing a button), are of steel, actuated by steam or electric force. To get this force we must have water, either for steam or for cooling or condensing purposes, or for water power. Water is everywhere-in the air and in our food. We are made up largely of water, and industrial undertakings as well as land values rest on water, its quantity, quality, temperature, and the ability to get it at minimum cost. It is the most important of minerals. No life is possible without it. An index to the degree of our civilization, or political evolution, is afforded by the recital of the extent of its conservation or economic use. Among these economics are those which come from the utilization of coal and its by-products from the coke oven. In the arid or western half of the United States men fight over water, the courts are overloaded with controversies over water. Men will be fairly honest in other matters, but no interested party can be trusted in quarrels over water. The conservation and use on any considerable scale overlaps state boundaries, runs into politics of the most intense kind, interstate or international. Thus, by the chain of events, everything which makes practicable water conservation on a large scale soon runs into politics. On the other extreme, the uses of water in the economics 1 Presented a t the conference on “The Role of Chemistry in the World’s Future Affairs” a t the sixth session of the Institute of Politics, Williamstown, Mass., August 2, 1926. 2 Formerly chief of the U. S. Reclamation Service.
of power production lead into chemistry and chemical engineering, linking these up with national policies and politics, as a t Rluscle Shoals, Chicago, Niagara, and St. Lawrence River. Field of Chemist in Water-Power Production
About 90 per cent of the power now in use comes from burning coal-that is, in releasing the fossil sunlight of past geologic ages. We are doing this in a most wasteful way, using up the best of our limited coal supply, getting from it, in power or light, only a small percentage of the energy stored up in this fuel. We are burning or destroying the greater part of the highly complicated organic matter in the coal, sending up the chimney vast quantities of otherwise valuable material, but which as smoke or soot is injurious to fabrics and to health. Less than 10 per cent of the electric power distributed to our homes and industries, and now so necessary to them, comes from falling water, or the so-called “white coal.” This “white coal” or river water, ever renewed, comes from the rain lifted by the sun from the ocean and dropped upon the highlands. Falling water in one sense costs nothing. In popular opinion every waterfall should be used and valuable coals correspondingly saved. But while the water may cost nothing the devices, the dams and canals, are very expensive, and the overhead, the interest charge, may amount to more than the saving in cost of fuel. Thus in the race for economy of costs sometimes the water power wins, but more often the coal-burning device through some improvement in boiler or engine. Every pound of coal saved in the production of a unit of energy or every valuable by-product recovered may mean a water power neglected or conserved. Thousands of small water-power plants throughout the country, for sawmills, gristmills, and factories, have been abandoned, simply because the needed power could be had in a cheaper, more satisfactory way by burning coal. The coal wins as the more economical source of power in proportion as we apply our knowledge of chemistry and mechanics. But even here the water may be of controlling importance because to secure coal economy there must be plenty of cold water, at least 400 pounds for every pound of coal, to condense the steam and get the most power out of it.
