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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.
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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
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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.
October, 1926
IrVDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHE-VIXTRY Function of the Coke Oven
I n short, there is an interdependence in power production between coal and water, such that the feasibility of power production on a large scale, as super-power or giant powerwith the reduction of costs and corresponding larger entrance into all activities of modern life-is tied up with economies which fall within the domain of the chemist. Here is where the coke oven comes into the limelight. Theoretically, a t least, it should increase the values recoverable from coal, reduce the cost of steam-electric power, put out of use some water powers, increase the value of others, stimulate water conservation, and furnish the key to unlock stored treasures both in coal and water. Let us picture an extensive bed of coal, low-grade, smoky, high-volatile, of little present use in arts and industry. If heated-baked or coked, not burned-it gives off gases, oils, tars, ammonia, and leaves coke, not good enough perhaps for making steel, but fairly useful as a fuel. At present there is no particular demand for these by-products in small quantities or at irregular times. I n great quantities, with steady production and with corresponding low costs, there might be a good market. There is no large river near the coal bed, but only intermittent streams, and the cost of securing adequate condensing water would be large It will not pay to haul the coal to water under ordinary circumstances. The intermittent streams, near their headwaters, may be gathered and the floods so destructive to the lowlands may be restrained by reservoirs. The necessary investment would hardly pay, either for flood protection alone or for water-power development. Here, then, are natural resources, each by itself of no particular value. ‘The engineer, the man of ingenuity, dreams of possibilities. It is a challenge to him and to his friend, the chemist. Bit by bit in consultation, in research, and in practice they are together working out these problems, the key to which lies in the by-products of the coke oven. Theoretically the problems have been solved, but practically they must be demonstrated by quantity production.
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nation is profitable. The unregulated secondary or practically worthless power from the water may become of great value in connection with the steam-power plant, the fuel for which costs practically nothing, because of the profits from the sale of gas, oils, or other by-products obtained from the otherwise practically worthless coals. It is this possibility of cheapening, to the vanishing point, the cost of fuel in power production which claims our attention today. Can it be done? If so, why is i t not being done? Is it because the cost of installation and the risks involved are so great that, as in the case of water for power (which in itself costs nothing), more and larger by-product plants are not being built:, Are the investors afraid of their ability to find profitable markets for the by-products, or are the processes and machinery evolving so rapidly that they must be replaced before they pay for themselves‘? These and other points have been touched upon by Dickerman,3 who discusses the pretreatment of bituminous coal, the way to cheaper power, and diversified values obtainable from the coals. He quotes Sir John Cadman, president of the British Institution of Mining Engineers, as stating: A very few years may see i t a penal offense t o burn raw coal in any of our towns.***While the popular view of coal is t h a t it is something to be burned, the scientific view is tending t o be precisely the opposite. It is t h a t coal is too valuable t o be burned, t h a t to burn it is to squander it, t h a t the by-products of coal (ammonium sulfate, benzol, creosote, tar, gas, and crude light oils) are of greater moment than the coal itself, and t h a t not until these by-products have been extracted, should the residuurns (i. e., the heat-producing constituents) be used.
Insull‘ writes “It suggests that expansion of the electrical, the gas, the coke, and the steel industries should go hand in hand to realize the best economic condition and the conservation of fuel and energy.” To solve the problem of low-temperature carbonization of fuel he says “the reward will be great.” “It seems to me safe to predict that ere long electricity supply companies and gas companies will produce electrical energy and gas, to say nothing of valuable by-products under the same roof, from one plant and from using one class of fuel.” There are still in use in the United States many of the old P r a c t i c a l Problems beehive coke ovens, wasting into the air all the aboveThe main outline of the theory is easily understood. named by-products. The excuse is that the cost of recovery is too great in comparison to the values or that a better Take a coal bed or a series of beds today almost valuelessthe coal too smoky, too friable, or too firey to stand ship- quality of coke is produced for steel manufacture. Most ment or otherwise inferior from the market standpoint. of these old-time ovens have been replaced by more modern Assume that such a bed is capable of furnishing 10,000 devices by which many of the by-products are recovered; tons a day for fifty years. This coal may be mined at a but in the design and operation of these chief attention is steady rate every day, using mechanical methods and given to the demands of the steel manufacturer and his securing economies of steady quantity production. The requirements regarding the quality of the coke. High coal is not burned raw-that is, as it comes from the mines, temperatures are used and the quantity of by-products it is pretreated. The gas is put into pipes leading to nearby is relatively not large. The next step along this line of evolution is the true industry or rities. The oils are saved for motor fuels or for or low-temperature coke oven which allows by-product other suitable purposes. The ammonias are put into fertilizers and the tars are saved for chemical industries. The the recovery of the maximum amount of by-products.6 coke and unsalable material is burned for power, sent out This is still not very far from the experimental stage, but is by wire. With quantity production and steady output making its way under favorable conditions. Its ultimate commercial success appears to depend upon large-scale the market may be assured for each by-product, But to sell power to best advantage it is necessary not quantity production and marketing. Hence it is quite to provide a steady output, but to be prepared to meet the in accord with precedent that it should be taken up by the daily fluctuation in demand, to supply the peak load at exponent of quantity production, Henry Ford. While 2 P . M . and not have too much for the corresponding de- the full result8 have not been made public, enough is known pression a t 2 A . M . Here is one place where water conser- or assumed from experience here and in Great Bri+ainand vation enters. The floods, the cost of storage of which would Germany to be confident that chemists, chemical engiotherwise be prohibitive, can be regulated. The water neers, and business men will overcome the difficulties as * Report of Giant Power Board to Pennsylvania Legislature, February, stored behind dams in the upland valleys can be drawn upon a t any moment to furnish power to carry these peak 1925, p. 9 9 , and Appendix C ,I X , p. 372 4 N a f l . Flectrrc I.ieht Assoc B u l l . June, 1926, p. S56. loads. Alone this water would not be worth the cost of 5 Brooks, Combustion, January, 192C. p 4 7 , February, 1926, p 107, development. Joined with fuel-burning plants, the combi- March and April, 1926, p 241, also May, 1926, e t r
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they arise and will not only bring about the use of widely distributed and now practically valueless low-grade or smoky coals, but will recover the by-products. Rrooks estimates that each ton of bituminous coal may yield from 20 to 30 gallons of crude oil, 2.5 gallons of crude motor spirits, 10 pounds of ammonium sulfate, 3000 to 4000 cubic feet of gas or 800 to 1OOOB. t. u., and 1500 pounds of coke, and asserts that the by-products from the half billion tons of bituminous coal now wastefully burned would, if recovered, have a value greater than the most productive coal mine in the country. Meaning of L‘Super-Power” and “Giant Power”
The terms super-power or giant power have been used more or less interchangeably. There is, however, a radical difference in their significance. In super-power we have the conception of joining together, a t their boundaries, several individual “principalities” or domains in which each electric corporation is supreme in its monopoly of power transmission and sale. This joining together is for the purpose of greater efficiency and increased profits. It should result in lower costs to the consumers, but it does not necessarily change or improve the local individual characteristics. Giant power, on the contrary, contemplates the development and adoption of a well-considered plan and the organization of a wide territory regardless of the personal peculiarities of these individual ‘Lprincipalities”
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which have been set up in a more or less haphazard manner. Giant power may be compared to the planning and building of a transcontinental railway, constructed with reference to the largest and best needs of all of the people, while superpower is more nearly comparable to the linking together of small existing railroad systems, each built originally to meet some immediate need and with little reference to the economics of a large comprehensive system. In advocating the principles of giant power the thought has been to plan in advance a large and comprehensive power system which will utilize the natural resources in the coals and their by-products, and also bring in the water powers, looking ahead to the ultimate need of the people, and with first consideration of the widest possible service to the homes and farms, as well as to industry. Conclusion
The ultimate vision in all of this is that of the correlation of all of these chemical and mechanical operations in handling our fuel resources in cooperation with a better control of our waters-with necessary solution of political obstaclesall leading to the cheapening of the cost of electric power. This must naturally be followed by its wider use in the factories, in transportation, and particularly in the homes of the people, providing them with tireless servants, lightening their drudgery and adding to their comfort and prosperity.
Trends in Power Development with Special Reference to Mineral Fuels’” By A. C. Fieldner’ PITTSBURGH EXPERIMENT STATION, BUREAU OF MINES,PITTSBURGH, PA.
RESENT-DAY trends in power development are most manifest in two directions : (1) centralization of power production with distant transmission and great subdivision in use by municipalities, railways, industrial establishments, and for other needs of the community; and (2) great subdivision of power production by small, light internal combustion engines generally using liquid fuels. The small steam-power plant a t factories, except where exhaust steam is required for heating or processing purposes, is being replaced by electric motors operating on purchased power, and the internal combustion engine has replaced the horse almost completely for vehicular power. The small gasoline engine has become standard equipment for farm-lighting and power purposes, and has permitted a tremendous development of automotive transportation that has exercised a profound economic influence in the United States.
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Great Subdivision of Power Is Outstanding Trend
The outstanding feature of the present trend is the great subdivision of power. Whether obtained from an electrical transmission system or from liquid fuel, power may be
* Presented at the Round Table 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 3, 1926. * Published with the approval of the Director, U. S. Bureau of Mines. 8 Chief chemist, U.S. Bureau of Mines, and superintendent, Pittsburgh Experiment Station.
had conveniently, cheaply, and in flexible form for almost any purpose and in units as small as desired. This subdivision of power is destined to produce further profound economic effects. It may even cause a return in some degree to the small home industries that prevailed before Watt’s engine brought about the present factory system. For example, the electric refrigerator is now displacing the large central ice plant in furnishing cleaner and more convenient cooling service in the individual home. Electrical laundry appliances permit practically all of the power conveniences of the large central laundry to be applied in the home. Electrical power may be had not only within the reach of the distributing lines of the great central station, but also a t remote country places through the use of the liquid-fuel engine in small direct-connected electric current generating plants which require almost no attention while in operation. The common use of the gasoline engine for automotive transportation and miscellaneous power purposes, combined with the distribution of electrical power from large central stations, has made it unnecessary for industries to cluster around the source of power. European industries never were centralized to the extent that took place in the United States. Now, however, a definite trend toward the scattering of industrial plants in smaller cities and even villages has started in the United States. This decentralizing trend should promote more healthful and enjoyable working and living conditions than are possible in the large congested city.
