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T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
Vol. 5 , No. 6
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LABORATORY AND PLANT THE USE OF NATURAL GAS IN STEAM BOILERS' B y GEORGEW. BARNES
This use of natural gas is possibly the earliest in the history of this most valuable, yet unti.1 recently least valued, fuel provided by nature. In many localities the supply was seemingly inexhaustible with the natural result that only cost of installation was considered and efficiency was never determinedEf even thought of, The introduction of this fuel into the commercial field did not, for years, suggest a reasonable valuation; millions of cubic feet were furnished daily to Pittsburgh and other localities, and sold to industrial plants for steam boiler use a t a flat rate per H. P. rating, no attention being given to the installation or the quantity used, this being left entirely to the consumer; in many localities, notably through the mid-continent field, this practice prevails to-day. As a result, types of burners and methods of installing were almost as numerous as the installations. Each engineer had his own opinion, seldom, if ever, based on either experience or knowledge of the use of gas or its application. A few of the novelties would not be credited to-day; for instance : I. Rows of Bunsen burners under the shell (Return Tubular Boiler) starting a t the front of fire box and spaced eighteen inches apart extending the full length of the boiler. 2. An open pipe flame in the fire box and a similar flame introduced a t the back and driven into the tubes, the result being a red-hot stack a t times of heavy load. The usual method of early installations was the perforated pipe burner introduced in various forms; this gave good results as a steam generator, but was extremely wasteful, some later tests showing an efficiency as low as twenty t o twenty-five per cent and few if any reaching fifty per cent. The first burner observed by the writer to be designed for this work by a well defined knowledge of the requirements was the "Whysall ;" this consisted of a series of well designed Bunsen tubes, built into the side walls of the fire box, the flames striking across the fire box, meeting a t the center where they were broken up ; any unconsumed carbon escaping the primary combustion was supplied with air admitted through the fire doors, making a practically perfect combustion of the gases before reaching the bridge wall. This type in various forms mas used for several years and good results were obtained. The type in use for the past ten or twelve years and one t h a t has best met the requirement of the many varied conditions is the tubular burner. This is made in several forms differing only in minor details, and in fact has become the standard for water tube and return tubular boilers. These burners are carefully designed and when properly installed give perfect results. In installing, care should be given to pipe and fittings, and ample capacity should be provided. 1 Paper presented at the Eighth International Congress of Applied Chemistry, New York, September, 1912. .
This should be sufficient to supply the gas to the burner a t a pressure of from three t o five ounces, allowing
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