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Gas-Engines and Producer-Gas Plants
A PRACTICE TREATISE SETTING FORTH THE PRINCIPLES OF GAS-ENGINES AND
PRODUCER DESIGN, THE SELECTION AND INSTALLATION OF AN ENGINE, CONDITIONS
OF PERFECT OPERATION, PRODUCER-GAS ENGINES AND THEIR POSSIBILITIES, THE
CARE OF GAS-ENGINES AND PRODUCER-GAS PLANTS, WITH A CHAPTER ON VOLATILE
HYDROCARBON AND OIL ENGINES
BY R. E. MATHOT, M.E.
Member of the Societe des Ingenieurs Civils de France, Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, Association des Ingenieurs de l'Ecole des Mines du
Hainaut of Brussels
TRANSLATED FROM ORIGINAL FRENCH MANUSCRIPT BY WALDEMAR B. KAEMPFFERT
WITH A PREFACE BY DUGALD CLERK, M. INST. C.E., F.C.S.
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
MUNN & COMPANY
OFFICE OF THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
361 BROADWAY
1905
PREFACE TO
"MATHOT'S GAS-ENGINES AND PRODUCER-GAS PLANTS"
BY
DUGALD CLERK, M. INST.C.E., F.C.S.
Mr. Mathot, the author of this interesting work, is a well-known Belgian
engineer, who has devoted himself to testing and reporting upon gas and
oil engines, gas producers and gas plants generally for many years past.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Mathot for many years, and have
inspected gas-engines with him. I have been much struck with the ability
and care which he has devoted to this subject. I know of no engineer
more competent to deal with the many minute points which occur in the
installation and running of gas and oil engines. I have read this book
with much interest and pleasure, and I consider that it deals
effectively and fully with all the principal detail points in the
installation, operation, and testing of these engines. I know of no work
which has gone so fully into the details of gas-engine installation and
up-keep. The work clearly points out all the matters which have to be
attended to in getting the best work from any gas-engine under the
varying circumstances of different installations and conditions. In my
view, the book is a most useful one, which deserves, and no doubt will
obtain, a wide public recognition.
DUGALD CLERK.
_March, 1905._
INTRODUCTION
The constantly increasing use of gas-engines in the last decade has led
to the invention of a great number of types, the operation and care of
which necessitate a special practical knowledge that is not exacted by
other motors, such as steam-engines.
Explosion-engines, driven by illuminating-gas, producer-gas, oil,
benzin, alcohol and the like, exact much more care in their operation
and adjustment than steam-engines. Indeed, steam-engines are regularly
subjected to comparatively low pressures. The temperature in the
cylinders, moreover, is moderate.
On the other hand, the explosion-motor is irregularly subjected to high
and low pressures. The temperature of the gases at the moment of
explosion is exceedingly high. It is consequently necessary to resort to
artificial means for cooling the cylinder; and the manner in which this
cooling is effected has a very great influence on the operation of the
motor. If the cooling be effected too rapidly, the quantity of gas
consumed is considerably increased; if the cooling be effected too
slowly, the motor parts will quickly deteriorate.
In order to reduce the gas consumption to a minimum, a matter which is
particularly important when the motor is driven by street-gas, the
explosive mixture is compressed before ignition. Only if all the parts
are built with joints absolutely gas-tight is it possible to obtain this
compression. The slightest leakage past the valves or around the piston
will sensibly increase the consumption.
The mixture should be exploded at the exact moment the piston starts on
its working stroke. If ignition occurs too soon or too late, the result
will be a marked diminution in the useful effect produced by the
expansion of the gas. All ignition devices are composed of delicate
parts, which cannot be too well cared for.
It follows from what has thus far been said that the causes of
perturbation are more numerous in a gas than in a steam engine; that
with a gas-engine, improper care will lead to a much greater increase in
consumption than with a steam-engine, and will cause a waste in power
which would hardly be appreciable in steam-engines, whether their joints
be tight or not.
It is the purpose of this manual to indicate the more elementary
precautions to be taken in the care of an engine operating under normal
conditions, and to explain how repairs should be made to remedy the
injuries caused by accidents. Engines which are of less than 200
horse-power and which are widely used in a small way will be primarily
considered. In another work the author will discuss more powerful
engines.
Before considering the choice, installation, and operation of a
gas-engine, it will be of interest to ascertain the relative cost of
different kinds of motive power. Disregarding special reasons which may
favor the one or the other method of generating power, the net cost per
horse-power hour will be considered in each case in order to show which
is the least expensive method of generating power in ordinary
circumstances.
R. E. MATHOT.
MARCH, 1905.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
MOTIVE POWER AND COST OF INSTALLATION 17
CHAPTER II
SELECTION OF AN ENGINE
The Otto Cycle.--The First Period.--The Second Period.--The Third
Period.--The Fourth Period.--Valve Mechanism.--Ignition.--
Incandescent Tubes.--Electric Ignition.--Electric Ignition by
Battery and Induction-Coil.--Ignition by Magnetos.--The Piston.--
Arrangement of the Cylinder.--The Frame.--Fly-Wheels.--Straight
and Curved Spoke Fly-Wheels.--The Crank-Shaft.--Cams, Rollers,
etc.--Bearings.--Steadiness.--Governors.--Vertical Engines.--
Power of an Engine.--Automatic Starting 21
CHAPTER III
THE INSTALLATION OF AN ENGINE
Location.--Gas-Pipes.--Dry Meters.--Wet Meters.--Anti-Pulsators,
Bags, Pressure-Regulators.--Precautions.--Air Suction.--
Exhaust.--Legal Authorization 69
CHAPTER IV
FOUNDATION AND EXHAUST
The Foundation Materials.--Vibration.--Air Vibration, etc.--
Exhaust Noises 87
CHAPTER V
WATER CIRCULATION
Running Water.--Water-Tanks.--Coolers 98
CHAPTER VI
LUBRICATION
Quality of Oils.--Types of Lubricators 111
CHAPTER VII
CONDITIONS OF PERFECT OPERATION
General Care.--Lubrication.--Tightness of the Cylinder.--
Valve-Regrinding.--Bearings.--Crosshead.--Governor.--Joints.--
Water Circulation.--Adjustment 121
CHAPTER VIII
HOW TO START AN ENGINE.--PRELIMINARY PRECAUTIONS
Care during Operation.--Stopping the Engine 128
CHAPTER IX
PERTURBATIONS IN THE OPERATION OF ENGINES AND
THEIR REMEDY
Difficulties in Starting.--Faulty Compression.--Pressure of Water
in the Cylinder.--Imperfect Ignition.--Electric Ignition by
Battery or Magneto.--Premature Ignition.--Untimely
Detonations.--Retarded Explosions.--Lost Motion in Moving
Parts.--Overheated Bearings.--Overheating of the Cylinder.--
Overheating of the Piston.--Smoke arising from the Cylinder.--
Back Pressure to the Exhaust.--Sudden Stops 134
CHAPTER X
PRODUCER-GAS ENGINES
High Compression.--Cooling.--Premature Ignition.--The Governing
of Engines 153
CHAPTER XI
PRODUCER-GAS
Street-Gas.--Composition of Producer-Gases.--Symptoms of
Asphyxiation.--Gradual, Rapid Asphyxiation.--Slow, Chronic
Asphyxiation.--First Aid in Cases of Carbon Monoxide
Poisoning.--Sylvester Method.--Pacini Method.--Impurities of
the Gases 165
CHAPTER XII
PRESSURE GAS-PRODUCERS
Dowson Producer.--Generators.--Air-Blast.--Blowers.--Fans.--
Compressors.--Exhausters.--Washing and Purifying.--
Gas-Holder.--Lignite and Peat Producers.--Distilling-Producers.--
Producers Using Wood Waste, Sawdust, and the like.--
Combustion-Generators.--Inverted Combustion 174
CHAPTER XIII
SUCTION GAS-PRODUCERS
Advantages.--Qualities of Fuel.--General Arrangement.--
Generator.--Cylindrical Body.--Refractory Lining.--Grate and
Support for the Lining.--Ash-pit.--Charging-Box.--
Slide-Valve.--Cock.--Feed-Hopper.--Connection of Parts.--Air
Supply.--Vaporizer.--Preheaters.--Internal Vaporizers.--
External Vaporizers.--Tubular Vaporizers.--Partition
Vaporizers.--Operation of the Vaporizers.--Air-Heaters.--
Dust-Collectors.--Cooler, Washer, Scrubber.--Purifying
Apparatus.--Gas-Holders.--Drier.--Pipes.--Purifying-Brush.--
Conditions of Perfect Operation of Gas-Producers.--
Workmanship and System.--Generator.--Vaporizer.--Scrubber.--
Assembling the Plant.--Fuel.--How to Keep the Plant in Good
Condition.--Care of the Apparatus.--Starting the Fire for the
Gas-Producer.--Starting the Engine.--Care of the Generator
during Operation.--Stoppages and Cleaning 199
CHAPTER XIV
OIL AND VOLATILE HYDROCARBON ENGINES
Oil-Engines.--Volatile Hydrocarbon Engines.--Comparative Costs.--
Tests of High-Speed Engines.--The Manograph.--The Continuous
Explosion-Recorder for High-Speed Engines.--Records 264
CHAPTER XV
THE SELECTION OF AN ENGINE
The Duty of a Consulting Engineer.--Specifications.--Testing the
Plant.--Explosion-Recorder for Industrial Engines.--Analysis of
the Gases.--Witz Calorimeter.--Maintenance of Plants.--Test of
Stockport Gas-Engine with Dowson Pressure Gas-Producer.--Test of
a Winterthur Engine.--Test of a Winterthur Producer-Gas
Engine.--Test of a Deutz Producer-Gas Engine and Suction
Gas-Producer.--Test of a 200-H.P. Deutz Suction Gas-Producer and
Engine 279
CHAPTER I
MOTIVE POWER--COST OF INSTALLATION
The ease with which a gas-engine can be installed, compared with a
steam-engine is self-evident. In places where illuminating gas can be
obtained and where less than 10 to 15 horse-power is needed, street-gas
is ordinarily employed.[A] The improvements which have very recently
been made in the construction of suction gas-generators, however, would
seem to augur well for their general introduction in the near future,
even for very small powers.
The installation of small street-gas-engines involves simply the making
of the necessary connections with gas main and the mounting of the
engine on a small base.
An economical steam-engine of equal power would necessitate the
installation of a boiler and its setting, the construction of a
smoke-stack, and other accessories, while the engine itself would
require a firm base. Without exaggeration it may be asserted that the
installation of a steam-engine and of its boiler requires five times as
much time and trouble as the installation of a gas-engine of equal
power, without considering even the requirements imposed by storing the
fuel (Fig. 1). Small steam-engines mounted on their own boilers, or
portable engines, the consumption of which is generally not economical,
are not here taken into account.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--30 H.P. Gas-engine and suction gas-producer.]
[Illustration: FIG. 1_A_.--30 H.P. Steam-engine, boiler and smoke-stack.]
So far as the question of cost is concerned, we find that a 15 to 20
horse-power steam-engine working at a pressure of 90 pounds and having a
speed of 60 revolutions per minute would cost about 16-2/3 per cent.
more than a 15 horse-power gas-engine, with its anti-pulsators and other
accessories. The foundation of the steam-engine would likewise cost
about 16-2/3 per cent. more than that of the gas-engine. Furthermore the
installation of the steam-engine would mean the buying of piping, of a
boiler of 100 pounds pressure, and of firebrick, and the erection of a
smoke-stack having a height of at least 65 feet. Beyond a little
excavating for the engine-base and the necessary piping, a gas-engine
imposes no additional burdens. It may be safely accepted that the
steam-engine of the power indicated would cost approximately 45 per
cent. more than the gas-engine of corresponding power.
The cost of running a 15 to 20 horse-power steam-engine is likewise
considerably greater than that of running a gas-engine of the same size.
Considering the fuel-consumption, the cost of the lubricating oil
employed, the interest on the capital invested, the cost of maintenance
and repair, and the salary of an engineer, it will be found that the
operation of the steam-engine is more expensive by about 23 per cent.
This economical advantage of the gas over the steam-engine holds good
for higher power as well, and becomes even more marked when
producer-gas is used instead of street-gas. Comparing, for example, a 50
horse-power steam-engine having a pressure of 90 pounds and a speed of
60 revolutions per minute, with a 50 horse-power producer-gas engine,
and considering in the case of the steam-engine the cost of a boiler of
suitable size, foundation, firebrick, smoke-stack, etc., and in the case
of the gas-engine the cost of the producer, foundation, and the like, it
will be found that the installation of a steam-engine entails an
expenditure 15 per cent. greater than in the case of the producer-gas
engine. However, the cost of operating and maintaining the steam-engine
of 50 horse-power will be 40 per cent. greater than the operation and
maintenance of the producer-gas engine.
From the foregoing it follows that from 15 to 20 up to 500 horse-power
the engine driven by producer-gas has considerably the advantage over
the steam-engine in first cost and maintenance. For the development of
horse-powers greater than 500, the employment of compound
condensing-engines and engines driven by superheated steam considerably
reduces the consumption, and the difference in the cost of running a
steam- and gas-engine is not so marked. Still, in the present state of
the art, superheated steam installations entail considerable expense for
their maintenance and repair, thereby lessening their practical
advantages and rendering their use rather burdensome.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Recent improvements made in suction gas-producers will probably lead
to the wide introduction of producer gas engines even for small power.