B6hm described to the Second International Gas Congress at Zurich a distillation furnace for testing purposes at the plant of the Brown-Boveri Corp. at Baden, Switzerland. It was equipped with a drum, a condenser and a recording gage. The furnace proper was a cylindrical iron tube 31ยฝ in. in diameter and 6.56 ft. high with vertical axis. It was insulated inside and out and the ends were sealed with metal discs. A small opening was drilled through the center of each disc through which the cylindrical shaped graphite electrode (4.33 in. in diameter) was inserted until it came in contact with the ignition electrode placed along the axis of the retort. The gas was passed through the drum located at the retort outlet before entering the condenser from which it was passed to the gage and next to a burner. The ignition electrode contained coke in a paper cylinder and around it was the bituminous coal to be carbonized. The retort had a capacity of 6oo-7oo lbs. of coal. Results showed that gas of 569 B.t.u. was produced and that there was 6o0 cu. ft. (6o ยฐ F., 3o in. Hg, saturated) per Ioo lbs. of coal. Energy absorbed per IOO lbs. of coal was 35.5 kw.hr. In tests at the Reggio-Emilia gas plant a striking improvement resulted from the adoption of a new type ignition electrode. Another improvement permitted the generation of water gas directly during the final phase of the carbonization operation. This resulted in a mixed gas of 472-484 B.t.u. (68 per cent. coal and 32 per cent. water gas). Advantages of the electric carbonization include: (I) Off peak electric energy can be used;
(2) First cost of equipment is low; (3) Operation possible to start with retort at working heat, allowing intermittent operation, saving electric energy otherwise expended for preheating. The use of electric heat for making city gas deserves serious study.
R. H. O.
Carbolic Acid in Tank
Cars.--Carbolic acid, classified by chemists as "phenol," was best known for its antiseptic and disinfecting value. In the pre-war days, when the virtues of iodine, mercurochrome and the like were yet undisclosed, almost every household had in its medicine cabinet a dilute solution of phenol. The label on the bottle bore usually a bright red skull and cross-bones and the legend: Carbolic Acid--Poison. 5~3