Abstract
THERE is a practice of fuel technology of long standing, if empirical, which in the past generation has been developed scientifically with varying intensity in almost all industrialized countries. There is a technical literature on fuel circulating throughout the world, and there are substantially no secrets on the subject. This means that, although improvements should be sought, few revolutionary discoveries can be expected. For example, in the past twenty years, large modern steam generators have been available to produce steam from coal with a thermal efficiency approaching 90 percent. There is here little room for increase in thermal efficiency. In the carbonization of coal, the position is analogous. The design of modern gas retorts and coke ovens permits the carbonization of coal with an efficiency of 80 percent. Although present practice lags behind this standard, the scope for discovering increased efficiency is not great. The real scope for advance lies in the direction of complete gasification ; but the gas industry started on this quest fifteen years ago, and by now has gone some way towards the operation of large-scale plant. The efficiency of gas producer plants has long ago attained similar high thermal efficiency.
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SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SERVICES IN THE FUEL INDUSTRIES. Nature 157, 493–494 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/157493a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/157493a0