Lowe's Gas Process
In 1873, Lowe developed and patented the Lowe's water gas process which is a modification of the water gas process by which large amounts of hydrogen enriched gas could be generated for residential and commercial use in heating and lighting. Unlike the common coal gas, or coke gas which was used in municipal service, this gas provided a more efficient heating fuel that was also suitable for illumination. The basic water gas reaction is:
- C + H2O → CO + H2
The Lowe process is a three stage modified water gas process in which 'blue' water gas is modified by addition of pyrolized oils to render a yellow flame usable for domestic lighting as well as heating. Blue water gas is a term used for water gas produced from clean burning fuels such as anthracite,coke and charcoal and produces a blue flame.
The Lowe process is performed in a series of three chambers, the generator, the carburettor and the superheater. The original air blast is used to produce air gas in the generator. The heat of primary combustion heats the coal sufficiently, while the air gas is burned by a second air blast in the other two chambers in which the oil for carburetting is decomposed. These chambers contain a quantity of loose fire brick called “checker work,” and the air gas is burned in them during the time the air blast is on the main producer. When the coal and checker work are hot enough, the air blast is shut off and the steam blast is turned on. Heat stored in the checker work pyrolyzes the mixture of water gas and oil, which is led through the chambers while the steam blast is on the producers. The Lowe process is endothermic, and cools the generator and checker work, so the process has to alternate between air blast for heating and steam blast for gas production.
The process spurred on the industry of gas manufacturing, and gasification plants were established quickly along the Eastern seaboard of the United States. Similar processes, like the Haber Process, led to the manufacture of ammonia (NH3) by the combining of nitrogen, found in air, with high volumes of hydrogen. This spurred on the refrigeration industry which long used ammonia as its refrigerant. Prof. Lowe also held several patents on artificial ice making machines, and was able to run successful businesses in cold storage as well as products which operated on hydrogen gas.
Read more about this topic: Thaddeus S. C. Lowe
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