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In the German section at the Champ de Mars is to be seen a well-executed model showing a gas-generat- ing installation of the most approved tvpe, as constructed by the Chainotte Fabrik, of Stettin. The system is designed to carry out all the operations automatically and do away with hand-labor as much as possible. The model represents a furnace-room containing a battery of five furnaces, each having nine gas-retorts, with their chimney, the fifth furnace being seen in longitudinal section ; also the coal magazine in the rear and the mechanical arrangements for transporting the coal, loading the retorts and carrying off the coke. A system of elevators conducts the coal as unloaded from the cars either directly to the retorts or to the coal magazine, or from the magazine to the retorts. The coke which is taken from the retorts is carried by another system of elevators to a series of reservoirs or to the coke magazine. For transporting the coal, a well-arranged system of automatic conveyors and elevators is used. The coal, which is brought in by the cars, is discharged into a funnel-shaped reservoir ; at the bottom of this is a distributor or movable plate to regulate the quantity of coal which falls into the crusher, which will be noticed in front. From the crusher the main elevator, seen at one side, takes the coal to the top, where it may be taken by a horizontal conveyor to the furnace or to the coal magazine by a traveling carriage. The latter runs upon rollers on a track placed above the coal-bins, and discharges into these, filling them equally. The coal-bins are funnel-shaped, and at the bottom is a horizontal passage by which the coal is taken from them to the furnace. A coal wagon passes along underneath, and is arranged to work automatically a series of distributors which let fall upon it the coal from the magazines. This eoal wagon discharges upon a horizontal conveyor, which brings it to the elevator pit in front, and from there the main elevator takes it to the top, as in the previous operation, and the upper horizontal conveyor carries it to the furnace. In this manner it will be seen that the coal is taken, by an entirely automatic process, from the cars to the retorts, or to the magazine, or from the latter to the retorts. In order to feed the retorts, a coal reservoir is placed above and back of the furnaces, to which the coal comes from the conveyor. The reservoir feeds a number of carriers which roll upon a suspended track for charging the retorts ; the carriers are filled by a system of traps at the bottom of the main reservoir, operated by levers. The retorts are arranged in three horizontal rows, and there is one carrier to feed each row ; when a carrier has received its contents, it is drawn in front of the retort-mouth and the coal discharged into it by working a hand lever; in this way only one workman is needed to load a battery of forty-five retorts. Two of the retorts in the model have been made of glass, in order to show the coal in the interior. The retorts are inclined toward the front, the gas being taken from the lower end; the arrangement is known as the Coze system. This inclined arrangement allows the automatic filling and discharging of the retorts to be easily carried out. The arrangement of the furnace is such that the retorts are accessible and may be cleaned without difficulty ; besides, the makers claim a complete utilization of the heat produced in the furnace and a great economy of combustible. A very high temperature is obtained in the interior of the furnace by mixing carbon monoxide with the heated air before it is sent into the furnace. The transportation of the gas-carbon or coke from . the retorts is also well provided for. After opening the upper and lower heads of the retorts, the incandescent coke falls into an automatic extinguisher and transporter called Brouwer's chain, placed in front of the furnace. -This -arrangement will be observed in the front view. The conveying chain moves along in front in a water-canal, and the coke, automatically extinguished, is carried to a conveyor which passes back to the coke-crnsher ; after being broken in the crusher the coke is raised by an elevator to a shaking-sieve, which distributes it in a series of large reservoirs placed above and back of the furnaces ; the reservoirs have a trap below by which the coke is dropped into the cars ; if desired, however, the elevator may take it to a horizontal conveyor which runs back to the coke-bins in the rear, and which have about the same size and arrangement as the coal-bius above, mentioned ; like the latter, they have a car running above them on rails, which receives the coke from the conveyor and discharges it into the bins. From these magazines the coke may be again taken to the loading-reservoir by an arrangement below similar to that used for the coal; it is discharged from the funnels into a wagon which takes it to an elevator, and it is thus lifted to the reservoir. It will be seen that the coke may be thus automatically carried from the furnace to the cars or to the magazine, or from the latter to the cars. For the motive power of the plant any of the well-known types of motors may be used ; the model is driven by a small electric motor, and all the conveyors, wagons, etc., are shown in operation.
