ABATE M ENT of Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/abatementofsmokeOOroch Abatement of Smoke E CONOMY, civic pride and common sense all call for the abatement of the smoke nuisance that is destroying over a million dollars worth of merchandise and property in Rochester every year. The health of our citizens is impaired and many beautiful buildings rendered unsightly by this nuisance. Some years ago it was the custom to point with pride to the “smoking chimneys of prosperity,” when, as a matter of fact, the chimneys were smoking, not with prosperity, but because they were wasting so much burnable fuel. The power plant of the factory which makes the least smoke is operated most economically. This fact is being acknowl- edged by a larger number of people each year. When it is universally known, the smoke nuisance will be eliminated. tf A smoking kerosene lamp would not be tolerated by any- one, because the individual using the lamp would be the one directly affected by it. The condition is reversed with the smoking chimney ; the individual causing the smoke is the only one not directly affected. The smoke goes over his head and is deposited on the property of his neighbor. *1 It is desirable to show some of the common causes of black smoke production, and the kerosene lamp will make a good example. Kerosene oil burning in a saucer, smokes badly, but when placed in the reservoir of a properly constructed lamp, under perfect conditions, there is no smoke — on the contrary, there is gained the maximum amount of light and heat. tf When the wick of the lamp is turned too high, more fuel is supplied than the combustion chamber of the lamp can accommodate, with the result that the unburned fuel passes off in the form of smoke. This is equally true of the factory boiler which is continuously crowded with fuel in the hope of maintaining a greater head of steam than the capacity of the installation allows. This condition is very common in small plants. It cannot be overcome or cured until the basic cause is removed. *1 The same condition may arise through stopping up half of the holes in the burner of the kerosene lamp. In this case you have reduced the air supply instead of increasing the fuel supply. The result is the same — the unburned fuel becomes smoke. Many boiler installations have inadequate grate capac- ities, and even under a normal firing will smoke because the grate does not admit sufficient air. The only remedy is a new grate. <1 There are two other items of faulty construction in boiler plants ; first, too small a combustion chamber, which is analo- gous to too small a lamp chimney and a smoke stack of insuf- ficient size to conduct the gases away from the fire. This latter condition might be compared to placing a piece of card- board over the top of the lamp chimney. Causes Over Crowding Small Grates Page one Abatement of Smoke Kinds of Prevention A Referen- dum It is evident that there are two basic causes of smoke pro- duction — first — improper firing, and second — faulty construc- tion. When these conditions are remedied, black smoke dis- appears. The large plant that is of faulty construction should be rebuilt to meet the requirements. It would be a paying investment in the point of economy. Many small plants, espe- cially heating installations, in congested sections, cannot be rebuilt owing to the surrounding conditions, and to meet the requirements of the public demand they should burn semi- anthracite or anthracite coal, and should have a special care in the firing. In the use of soft coal, proper equipment and intelligent operation are absolutely essential if smoke is to be prevented. Civic pride and consideration of others should urge the elimination of the smoke nuisance. Considerations of economy added to the foregoing make such action more urgent. In view of the fact that each year sees a more solid public opinion opposed to the production of black smoke because of waste, of injury to one’s neighbors, buildings and merchandise, of injury to the health and cleanliness of the City, is it not wise, as well as public-spirited, to again seriously consider whether a greater effort should not now be made to abate the smoke nuisance in your plant? The Letter We Sent Out 1. Black smoke production is undesirable — no one likes it, not even the people who make it. The smoke destroys a million dollars of merchandise a year in Rochester. It pollutes the air and the soot gets into houses, offices and stores, making a big cleaning expense. That’s the case against black smoke. 2. Preventing black smoke isn’t always easy — there are con- ditions which must be taken into consideration. Smoke consuming devices do not always work out. Everyone can’t use hard coal or semi-bituminous because of the expense involved. That’s the case for the man who is producing black smoke in more than legal amounts. tj Between these two propositions there must be some com- promise. We take it for granted that you desire to eliminate the smoke nuisance as much as possible. Will you write us your views of the situation, your experience both in your own case and with others? *1 The Committee has gone into the work with a determina- tion to help, not to hinder business. We believe much can be done with your help if the good will of all can be focused and used to good advantage. Won’t you give it — at least by writing us your experience with the problem? B do » YAWMAN & ERBE MFG. COMPANY d We believe this subject is one of great importance to manu- facturers, as well as the public at large, and one, the condi- tions of which, cannot be met with very easily. d We have had considerable experience at our different plants in trying to overcome this smoke nuisance, and getting all possible benefit out of the unburned carbon which floats away in the air, but the proposition has been a hard one. There is no stoker nor method in use today which is absolutely ‘‘fool- proof” or automatic so that conditions could be governed with- out the aid of an experienced fireman. d We have found that stokers or Dutch Ovens work out fairly well if they are properly operated, but it all depends on the man in front of the boilers. You can make a stoker smoke as badly as a common setting if you do not handle the stoker right. This has been proven at our St. Paul Street Plant. Before we built our Gates Plant all the woodwork was cut and sawed at the St. Paul Street Plant ; therefore, we burned all our shavings. A Shavings and wood are supposed to give a clear fire, with a yellowish or light brownish smoke of very thin character. We burned both shavings and coal in the same furnace, and even with the use of stokers there were several occasions where the smoke inspector made complaint against us on account of the smoke. d We cautioned our people, and even went as far as to dis- charge various firemen. The best results we obtained under such conditions were with men who understand the combus- tion of coal, and keep their furnaces in good working order. d After the Gates Plant was installed the Wood-working 'Departments were moved there, with the result that the burn- ing of shavings was practically eliminated from the St. Paul Street Plant, the result being that we produced more smoke, and had to be more careful with our firemen to avoid this nuisance. d At the Gates Plant our Dutch Oven works out equally as well as the stokers, and even better when we are burning mostly shavings. We have very little smoke, and such as we get is of a very light brownish color, so that it is not objec- tionable; having also a good fireman who understands com- bustion very thoroughly, we are able to cut the smoke down to a minimum. d Considering all the various ways of combusting fuel, our experience has demonstrated to us that it is absolutely up to the fireman — he can control the smoke without trouble, and our belief is that the only way to overcome this nuisance is, not to attack the manufacturers, but get after the men who are causing this nuisance. We cannot run our factories with- Nothing ‘Foolproof Dutch Ovens Shavings The Fireman B Page three K ■K Something About “Consumers" Steam Jets Slack Coal out fuel ; neither can we stand over our firemen all day long to see that they are not making any smoke, and we do not cherish the idea of being summoned before Court because our fireman has been careless and allowed his furnace to smoke when we may have been out of town and could not control the situation. We believe that a strict law governing firemen would have better results in eliminating the smoke nuisance than all the smoke consumers, stokers and new fangled ideas put before the public today. Moritz Wiesner, General Superintendent. BLAIR CAMERA DIVISION EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY Replying to Bulletin 4-11 relative to the prevention of smoke in Rochester, would state that at this factory, which is located at 1447 St. Paul Street, we have used for the past six years a so-called “smoke consumer” which is nothing more nor less than forced draft operated by steam jet over the fire for five minutes after firing the boilers. By use of this steam jet over fire we eliminate about 85% of the black smoke; in other words, when the boilers are first fired, for a period of perhaps 1 to 1^4 minutes, there is some black smoke that comes from the chimney, but after that time there is practically none, and this helps to a great degree to do away with the smoke nuisance. While it is not perfection, yet it is a good step toward clean- liness of the air. There are many Companies that advertise smoke consumers, increased efficiency, etc., but all of them fall short of being perfect. Another way of eliminating smoke is by careful firing. Boilers that are fired properly will not throw off within 50% as much black smoke as boilers that are fired carelessly. The writer is heartily in favor of doing away with the smoke nuis- ance as far as it can be done, without handicapping the manu- facturing interests of the city, for without these manufactur- ing interests the city would not be what it is today. F. W. Barnes, Manager. THE PFAUDLER COMPANY ^ In reply to your Bulletin No. 4-11, it is my experience, as manager of a manufacturing plant containing three 350 horse power boilers all operated to their maximum capacity, that it is possible to use bituminous slack coal and entirely eliminate smoke. *1 It does not follow that our method could be applied to every boiler but it is a fact that smoke can be prevented by the use of mechanical appliances and proper fire box arrangements. Each situation demands special treatment, but it is possible to eliminate the smoke nuisance in every case, and at the same time keep the expense within reason. & Page four Correct Installations Ignorance in installations and ignorance in firing, both of which are entirely preventable, — are responsible for 90% of the cases which today are a nuisance. A man should no more be permitted to discharge black smoke into the air to the detriment of his neighbors’ health or property, than he should to permit noxious fumes from chemicals to go abroad. The State stops the latter immediately, although there is no question but that more damage today to health and property results from the smoke nuisance than from the fumes of chem- icals. The main reason for the smoke nuisance today is ignor- ance all along the line. Just as soon as that is cured, the nuisance can be removed. E. G. Miner, Vice-President. MECHANICS INSTITUTE At the request of our President, Mr. Gibson, I am answer- ing your Bulletin No. 4-11 in regard to prevention of smoke in Rochester. I believe that in all new power plants above 100 H. P., proper stokers, properly installed, with proper sized chimneys, will practically eliminate smoke if the boilers are not being forced far beyond their rating or are not called on suddenly to respond to a peak load. Plants under this size can be taken care of with shaking grates, good draft condi- tions and good chimneys fairly satisfactorily, good draft con- ditions being a very important item. It is possible in many of these plants to burn bituminous coal and in many the use of steam jet devices is an aid. Many of these plants can be helped out materially also by mixing a certain amount of anthracite or semi-anthracite screenings. Many small plants can afford to use semi-bituminous coal, which, with proper care can be burned fairly smokeless. I would like to say that steam jets are a help in many cases but not always.