2452.     ---------------.  [NEWMAN, L. L.]  Oxygen Production, Utilization in Gas-making Processes.  Gas, vol. 22, No. 12, 1946, pp. 43-44.

        Digest of a paper presented at the American Gas Association convention, October 1946.  The use of O₂ in place of air in a gas producer makes the problem of complete gasification relatively simple.  A survey of manufacturers of large-scale O₂ plants has put the cost of O₂ at about $0.14-$0.18 per 1,000 cu. ft.  Several processes have been developed for the utilization of O₂ in gas making:  Those with the fixed-fluidized beds such as the Winkler, the O₂ requirements of which are high; the powdered-fuel types with fuel in suspension which promise economy in fuel and O₂ consumption and adaptability to any suitably grindable coal; the fixed-fuel-bed types with mechanical grates and high pressures; the pressure types which have a high capital cost and a high fuel and steam consumption and require a noncaking coal.  In general local conditions of fuel, labor and power costs will determine which process is most likely to succeed.  The high investment cost of O₂ plant will make the production of gas by the use of O₂ economical only as a base-load proposition.