Gas production plants converted coal or oil into gas for lighting, heating, and cooking. They were common from the late 1800s to mid-1900s, but were replaced by natural gas. The plants relied on carbonization or gasification to create gas and produced useful by-products. Most sites have been dismantled due to toxins, but Gas Works Park in Seattle retains the old structures as a public park.
A gas production plant converts substances like coal or oil into gas that can be used for things like lighting, heating, and cooking. The raw material that is converted is often referred to as raw material. These plants were most common from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s, when the use of the produced gas was largely replaced by natural gas. During the years they were in operation, the gas created at a gas production facility was often known as town gas, as it was piped throughout the local town for use by homes and industry.
To create gas, a gas production plant relied on carbonization or gasification. There were many types of plants that operated on these two different principles. Carbonization of coal is the result of a process typically known as coking, in which coal is heated to create coke that can be used for other purposes. In a gas production plant, this coke would normally still be produced, even though the main objective would be to capture the offgases for distribution in the nearby urban area.
Gasification is a process used in a gas production plant to produce gas from a feedstock by inducing a chemical reaction. This type of gas is often known as producer gas and included variants such as blue water gas (BWG) and carbureted water gas (CWG). These gases were typically produced by passing air through a heated coal bed, although the process differed depending on whether BWG or CWG was being produced.
In addition to supplying gas for domestic and industrial use, gas production plants often created a variety of useful by-products. Plants that charred coal produced large quantities of coke, although coal tar was also a common byproduct. The coal tar could then be distilled to produce creosote, phenols and other useful chemicals.
With the introduction of natural gas, the use of the produced gas decreased dramatically. Cities often had pipe networks for locally produced gas, and these networks were often relocated to use natural gas instead.
Very few gas production plant sites remain intact, with the notable exception being Gas Works Park in Seattle, Washington, USA. Most of the former gas plant buildings have been dismantled, the land reclaimed and the land reused. Because manufactured gas plants could produce a large amount of toxins, this could be a costly and time consuming process. A site like Gas Works Park has made efforts to clear the soil, but retains the old gas plant structures as the centerpiece of a public park.
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