Chemistry and Coal Gas Making

Although coal gas illumination had been widely accepted as an attractive alternative to candles and oil lamps not long after its inception coal gas making via retort operation as the early form of coal gasification was soon realized as a less efficient, polluting, and labor intensive process. Engineers and many curious minds made numerous attempts to improve the process or to invent new ways for coal gas making. But all these efforts reached an impasse. The lack of understanding of chemical knowledge especially about heat and caloric and the associated principles on heat transfer seems to blame. The disconnection between the two concepts also somehow prevents the sharing of experience or knowledge acquired in one field with another. A breakthrough in chemistry would become necessary and certainly help move forward the coal gas making to another level.