§ 20. Mr. Wyattasked the Minister of Power what methods of gasification of coal have been considered by his Department and by the industries responsible to his Department; which of these methods are ready for use now; and which of these methods are British in origin.
§ Mr. WoodMy Department, and the industries concerned, keep under examination all gasification developments at home and abroad. Their current research projects include work on slagging gasification and on the hydrogenation of coal.
Most of the new processes now available for use originated abroad. They include the Lurgi process for making town gas, the Ruhrgas process for making producer gas for under-firing coke ovens, and various forms of coal-fired producer for making gas for industrial use. The whole subject is now being examined by the Wilson Committee.
§ Mr. WyattIs it not indicative of the slothful attitude of the Government towards the whole subject of the gasification of coal and the niggardly amounts which they have spent on it that we have had to take a process from Germany instead of developing our own? Can the right hon. Gentleman say when we shall be in a position to install a high-pressure gas grid system between London and Manchester to provide the country—at any rate, the Midlands—with a supply of cheap gas?
§ Mr. WoodWe have taken certain processes from Germany because, as the hon. Member knows, Germany was subjected to certain pressures in the 1930s and 1940s which were very different from the pressures to which this country was subjected. Perhaps the hon. Member will put down a Question about a national grid system, since that is a rather different matter.
§ Mr. WyattWill the right hon. Gentleman look again at the whole subject and intensify the work of producing a proper method of gasification of coal, which could have been found years ago if enough money had been spent on it, and do something about it?
§ Mr. WoodI am continually looking at the matter. As the hon. Gentleman knows, in this country we are developing the Lurgi process in two different places. The Lurgi method is the most economical so far discovered for the total gasification of coal.