§ 24. Mr. J. M. Osbornasked the Minister of Power what research is now being carried out on the slagging gasification of coal to produce a gas which will meet industrial needs.
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§ Mr. WoodIn accordance with the announcement I made in answer to my hon. Friend, the Member for Kidderminster (Mr. Nabarro) on 23rd June, 1961, the Gas Council last month took over the responsibility for all work on this subject except for work on producer gas plants which the National Coal Board is carrying on at coke ovens. The work sponsored by my Department on an experimental pressure slagging gasifier was brought to a close at the end of March, after useful results from a successful series of test runs on coke. The Gas Council tells me it is continuing research work on gasification under slagging conditions on the pilot plant at its research station at Solihull. The plant was completed in February and tests on it have now started. The Council is also conducting research on the Otto Rummel slag bath gasification process, and tests on a pilot plant have just started. Under a co-operative arrangement between the Gas Council, the National Coal Board and the Central Electricity Generating Board, work is being continued by the British Coal Utilisation Research Association at Leatherhead on the basic problems of operating under slagging conditions.