Diffusion of coal gas technology in Denmark, 1850-1920

A study has been made of the diffusion of coal gas technology in Denmark during the period 1850-1920. There were two separate periods. In the first, 1850-1868, coal gas was used for lighting only. A number of coal gas works were built. In the 1860s kerosene was introduced and gained a market. No new towns built coal gas works for a time. The introduction of nonsooting premix burners, which made it possible to use coal gas for cooking, and the efficiency improvements of the burners for gas lighting resulted in the building of coal gas works again from about 1885. The building stopped in 1916, although one town built as late as 1927. At that time practically all towns had their own coal gas works, and the supply of electricity was nationwide. Although there is a tendency for larger towns to adopt new technology earlier than the smaller ones, there are many exceptions. In quite a few cases an early adoption of the new technology was due to a single person and his initiative. The diffusion is best described geographically. It first ran along the main traffic routes through Denmark and then out from those. The technology reached the corners of the country rather late. The building of electricity plants later followed the same pattern.