In the early days of the internal combustion engine, the fuel of choice was ‘towns gas’, which was readily available in towns and cities, where many homes and city streets were illuminated with gas. 

However, when an engine was intended for large industrial use, the fuel costs became somewhat exorbitant; that was until the advent of the suction gas plant, which made it possible to derive low-grade gas from all manner of substances that were basically waste products and therefore offered greatly reduced operating costs.

Tangye Brothers was one of the UK’s early exponents of the suction gas plan