New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-10-22
CHEAP FUEL.
THE UTILIZATION OF COAL WASTE.


TAKISGs-TIiE NEW FUEL BURNED UNDER TIKI
BOuERs AT THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE YAui-A
PROSPECT or ANTHRACITE AT REDUCED PRICE.
The waste, culm. or slack, as 1t Is variously
called that accumuaes IN coal mining, has long pre-
sented problem TO economists and inventors. Great
hills OF this material wherever coal IA brought
the surface. and these dngy hummocks have
familiar feature Of Pennsylvanis scenery tho wsvy
outlines Of the treeclad Aeghsnes. Tho mountains %
waste, moreover constantly growing and their
present cubic contents estimated by hundreds Of
thousands Of As yet they simply represent labor
lost Tue best coal being IN general more brittle fur
nshes larger quota TO the waste heap than the poorer
varieties which comparatively either soft or stony.
ia paper read at the Bradford Meeting OF the
British Association for the Advancement OF Science. DR.
semens the well known inventor OF the Regeneratng
Furnace states the Of coal left behiod at the
mine as waste In English experience, 20 per cent
all that is extracted
Inventions usually run IN grooves There have been
many patents taken out and very eonsoerable mum
Der OF processes actually introduced in Europe and TINS
country 10 utilize coal waste, but they can mostly 30
classed under heads: % Burning the waste In hot
blast; C2) mixing 1t with adhesive material and
forming 1t into Jumps The first Of these processes n.
OF course only available in certain manufacturing oper
aons 1t requires for complete success the further re-
duction OF the waste 10 inpalpablc powder. and
otherwise than experimentally has rarely been nj
we have TO deal. They have met with more sucoess
abroad than here, partly because employed with btu-
mnous coal and partly because the cost OF labor and Of
adhesive materials proves wthust most formidable OBJ
sace. In some European processes adhesion "a Oh
tanned by mixture with gluten. Starch Is named
Of the Belgian processes Coal tar IT. derivatives
specified In large proportion OF the patenei mixtures
Rosin used and sheac in another process each
Of which has received commentator. Tan bark. saw
dust and peat are among the substances not intro
quenty added, give bulk and 10 the compound
readily innammabe, and as thus prepared IT'S use IA al
yOcated TOR kndng well as for fuel.
There Is on exhibition at the Fair Of the American Ia
stitute in this city the model OF machine for producing
an artificial fuel belonging this general class OF
tons. but which in many respects surpasses anything
hitherto devised Most Of the processes successful IA
Europe with bitumnous coal fail here when
applied 10 anthracite. The former supplies
when fred certain amount OF bltumen
which helps TO hold the artificial lump 10
gether until il coked while with anthracite the bind
ing material II indammable is soon burnt out, and tho
lump falls pieces dropping through tho grato before
the.coa consumed IT, the other hand. an inconi
bustble adhesive material employed 1t MAJ occasion
new difficulty. Sicates have been tried but they form
slsgs and clinkers by their fusion. Tue bind
ing material of tho invention under con
slderation is neither combustble fuslDle. TOTS
material is clay. so far however there Is little novelty.
the OF clay has not been unusual in these mix
lures but u general combined with
btumnous materials, ts shrrnkage In heat being sst
of against their tendency swell But in those inyon
tons II necessary that tho coal be washed, drcd
ana heated and the cement kept LIQUID by heat A.
when such fuel used, tho cementlng maternal gave
of smoke and pad doors further process wss found
necessary to expel the volatile portion Of it by carbon
cation or cOkng It will easily DO perceived that all
this added largely the expense of the artificial fuo
The process before dspenses with the for adhesive
purposes, OF btumnOus restuOus material Tae only
cement used yellow clay. with the addition
6f some milk of lime l. e., water carrying hye per cent
OF lime.
At an earlier period in the history Of this invention II
was scientifically tested by the Committee on scie nee
and Arts of the Franklin Institute. Philadelphia. At
that time the inventor, Mr. L. +. LOisesu OF Mauch
Chunk Penn. added the waste about seven per cent
OF clay he but five. His fuel was then com
pressed in cylindrical molds he nas since improved s
FORM the other features Of che process. the use Of
the milk OF lne and the waterprOoaug OF the surface
Of the Jumps by immersion IN solution OF rosin remain
unchanged The report, dated Dec 10. 1871. ~ exceed
ingly favorable. Samples immersed In water for II
hours, when broken for examination we're found dry In
the interior. Comparisons were made with moderate
and also with stroug draft The percentage OF ash was
somewhat larger than with ordinary fuel but OF
heavier aud more clearly character. Tho artificial fuel
made with anthracite waste syaporated tho
average 20 ono pound Of fuel 65S pounds
Of water the average for pure anthracite pound OF
coal TO 7.4O pounds Of water One pound Of artificial
fuel made of bitumuOus waste evapOrated average
Of 1899 pounds OF water the average for btuminoas
coal is 1883 The ability OF the artificial fuel 10 endure
transportation then estimated not equal TO the
best OF Goals but superior many varieties brought 70
market The cost OF manufacture at the mines was AZ
that time 81 per ton 10 is now IS cents One day last
week considerable quantity OF this fuel was thrown
into the furnaces OF the main boilers that supply engine
power for the Fair OF the American Institute. Tho IN
tepton merely exhibit general characters tics
Each lump being vanished with rosin It could DO
handled without soIng the fingers II burned steadily.
holding its shape without DISSATISFACTION, tall reduced to
ashes.
The machinery for manufacture as exhibited in tho
model dispenses entirely with handing the materials.
TIE clay poured IN through one hopper the cOuust
through another the substances falling into equally
eyolvng partitions on two separate shafts the par
ttions that the coal waste receiving and delivering
exactly nineteen times as much as those that take tho
sprinked with milk OF lime. which the machinery do
yers in due proportion The molstened mass Is carried
by a propeller into the mixing machine Careful
study OF previous inventions and long OF costly
experiment had convinced Mr.. LOiseau that many
previous failures had been due 10 imperfect
mixing In this machine seven upright shafs.
enother moving in derent directions. and efieos
thorough mixture. There Is very ingenious
cleared without dspIacinS the rest In case stone or
other obstacle chokes the machine. The plastic product
is forced thence by series knives and screw pro
peer arranged on a central SHAFT giving pressure Of
several tons 10 the inch through an aperture upon
these the Jumps delivered IN shape sze like
hens eggs. This shape was adopted the result Of
many considerations and experiments The Jumps had
been made IN enbes, but these falling together with st
surfaces in the furnace did not permit free passage OF
air between them. similar though less forcble objec
ton was urged against cylindrical forms The egg
shape gives the greatest possible spaces between tho
Jumps.
Ii should be mentioned that there are simple but
effective contryances for eniargng Diminishing the
aperture OF delivery TO the molds Leaving these the
Jumps carried on an endless belt INTO the dfying
chamber where the belt revolyesoyer rollers which re-
its direction aud turn tue Jumps over several
times UNTIL length sufficiently dried but yet hot,
they are dropped the buckets OK elevator aud
fted anoher endess belt. which carries Thorn into