The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-07-26
Brown Coal or Lignites.


fuel, which are intermediate in properties
between the peat OF the more recent and
the coal of the older formations. A coal
of this variety is generally to be distln-
guished by its structure, by its more or
less brogni-h color, either in mass, o. IN
the blacker varieties in the streak. The
proportion Of carbon, particularly fixed
carbon, is lower than in the true Goals,
hardly ever running up to 20 per cent,
while the oxygen and the moisture are
higher than IL the stone coal.
The property of cokiDg, that Is, yield
ing coherent masses of coke, is generally
absent, and the percentage OF ASHES Is
usually higher than in the true coal. The
specific gravity is generally low; or II 1t
is high, il indicates an excessive amount
of earthly matter or sulphurets. The best
varieties are black and pitchy of lustre,
or bright las jet), and sometimes it is
hard to distinguish by appearance from
true coal
Although the lower percentage of csr-
bon. the absence of the property to coke,
and its moderate conference, or tendency
to crumble if exposed to atmospheric in
! faences, and, when burning, render
many of the brown coal varieties
an inferior fuel to most of the varieties of
| true coal, nevertheless it is valuable fuel
for domestic and many technical, even
strictly metallurgical purposes. Even
varieties far inferior to our Texas brown
coal are used to great advantage in Eng
| land and on the contir ent of Europe,
where it is regarded as good fuel except
when the percentage of ashes runs up to
about 80 per cent. but even then it may
| be utilized as valuable manure, by being
burnt to ashes, or merely powdered, par
ticularly in heavy clay soil.
! OF course, the furnaces, ovens and fire.
CRATES must be adopted to this kind of
| fuel. Common sense will show that a fur
mace built for wood cannot be heated ad-
vantsgeously with anthracite and btu
minous coal, or vice versa. The "trep-
penrost," stair-shaped tire-grate of fiat
bars, the upper ones overlapping the
lower is one of the best contrivances for
burning crumbling or crum bled fuel, such
as our brown coal, coal slack, sawdust, etc.
It may be constructed with CRATE open
ings of nearly any size, admitting any
desired quantity of air, and nevertheless
charged with very small fuel frag
ments. This "treppenrost" may be
regarded as the simplest and cheapest
arrangements to utilize our Texas brown
coal for domestic purposes, stationary
boilers, pottery furnaces, etc. It is not
protected by patent and no royalty can
be exact ed; neither is it to be feared that
this CRATE, in its simple and effective form
will be patented. The patentee would
not profit by infringement suits, since it
has been used for nearly half century
in Europe.
Another method for using brown coal is
to crush or grind it, and to form it into
BRIG ne ties" There are several differ
entity constructed machines for this pur-
pose, on some of which the patents have
expired, while others ere still protected by
patent. Among both classes are very eff
fective machines. Coal tar or asphaltum
is used to bind the "brIquettes." The tar
may be distilled at the mine in very cheap
apparatus, from the refuse, which is not
sslable. Asphalt mixed with petroleum
and ozokerite not very well
adapted for paving and roofing, is found
in some localities in Texas, and can be
cheaply mined. Abqut to per cent of
either one will Suffice to bind the
briquettas. Bituminous coal of the Pitts
burg quality, powdered and mixed with
the powdered brown coal, will also bind
sufficiently if 10 to ~ per cent is added
and the material heated and pressed while
hot In some places in Europe they also
use paste of boiled potatoes in the pro-
portion of to per cent.
The refuse of coal varieties not holding
much earthly matter is sometimes
cemented together with to 8 per cent
of well binding clay. This method,
however, l cannot recommend for
making briquettes of our lignites.
Such briquettes stand transportation
without crumbling, and may be used ad-
vantageously under steam boilers and for
domestic and other purposes. Slight
changes of furnace and CRATES will secure
the very best effect in most cases. They
possess higher heating power than the
brown coal of which they are formed, on
account of the tar admixture; they are
cleaner to handle than bituminous or any
other soft coal, and being of rectangular,
prismatIc, or cylindrical shape, they can
easily be piled up like wood, requiring
less storage room than lump coal.
The third method of utilizing for fuel
crumbling material like most of our brown
coal, is by using the gas derived from it,
which although not always the best light
ing gas, possesses great heating power.
the furnaces for this purpose are COL
structed of brick, with inside lining of
fire. brick. The material, as well as the
construction of such furnaces, is com
paratively cheap, and two unskilled hands
can attend to large furnace of this kind.
The gas, as we'll as the resulting coke, can
be utilized for many metallurgical and
other technical as we'll as for domestic
purposes. The non caking coke may be
worked into briquettes, which will burn
somewhat like anthracite with short
flame, but of course their caloric effect will
be less than that of anthracite.
Many of the brown coal deposits of
Texas are located conveniently near to
railroads, in parts of the state where fire
clay, potter's clay and kaoEn abound.
They are found in cotton raising counties.
and can furnish a cheap and convenient
fuel for cotton gins, cotton mills, ceramic
factories, etc.
These deposits, which in places are
twenty feet thick, and even more, are in
most cases only few feet below the sur
face, and consequently the mining is not
expensive, no costly shafts, hosting,
pumping aud ventilatipg machinery
being required.
Only prejudiced mind will hold that
the Ignite cannot be used to any advan-
tage-no decisive tests were ever made