The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1894-03-17

Spontaneous Combustion of Coal.
The spontaneous combustion of coal
is a matter Of more interest to sea-
faring men than to. stationary en-
,gineers, although the latter are called
on to put out a fire in the coal heap
more often than is agreeable. The pri-
mary cause of combustion is the slow
oxidation Of the body, in the course of
which heat is generated until igni-
ton finally occurs. When the body has
strong affinity for oxygen and low
point of ignition; like phosphorus, it is
necessary to prevent the access of air,
Or spontaneous combustion at once
takes place. Certain kinds of charcoal
prepared in close resorts ignite spon-
taneously If exposed to the air before
cooling. If charcoal is burned at a
high temperature the carbon is in
dense condition, and resists oxidation
to a considerable extent. But if the
charcoal has been formed at low tenn
perature the oxygen in the air attacks
1t, gradually raising the temperature
to dangerous point This is the ex-
PLANTATION Of the fires which sometimes
arise from wooden beams that have
been charred by hot flues or the pres
ence Of heating appliances Expert
ments have shown that if wood is made
into charcoal at temperature Of 500
deg. it will ignite spontaneously at a
temperature Of ESQ deg. if air is ad-
mitted to it. If the wood was carbon
lied at a temperature of 26O deg. it
was found necessary to bring it to Il
temperature Of $40 deg. for spontane-
GUS combustion to take place. With re-
gard to coal, the size of the pieces into
which 1t is broken has much influence
on it's liability to take fire. The large
Jumps in which coal is produced offer
a comparatively small exposed surface
to the air and the latter has free ac-
cess to all the surfaces, which tends to
keep down the temperature AS the
coal is handled it gradually breaks up
into smaller pieces which exposes Il
larger total surface to the action Of
the oxygen, while the diminished size
Of the void spaces binders the circula-
ton Of the air. 1t has been found that
the larger the quantity of coal stored
the greater the danger of spontaneous
combustion and that the chances Of
such trouble are increased by allowing
the coal to remain for any length Of
time in hte same position. Moisture ha
some influence on the chances of spon-
taneous combustion, and an interesting
proof Of this has been recorded by
Prof. Vivian IIewes,, an English chem
| list, who makes a special study of such
| matters A case was brought under
| his notice where coal was loaded into
| one hatch Of a vessel on a dry day
| and into another hatch during wet
| weather: in a few days the wet coal
| was 10 deg higher in temperature than
! that loaded dry, and finally ignited
| spontaneously. Another thing that is
| pretty well known is that oily waste
should not be left in the neighborhood
| Of coal pile, as it is very liable to
| ignition in such asplace. q
Improvement in Beer Brewing.
Since beer is the staple drink Of a
large proportion Of the inhabitants Of
this country, it is satisfactory to know
that great improvements are being
made in it's manufacture and in ali
probability the best beer in the world
| will soon be produced in America