The San Francisco call., 1896-11-12
The MAKING OF FUEL,
An American Industry That
Failed in the Eastern
States.
S. 81. Tacy of This City SawIths First
Compressed Anthracite Coal
Made and Helped.

S. II. Tacy, manager of the MaDufac-
turers' ana Producers Association, is
watching with peculiar interest the at
tempt which is being made to introduce
Chinese fuel into this market. One rea-
son for this is the fact that twenty years
ago Mr.. Tacy was connected with the
manufacture Of the first lot of compressed
fuel OF the sort now coming in from China
ever made.
Mr.. Tacy was then quite young. He be-
came acquainted with Professor L. +.
LoIseau, a Frenchman who had made a
machine to utilize the waste coal, the pull
veriZed dust of anthracite coal mines, and
who was about to make experiments a
| Mahoning, Pa.
Professor Loiseau was an enthusiastic
man as we'll as a scientist. He believed
that his invention would be OF great bene-
| fit TO mankind, utilizing that which had
before been considered practically value
less ana giving fuel for homes at nomi-
nal cost. He planned 10 supply families
with tirst-class fuel at the rate of 81 25 per
ton.
The anthracite dust was. of course,
equally intiammable with other coal under
| favorable conditions. He had only two
problems, the making of the compressed
substance into such shapes that it would
burn freely and the combination of it with
such other substance as would not cost
much and not interfere with the quality oi
heat to be released by combustion.
he had a machine which consisted in
part of two revolving cylinders with con-
cave surfaces. Between these two he
forced the fuel plaster com posed of an
thracite coal dust and per cent of clay.
| the mixture being moistened by milk of
! lime to give the necessary conference.
After passing between the cylinders the
material came out shaped like the coal
balls which are now coming into San Fran
cisco for sale from Tonqnin. They fell
upon wire frame work which moved,
carrying the coal balls into drying room
where they were dipped in silicate of soda.
When they were dry they were ready to be
used for fuel.
Professor Loiseau found capitalists who
believed that he had discovered something
of commercial value. A stock com pan
was organized in Philadelphia. The price
of the fuel was placed at 81 % per ton.
The company expended about $500 00C
and then gave the enterprise up, not beine
able TO successfully compete with the
! cheap anthracite coal in Jumps. Professor
Loiseau died some years ago, having ex.
| pended many years in making his expert
ments in fuel. He had pate ented his in.
vention in all the countries of Europe and
| in the United States.
When Mr.. Tacy first saw the coal from
Tonquin his attention was Immediately
arrested thereby. 1t looked just like the
fuel which had been first compressed in
his presence and with his assistance. In
fact Mr.. Tacy received the first coal ball
/ produced and he kept it as a souvenir fol
some time, it having been given to him
for that purpose in acknowledgment of his
services.
Before Professor Loiseau abandoned his
experiment he made an exhibition of hi;
fuel at the Centennial Exposition at Phila.
delphia in 1876, in an iron building con
structed for that purpose. There the fue
burned freely and handsomely, looking
like. fiery eggs in the CRATE. The clay
made the ash heavy, so that there was nc
dust. Professor Loiseau tried to Introduce
the fuel IN Belgium and he met with ar
exciting adventure. The coal miner.
threatened him, and he buried his fuel
machine to save it from being destroyed
Mr.. Tacy believes that the fuel coming
in from Tonquin was made by one OF Pro
lessor Loiseau's machines. 1t is made b,
q French company. The American bari
Colorado brought the first cargo to thi
port. Another cargo is on the way.