The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-12-14
BITUMIN0US MADE
INTO ANTHRACITE
Wonderful Discovery That Charles W..
Smith Claims 10 Have Made.
WHAT HE HAS. TO SAY ABOUT 1T
Soft Coat Is Subject to Temperature
of About 700 Dcgrecs.-The Gas
Extracted from the Bituminous
Coal During the Heating Process Is
Used as Fuel--Eurnace Can Also.
he Used for Disposing OF Garbage.
Details of His inventions.

Charles W. smth,of Minneapolis. has
succeeded in devisiny a rrDcrss hy
which soft coal can be converted into
hard coal
Nr Smith has been living in Moline.
H., and Rock Island for some time and
il has been known that ne was expert
mcnting in This line on Mercer county,
Illinois. coal His success seemed to
he confirmed of late by his taking out
a patent on his process. He had for
warded necessary papers to Canada
ard to six European nations i'm order
to secure patents in those countries
also.
FURNACE DOES THE WORK.
Speaking Of his invention Mr. Smith
said:
| learn from history that people have
been experimenting on the idea Of
manufacturing hard coal from soft
coal ever since 1922 We all know that
a. enc time all hard or anthracite coal
was soft or bituminous coal and that
nature had effected the change. While
engaged in the milling of ores of prcc-
ious metals in Colorado, New Mexico
ana other western states where | spent
many years. | was led from the scar
city of coal to think of plan to r.
ducc the amount of fuel used. 1t Oc-
CURED to me that science might aC-
Complsh in a short space of time
What it has taken nature centuries to
produce.
Il began at once devisinE furnace
| such as would accomplish this end.
The patent which ! have lately been
awarded is ON furnace, the result of
my studies. which | believe has rem
dercd an emcClual solution 10 the
problem of producing hard Goa! from
soft coal, thereby saving fuel
Mr. Smith then went on to describe
the furnace. His patent covers a fur
maze ana its workings. He says he
takes any kind of soft or bituminous
coal, feeds it into the furnace through
a hopper At the top. and it comes out u
product equivalent to the best grades
of anhrdcite coal sold anywhere
! REDUCTION PROCESS DESCRIBED
! The furnace contains a round CORFU
gated sloping hearth. in the center of
which is a shaft which revolves and
/ to which are attached arms having
/ iron brushes. The coal as fed through
/ the hopper falls on the hearth, where
/ it is subjected to a temperature Of
about 200 degrees. The coal is then
/ slowly moved around the hearth and
/ gradually forced downward, undergo
| ing different degrees of heat. but not
! sufficient to cause decomposition.
1t takes from thirty to ninety min
utes. according To the coal, Mr.. Smith
| says, for it to pass from the hopper at
the top until it is deposited in the cool
! ing bins. whore it remains until it can
| be taken out without igniting. The
product then, he says, is of a consist
| enCy of corn meal and is jet black.
! From the cooling bins it passes into
/ the mixer, where it is subjected to ad-
ditional heat At this point it is treat
| ed to a binder. and being thoroughly
/ mixed it passes into a compressor.
! where it is subjected to pressure
OF from l,2OO to 1000 pounds to the
/ square inch From the compressor the
! product is turned out into "eggets" of
! all sizes, corresponding with the nut,
! egg and range size Of anthracite coal.
/ This compressor works automatically
and needs no care. From here the pro-
! duct is carried by chain elevators to
| the dump.
The furnace Mr.. Smith SAYS. can he
.
eter upward. \ siXteen-foot furnace,
| he asserts, consumes fifty to seventy
| five tons of soft coal and turns out a
! product ranging from thirty to forty
| six tons Of hard coal.
BIG PERCENTAGE OF SAVING.
/ While the soft coal is still in the fur,
mace the gas is extracted and carried
t a a on IL is.t
/ used for fuel. When the furnace is
| started about two tons of soft coal are
used for fuel After that no more is
required, for the gas taken off from
| the furnace supplies all the fuel nec-
essary, together with fuel enough 10
/ furnish power to run the entire plant
and an excess of several thousand
| cubic feet a day, which can he applied
| to any other purpose.
! In addition to extracting the gas and
using it as a fuel. Mr. Smith says that
/ by his surplus the sulphur is eIlmn-
| ated from the coal, as are also tar.
! ammonia water and Crcosote.
| The product after the eliminations.
he asserts. will be about 1900 pounds
! of coal equivalent to hard coal from
! each ton of soft coal treated
Bituminous slack can be had for 81
| ton, and for every fifty tons fur
! nished not less than thirty tons of coal
! that will readily sell alongside of an
! thracite are guaranteed by Mr.. Smith,
! This coal, or "eggalite," has been used
! in stoves and ranges, he says, and is
! fully equal to the best grades of hard
! coal, 1t has also been tested for forg-
| ing, and, he asserts, the sulphur hay-
| ing been expelled, that it makes a good
| smithing coal.
! Coke is not manufactured. The pro-
! duct never reaches that state. A
! sample of the product un' exhibition
! shows black and more solid sub
| stance than coke.
GARBAGE ALSO CONVERTED.
Mr.. Smiths patent calls for the use
| Of bitumlnUus coal, anthracite coal
! dust, vegetable matters and sawdust
| OF late the patentee has been expert
| menting with garbage gathered from
| barrels in the alleys of Moline i'm the
] hope of utilizing his furnace as a gar
bage burner. Garbage when treated
/ by this process, which he calls the
"egsalite process" is turned from po-
| tatO parings and other vegetable mat
| ter into black product rich i'm car
bon, and which burns like anthracite,
Chief OF Police Kittilsen, who has
charge of tn health department Of
Moline, states that Mr.. Smiths furnace
eclipses all known devices for consum-
ing garbage. Chief Kittilsen Is recog-
nj