The evening times., 1900-10-06
MANUFACTURE OF FUELS.
The Use of Anthracite and Bitumf-
nous Coal Waste.

nous Coal Waste.
The growing scarcity of fuel III Great
Britain ane Europe is causing much at
tention to be paid to artificial fuels made
by various processes from anthacite and
bituminous coal waste. Some of the re-
cent processes are considered most sue
cessful, and it is believed to be probable
that they will be, taken up by American
manufacturers on account Of their saving
Of waste products Daniel T. Phillips,
Consul at Cardiff, Wales, has written to
the State Department report en- the
"Agslomite Process" recently much used
in Wales The process is entirely differ
ent from any former Iaethod and consists
of mixing chemically coal dust and pitch
or tar while under the influence of heat
and pressure in sealed vessel. A Lew
fuel compound is thus produced.
Mr.. Phillips thus describes the process:
The coal and agglomerants are mixed
and ground in dry state. If tar or pitch
or othes liquid substances are used, they
may be subsequently added; then the pre-
pared material is put into a hopper at
tached 70 the end of horizontal tube. The
opposite end of this tube is connected with
the briquette press, A worm is kept con-
stantly revolving in the tube, conveying
The material through the tube and feeding
it into the pressing ram chamber. The
tube passes through small furnace,
which enables the material TO become
heated to e temperature of 500 to 500 de-
greeS Fahrenheit The gases evolved can
not escape; hence the pressure produced
within the tube is shown on an attached
gauge to be about 10 pounds per square
| inch. Practically, the tube is an automati-
caily sealed vessel, for the closely packed
mass of coal materials fed from the hop
Per into one end OF the tube by the revolV-
ing worm and the hot plastic mass fed out
by the same worm into the press chamber
at the other end of the tube is SO closely
! blocked up by the passages as 10 overcome
| the internal pressure of 10 pounds per
| square inch created by the hot gases.
These gases, under pressure, permeate
| the hot plastic mass which is being turned
over and over as it slowly travels along
the sealed tube. Tar. as well as pitch.
! can be used as an agglomerant. Inde ed
| the use of tar. which is considered cheal er
| than pitch. affords opportunities for many
! possible new chemical combinations in the
manufacture of aggiomite. There is no
| question that a form Of tar distiliation
| goes on in the tube with the degree of
| heat employed. and that with such distil-
| latioE carried on under pressure numer-
| Gus well-known substances are broken up,
| rearranged, and are Intimately incorpo-
rated with the particles Of coal in way
| which Is not possible under any other fuel
| manufacturing system.
| The practical value OF a fuel 2grS7iy
depends on its ability to produce gaszs
| which, properly burnt, yield considerable
| heat. Agglomite fuel possesses this
| feature due, first, to the dissertation Of
gases under the combined influence Of
heat &ad pressure. secondly, to the I'll
| a chemical FQ.srrGnEpTuPpt IF
and solids, while being gradually con-
| densed and cooled previous to passing
| into the pressure chamber OF the bri-
quette press. The process, mechanically
! and commercially. is II OF chemical
problems and secrets. for which reason
1T is advisable that our American nler-
| chants who ray Re inclined to go into
| tks business should famiiiarize them
I selves Herewith before embarking on
the enterprise of manufacturing anthEa-
cite fuel
Millions of tons OF anthracita-coai
dust now thrown away can be success
| fully utilized in this manner. II Will
not take long for our quick-sighted
I American citizens TO master details
1t viii be to their advantage to know
that a much smaller percentage Of ag
glomerating material than is usually
employed viii suffice. without impair
ing the quality or appearance of the
fuel"
Mr. Phillips quotes an authority who
made experiments with the fuel as follows:
The aggloInite made in the above plant
consisted of IS Fer cent OF small coal pro-
duced from the 4fcGt Glyngwernen seam.
having value of 81 cents TO S1.I9 per ton
| delivered in Swansea, s per cent of pitch
! and / per cent OF tar. The proportion of
agglomerants is high, and could with ad-
| vantage be greatly reduced by using bet
| ter quality of coal The coal contained
9-32 per cent of ash. but repeated laborato-
| ry tests give Us much as 12-5 per cent The
volatile matter was said TO be from 13 to
II per cent
The fuel ignited very readily and burn
| ed with white flame of great heat with
much briskness- The briquettes slowly
opened out on the CRATES and presented All
| appearance, when partly burnt, like Jumps
of coral There was no tendency 10 melt.
and only 1.I9 per cent fell through the
CRATE bars in the shape Of ash. Owing to
| the excess OF dirt in the coal, the clinker
| was 7-19 per cent; this, of course, can easi-
Il avoided in a better class fuel The boil
| er was fired twenty times in six hours. but
| no further attention on the part Of the
| stoker was necessary.
| The smoke produced was very satfsfacto-
| ~. the amount visible after each firing be
| ing faint and lasting about one minute
| It is stated that the average of q series
of tests with ThoHpson's calorimeter prov
ed that the caloriac value of the fuel was
11.0S per cent higher than that of the coal
| from which it was made. This instrument
gave an average theoretical evaporation OF
| 149 pounds of water per pound of fuel
from and ar 212 degrees Fahrenheit
a fair average evaporation of Welsh
steam fuel is pounds Of water per pound
| of fuel and at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, One
| pound Of agglomite made from inferior
| small coal evapoTates over 10 pounds of
water from and at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.