The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1901-04-06
BRIQUETTES FROM COAL.
NOVEL WAY or UTILIZING WASTE
FROM THE MINES.

NOVEL WAY or UTILIZING VAST
II FROM THE MINES.
culm Heaps Reduced to Powder by Mean
Of Powerful Crushers Mixed With
Binder" and Made Into a:Paste MoIde
Under High Pressure.
Travellers In Europe are familia
with the coal briquettes which ar
used extensively in place of ordinar
coal in both England and on the cont
nent, and the amount of smoke whicl
they emit has probably impresse'
most Americans unfavorably, so tina
they would be slow to recognize thei
adoption in this country. The grea
amount Of smoke which the briquette
yield when burned is due partly to thu
| inferior sort of stoves in common us'
In Europe for heating purposes and tt
the fact that soft coal dust is used ii
their manufacture, with a larg'
amount of pitch for binding material
The advantages of coal briquette'
are briefly their freedom from dus
and dirt when handled, and thei
economy in utilizing coal dust ant
waste from the mines. Coal waste II
this country has been enormous in the
past. The vast culm heaps for years
piling up at the mouth of every Goa
mine represented waste of natura
material amounting to millions Of dol
lars. Although these culm heaps
were neglected for years, there were
plenty of geniuses who realized thai
some day the waste fuel would BIZ
utilized, and since 1887 many patents
have been taken out to make GOA
briquettes.
But it is foregone conclusion that
coal briquettes would never be popu-
lar in this country without the elimi-
nation of the disagreeable features
characteristic Of the briquettes used
on the other side. The successful
manufacture of coal briquettes in the
West to-day, says writer in the
Scientific American, consequently
proves of more than general interest
as inaugurating a new era in our fuel
problem that may have wide-reaching
results. When we consider that the
combined output of briquettes in Eu-
rope exceeds some 2O,OOO,OOO tons a
year. and that they are used for house
heating, for manufacturing purposes,
and on tho no ;1rooIo and co,,,o of a.
ocean steamers, we can appreciate the
extent to which similar industry
may develop in this country. In the
American coal briquettes manufac-
tured In the West to-day the binding
material has been mixed so that only
8 per cent. of pitch is employed, with
about 2 per cent. Of lime The use of
lime in the binding cement has made
it possible to obtain good results with
much less pitch than the European
employ.
There is one large factory in Chica-
90 which has been successfully manu.
featuring the American coal briquettes
for several months, and, with daily
output of 200 tons, or about 10000
tons year. the plant is probably the
most representative of it's kind in this
country. The success of this western
plant has already started a similar
in the East, and a second
plant may soon be built near the At
antic seaboard.
In this Chicago factory soft coal is
employed for the briquettes, with a
slight quantity of anthracite mixed
with it to give it hardness. The So
,alled slack coal of the mines is en-
,loyed for this purpose, and after the
late and sulphur have been eliminat-
ID by washing and other processes the
,oal is reduced to dust by means of |
powerful crushers manufactured es-
,ecially for this work. The dust is
arried from the crusher to a heater
where temperature is maintained be-
ween $50 and 200 degrees Fahren-
eit. This heat is sufficiently below
he igniting point of coal, and high
nough to make the binder adhere
rmly to produce the desired results
Without in any way injuring or chang
ng the chemical condition of the coal
ust. An automatic elevator next
aries the heated coal dust to the
DOR above, where it Is mixed with the
inder while still warm.
The binding materials are contained
! enormous tanks. In one huge tank
here is slaked lime mixed with Just
efficient water to make 1t thick and
reamy. In a second tank there is a
oft mass of bitumen heated to
of $50 degrees, while in
ne third tank there is cold bitumen.
With these ingredients at hand the
lixer performs his work according to
,rmula. With weighing apparatus
n each ingredient he fills another re-
eptacle, capable of holding a thou
md pounds, with the different COM
)unds, until the right consistency is
)tained. AS the success of the whole
'ocess consists in the proper mixing
these ingredients, it is highly i'm
,rtant that the measurements should
} exact, and the work is performed ,
lder the supervision Of experts. In
lis gigantic mixer the coal dust and ,
lie binding material are thrown by !
machinery, and when they :
i've been properly stirred and mixed :,
icy fall through an opening to the
ON below, where the powerful /
esses are ready to convert them into G
Iitable sized briquettes. 4
The mixture, which Is now about as
lex as paste, is first fed into small
olds arranged ON a wheel. As this
heel revolves with the paste in its I
ckets a second wheel meets it with +
dentations to correspond to the first. i
he two come together so that an
ormous pressure is exerted, and the l
.