The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-02-14
COKE AND CHARCOAL.
Methods of Making and Uses to
Which They Are Put.

From the New York Tribune.
II am often asked" said NJ. w.
Swenson of Wilkes Barre. Pa. ''what
coke consists of and what uses II Is
put. Coke is coal with the volatile
matter burned off, what Is left being
almost wholly fixed carbon. To reduce
coal to coke the coal Is put into espec-
tally constructed ovens and allowed to
burn for about thirty-six hours. Only
sutficient air Is admitted to the oven to
keep the fire going. and this air Is only
allowed to pass over the surface of the
coal. At the end of thirty-six hours
the volatile matter In the coal VIII
have been consumed and the rcsidum
Is called coke. 1t is gray in color and
Is punctured with air holes.
Coke Is frequently manufactured as
by-product, and n great saving Is
thus effected. This is especially so In
the manufacture OF gas, where the
neat obtained from the volatile matter
is. sufficient for the purposes needed.
| The furnaces in use In the Boston Gas
company are constructed SO that only
the volatile matter will be consumed.
The Boston and Maine railroad uses
on its locomotives the coke which the
gas company thus obtains as by
product. Coke was originally discov-
cred and brought into use in the man
ufacture Of iron. To manufacture iron
what Is konwn as welding heat must
he obtained. When you go INTO black
| smiths shop you will notice that the
blacksmith in heating the iron upon
which he IL at work plunges 1t into the
deep, red bed of Goals, through which
the artificial blast, produced by the
bellows, rushes. He gets his welding
heat in this lower. deeper-colored
iiame. He could not obtain 1t in the
flame above. When welding heat
was needed originally in the manufac-
ture of iron charcoal was used.
But charcoal, while effective, was
very expensive, and made iron costly
and more or less limited in its use. Con-
| se1uently. when anthracite, with its IS
! per cent of carbon and but ) per cent
! of volatile matter, was discovered iron
| manufacturers eagerly substituted IL
for charcoal, thereby reducing the cost
| of producing iron and proportionately
| increasing it's use. But anthracite.
| while cheaper than charcoal, had 4
\ mighty drawback. 1t was not porous,
| and it was difficult to force n blast
| through 1t. In the manufacture of iron
| wind is a vital necessity. tons and tons
| of wind, in the form of blast, are
| consumed for each and every ton ot
| iron manufactured. The density of an
! thracite made it difficult to force the
blast through. and interposcd Il Serious
and detrimental obstacle to its use,
| Then some one discovered coke, which
| answered all requirements. 1t was
| cheap. It gave a welding heat. And
| best Of all, being porous, it gave free
ingress and egrcss to the vitat!V me-
| essary blast.
Some coal is of so poor a character
1 that you cannot get Il welding heat
| from it, try as you may. For example,
! at the blacksmith shops in the coal
| mines in Colorado they have to use
| coal brought from eastern mines to get
| a welding heat, ii being utterly impos-
sible to get it from the Colorado coal.
| This country Is blessed with an enor-
| nous supply of coal. distributed over
| a diversified area. Some of it, how
ever is of inferior grade. Yet the cost
| of transportation causes 1t to be
| mined. For instance. in Kansas they
are going down 400 feet to obtain coal
| that runs but eighteen inches in the
! vein. They have to do It, however, as
it is the only coal they have. Coal is
| one of the most valuable natural
sources of wealth with which mother
nature has so bountlfully and sener.
| ously blessed us. 1t will be an increas.
| ing source of revenue, for the shortage
in Europe can have no other effect
| than to broaden the markets for Amlr.
lean coal and coke. which will at tht
| same time command better and con-
| stantlY inCrea sing prices"