The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-01-18

Forty-three thousand acres Oh eoai
lands in Indiana county have changed
hands. Some mines are being obencd
and all of the coal will be used for
coke. that will equal the Conneilsviiie
region. The by-products in the manu-
facture Of some staples are getting To
be so valuable that they often brlng
in more revenue to the manufacturer
than the staple he wants. This is ex-
pscted in this case, and, indeed, II IL
were not for "A new process in the
manufacture of coke these acres OF
coal would probably have remained for
many years in the state nature made
them.
Coke is an absolute necessity in the
manufacture of iron. The quality OF
the coke is of great Importance also.
For years the coal has been dumped
into the old-faGhioned beehive ovens.
ana after 1t has hlrned there for IS
hours the fire is quenched with water
and the coke drawn from the ovens.
From the day TIL. first coke was
burned there has been no Improvement
in this process. From each oven is
pouring a column Of smoke and flame
sometimes 20 feet high. The air Is
poisoned by noXious gasses and all
Vegetation for miles around suffers.
Men have looked upon the high
ascending smoke and commented on
the waste, and then forgotten the mat
ter so it went until few years
ago young German named Otto Hoff-
man came along. He at once recog-
nzed the frightful waste and set his
wits TO work. Tc at last solved the
nroblem. Hc did far more than he
contemplated however he solved sew
eral problems.
The United Coke and Gas company
was organized with William l.. Ell
kins as president associated with
number of eastern capitalists, and they
have control of the inventions of Hoff-
man. In 1897 the first plant was es-
tablished at Otto, Allegheny county
with 12O ovens. and a second 100 are
contemplated. The New England Gas
and Coke company at Everett, Mass.
has 400 ovens. the Dominion Gas and
Coke company at Sydney, n. S., has
400 ovens. and the Hamilton, Otto
Coke company at Hamilton, O., so
ovens.
Under contract and now in course of
erection is the largest coke plant in
the world at Buffalo, n. Y. This is
owned by the I.ackawanna Iron and
Steel company of this city. and in Buff
falo they are building 564 ovens. At
Lebanon the company is also building
232 ovens.
At the Otto plant coke is the desired
product, and everything else by-pro-
ducts. From six to seven tons of coal
Is the charge per oven. Each ton of
coal in addition TO the coke, which is
from 73 to 81 ner cent, according to
the quality of the coal. produces from
los to $50 per cent. of tar, .0S to 1.33
per cent. of sulphate OF ammonia, and
5000 feet OF surplus gas. The plant
turns out from $4,000 to 10000 barrels
Of tar year, and worth from 81 to
$3.50 barrel From the tar again it
Is possible 20 derive about 100 more
products. many OF them worth their
weight in gold All of the coke goes
TO the furnaces at Lebanon.
Some of the plants mentioned are
run for the gas as a product and all
else as by-products. The plant at Ev-
erett, Mass. supplies from six to seven
million cubic feet of gas a day to the
city of Boston, At Hamilton, O., the
gas Is furnished at about so cents for
1000 feet. 1t can be done for this
amount at any plant.
The plants Of the Lackawanan COM
pany when IN full operation will re-
Guire about 300 tons of coal a day.
TO supply the ovens it became neces-
sary to have the coal, so the company
recently purchased in Indiana county
$4,000 acres of coal lands. To reach
the lands the Pennsylvania company
has built an eight-mile extension OF
the Elbensburg branch from Cresson.
On this property are three three-foot
veins of good coking coal. There are
several openings at Ninton. Some of
the coal is reached by shafts about
100 feet deep, and al other openings
slopes will be used. All mining will
he done by electricity, in fact every
thing about the mines will be done
by electricity.