Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1903-04-24
K OF B%RIQUETTs.
Process Of Making Briquetts From Lig-
mite Coal is Interesting.


Minneapolis Journal: Conditions
favor the early development of a
great Ignite briquette manufacturing
business in the northwest in the near
future. The use of such fuel has
become common in Germany, where
the industry has reached vast proper
tions. Advance sheets of the consul
lar reports mention the presence Of
William de la Barre of the Mime
apolis Water Power there to study
the briquette making business. Mr.
de la Barre was sent by General w.
D. Washbu1n, who is so largely in
terested in the Ignite fields Of North
Dakota, to study processes with a
view to establishing a factory in the
northwest. In North Dakota and
Montana there is a layer of Ignite
SIS, 900 square miles in extent and from
20 to $40 feet thick, and Germany has
pronounced the quality Of the best for
briquetting. Here is what the con-
sular reports say of tests made with it.
"The Dakota Ignite is old and
hard, contains SO per cent of water,
but brushes and pulverizes easily and
forms, without cinder, briquettes of
firm structure, which burn readily,
are practically smokeless, and leave
only 4 per cent Of ash, while the best
German brown.coal %briquettes yield
from 8 to 10 per cent of inorganic
residue. The percentage of water
contained is rather low, but by adap-
ting the distinguishing process to
that proportion of moisture, this OBJ
%stacle, such as it is, can be easily
met, and the reduced task Of evapor-
alton will be an economy in the gen.
eral process"
A typical German plant not far
from Berlin turns out daily from 500
to 900 tons of b%riquettes which sell on
the cars at the factory for from ST.. 66
to 50. IA per ton. Brown coal bri-
quette companies in Germany pay
dividends of from Is to 90 per cent.
With such profits in the industry,
and the vast supplies OF Ignite in the
northwest, including the beds in
North Dakota, Montana, and some in
Iowa, the northwest will doubtless
soon see the development Of the bust
ness. The fact that briquettes make
an almost smokeless fuel will also
add to their popularity.
The process of manufactures is in
teresting. Ignite containing less
than 30 per cent Of water is difficult
to handle. The part played by the
water contained in Ignite forms the
key to the whole economic briquetting
process. The crude brown coal is
brought from the mine, crushed and
~pulverized, and then run through a
large revolving tubular cylinder,
heated by exhaust steam from the
driving engine and hung on All in
clined plane SO that the powdered
material runs downward through the
tubes by gravity and is carried into
the machine press that stamps it into
the briquettes. During this passage
through the cylinder, it is dried and
heated until there remains the right
proportion Of moisture, combined
with the proper temperature to devel-
ope the latent bitumen in the Ignite
:! and make the powdered mass plastic
} and easy to mold under heavy pres
sure between heated iron jaws into a
hard, clean %briquette, with a glisten-
J ing surface and sufficient firmness of
structure to stand weather, transpor-
tation and other contingencies. To
j do this perfectly and economically
the natural Ignite should contain, as
} it comes from the mine, approximate
ly enough water so that heating to
I the proper temperature for pressing
will serve to e%vaporate out just
enough water to leave it at the prop
er degree of moisture.