New-York tribune., 1903-01-05
MAKING COAL BRTOUETTES.

One industry i'm which Europe has antici-
pated and outstripped America is the manu-
facture of lump fuel out of coal dust In Ger
many France. Belgium and other countries the
business is conducted on large scale, though
perhaps Germany is the most extensive pro-
Queer In recent report the American Consul
General at Berlin supplies valuable information
on this subject 1t seems that briquettes made
of brown coal or Ignite are cheaper than
anthracite or bituminous coal, and are the prin-
cipai resource for German households. That
country alone has 2SG factories most of them
owned by the brown coal mining companies.
Many of these turn out from fifty 10 ninety tons
daily and few produce one hundred thousand
tons annually. different variety of briquette
is made of soft coal dust. This is used in
factories. kilns. locomotives and for other in
dustriaI purposes. It emits some smoke. while
the Ignite briquette does not; but in this re-
spect it is not so offensive as ordinary bitum-
nous coal. The burning qualities of the indus
trial briquette are all that can be desired. and
either slow fierce fame can be obtained
from them. For the latter purpose the bricks
are pounded into pieces. whereas they are
usually burned whole. The annual output of
while these figures probably greatly ex
ceeded in the production of those made of lg-
mite
A great many men in this country have tried
TO make briquettes in the last fifty years. For
a long time everyb body used as binder the
same material as European manufacturers.
which is gas tar. At least American,
though. substitutes lime. which is far cheaper
and which is said to be equally satisfactory.
There seems TO be nothing wrong with the ap-
paratus employed in this country. A number
of German houses which make briquette
chinery are reported to be on the lookout for
customers here just now but there seems to
be no occasion for their help. Briquettes OF
iron dust have been moulded pressed and dried
in the United States with success. and there is
no reason why the mechanical requirements of
the coal brquette should impose a heavier tax
on inventive ingenuity Moreover, the raw ma
terial available in this country is not only fully
equal TO that utilized abroad but It is distinctly
superior to the grade of coal which Germany
turns to account for household fuel The real
trouble here has been that anthracite and bi-
luminous coal were SO cheap that it did not
pay to make briquettes. Of late however prices
have been much higher. and he would be a rash
man who predicted that they would ever get
back TO the basis of year two ago. Mean
time, the processes of manufacture have grown
United States are more like those prevailing in
Germany than ever before. If our Teutonic
cousins can make money out of the business
why cannot we Americans do so?
The Initiative in this venture ought to be
taken by the coal companies. They control the
supply of raw material, which, alas, has ever
been too abundant. A few years ago it was as
serted that for every ton of hard coal sent to
market there were nearly two tons of waste at
the mine. Since the anthracite companies began
to wash up their plies of culm, to rescue the
rice, buckwheat and pea sizes that were once
deemed worthless, the proportion has been
greatly reduced. Yet there is still an appalling
waste of precious fuel in the form of dust The
establishment OF washeries has proved source
of additional revenue. Plants for making
br1quettes ought TO prove remunerative also
They would turn TO account refuse which the
companies are now bothered to dispose of in
crease the receipts and lower the cost of produc-
ing lump coal by assessing part of the expense
upon the briquettes. The same reasoning ap-
plies to the soft coal regions as to the anthracite
mines. The business can be conducted more
auVahtageousiy by the coal companies them
selves than by people who are obliged TO buy
the dust Indeed, competition from outside is
hardly to be considered. OF competition from
inside there is q much better prospect There
are operators who form combinations and
there are independent operators Should the
former exhibit too great conservatism tn the
matter of increasing the worlds fuel supply bv
starting briquette factories the latter class
might perhaps force them to consider the sub
ject afresh.