The Washington herald., 1909-07-18

Lexington. KY July 1.-THE Kentucky
geological survey has added an Emerson
bomb" caIorimeter 10 its equipments
matter Of interest TO ever. producer and
consumer Of coal In Kentucky.
The value Of a coal is indicated BIZ
the number Of heat units 1t contains. a
value expressed IN terms Of 80. L. u.'s''
British thermal units, and determined
by q special apparatus called a calori-
meter. The unit is that amount Of heat
required 10 raise one pound Of water 70
a temperature Of 1 degree Fahrenheit
In past years ali that large consumers
asked was a chemical analysis OF the coal
offered; now they require not only that,
but the b. Z. us which show the num-
Der Of available heat units while the
analysis shows the percentages OF moist
ure, sc, that affect the efficiency OF the
coal when burned under boile-
An accurate determination Uf the heat
units. therefore. Is rapidly becoming q
necessity for producers as well as for
users OF coal, and II is probable thar
within a few years all coal whether for
manufacturing and other large purposes
or for domestic use. VIII be bought and
sold upon the chemical analysis and b.
= u. basis. such as is being conducted in
the survey laboratories.
Valuable Testing Plant.
In accordance with its policy 10 render
all its work Of practical value. the state
geological survey has Tor some time
been making tests OF the b. Z. us in
connection with the chemical analysis OF
the various Goals OF the state.
Kentucky coal dealers have been
brought 10 a realization OF the value OF
such tests 10 them as wei as 10 their
customers. but have frequently been con
fused by the objections OF various .sfuel
engineers on the results Of the Parr
calortmeter hitherto used by the survey
and not by the engineers hence the
purchase or the new apparatus win
which Director Norwood feels no sincere
can find fault It IS in every
respect the equal Of tie Nahler bomb.
and will soon De completely Installed.
WITH this addition tc us testing plant.
the survey can save thousands OF dollars
annually 20 consumers and producers Of
coal by putting both in possession Of ex-
act Information concerning the particular
kind OF coal used OF mined.
Boiler TESTS Defective.
Some engineers base their conclusions /
as 70 the value Of coal solely on boiler
tests This, however. Is an error. for
The efficiency OF q coal under a boiler is +
governed IN part by the limitations Of the +
1oiler plant some large consumer. now /
.oliow the practice Of the United States
government and buy according 90 specl- +
lcat-ons. walcG fX certain minimum per-
'entases for moisture ash. and sulphur.
IND certain number o. British thermal
inlts per pound OF coal
Thus a coal better than the standard
iXea brings premium above the basic
.ortr2ct price. and one which falls be-
Ow the standard suffers a deduction from
Ae contract price or IS rejected entirely.
At the present ti-ae forty Departmental
buildings In Washington. the Panama
railroad, 80 public buildings throughout
he United states, navy yards and
.rsenals are buying their coal in this
manner.
VIII Test Boilers
The question OF boiler efficiency. how
ver. is quite as important when decid-
ng upon the purchase OF Goals as is the
nor ledge 0f the number OK D. e. us. II
boiler, FOR instance. can utilize only \
ertain number OF hear units. j. IS folly
u
'er OF b. G. q. s. In the case OF a partic-
lar boiler. the mere fact that one coal
as larger number Of b. z us than
mother does not indicate thzt il Is the
est for that particular boiler; the efi-
iency of the boiler for various Goals I
first knowing the D. T. us Of the Goals
ried), should be known. and then the !
oals De selected that yield the largest ,
lumber Of heat units for that particular
oiler.
AS a matter OF fact, IL appears that
hemical analysis and test Of the "b l. !
IS Of a coal should be coupled with :
urning tests under standard cOndi-
Ons. # possible Il IS expected. there :
ore, that cooperative agreements win !
e entered into by the kentucky geo 3
lgical survey with the College OF Ne :
ianical Engineering OF state University.
hereby boiler tests OF Goals selected BY / r
he survey may also be made. y
Prof r. D. Quickel. OF the College o. T e
lining Engineering, has charge of the
ilorimeter tests az present, and is con
acting a systematic investigation OF
'als sampled by the survey direct from
De- various mines