Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-03-03
Ignite !: !. TESTS | / | 1 IN WILL
Be Made AT THE ''''U''
WHAT HAS been DONE IN this
VAST FIELD OF ORIGINAL ~
RESEARCH.

RESEARCH.
Grand Forks Times: The most i'm
portant Of North Dakotas natural re-
sources is its vast deposits of Ignite
The U. s. geological survey has esti
mated that, North Dakota has 100000,
100000 tons of workable coal, the
largest quantity Of any state In the
union.
The drawbacks to its general use
are: The quantity required to get
given amount of heat and consequent
trouble in handling and expense In
shipping-one ton Of Ignite from the
mine yields about sixty-five per cnt
as) much heat as a ton of good soft
coal; to get the best heating results
1t must be dried out or seasoned; II
will not stand long storing, especially
in the open, without Stacking; and II
is very dirty and disagreeable to han
die. Investigations with q view. tc
discovering and perfecting methods to
overcome these objections are being
carried on along three tines: Briquet-
ting, manufacture of gas and the man
.ufacture of producer gas. To the
ordinary reader 1t might sem that the
last two should be. included under
one head, but the wide difference In
the method of manufacture and use of
each make their investigation separate
problems.
The school of mine of the univer.
sity of North Dakota in cooperation
with the U. s. geological survey is
carrying ON Investigations along these
lines and has just issued a. bulletin on
"Gas Production From the Ignite OF
North Dakota" which gives an out
line of the work done, with the re-
suits.
BY referring to the table of tests
in this bulletin it will be found that to
develop one horsepower per hour by
steam would require 4.46 pounds Of
Virginia anthracite, 1897 pounds of
Ohio bituminous, while by the produc-
er-gas plant by use of North Dakota
Ignite, only 2.29 pounds is required
per horsepower hour. Assuming the
price of Ohio bituminous in North
Dakota at $500 per ton and Ignite
$500 per ton, a calculated saving of
II per cent would be effected by using
Ignite in a producer gas plant over
the use of Ohio bituminous in an or
binary steam engine.
!! The power developed and the re-
suits secured from North Dakota lig-
mites: are remarkable in comparison
with other fuels, especially when the
difference in steaming power is con-
sidel ed. The figures as to efficiency
will vary with the size of the plant,
large plants operating with the high
est economy Practical plants. are now
made in comparatively small units, as
low as twenty-five horsepower.
While this will prove of great value
to all parts of our state, it will be
especially important to those commun-
tiles nearest the great Ignite depos-
it's in the western portion Of the state,
for in many of these places it will no
doubt be possible to establish large.
power plants to utilize the waste from
the Ignite deposits, converting these
wastes into electricity which in turn
may be sent to surrounding towns
and villages, thus distributing power
and light from numerous central
power plants. Such an arrangement
will not only be great saving of our
fuel resources but will also, result
in establishing many Industries which
can be developed by abundant and
cheap electric power. 1t seems prob
able that we shall be able shortly to
produce from Ignite a gas which can
be converted into power with saving
of twenty-five to fifty per cent. or
more. This will, of course, mean in
the aggregate the SAVING of large sums
of money for the citizens of this state.
Il college of mining engineering
has begun a series OF extended inves-
legations on the various methods OF
producing from Ignite a gas which
may be utilized economically for light
ing, power and heating purposes. AL
though these Investigations have not
proceeded far enough to be considered
in detail at this time, still some very
excellent results have been secured
and we hope that the work which will
be carried on at the school of mnies
will prove Of very great practical help
to the. state. =: ..>5
Is Motor Dest Development.
The trsnd Of motor boat develop
snent during the year has BEEN alto