Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-01-30
GOVERNMENT
FINDS A WAY
TO SAVE Coal.
MAKING OF RRlouETs OUT or
SLACK OR WASTE FUEL sY USE
OF MACHINERY is FOUND TO BE
PRACTICABLE.

Washington, d. c., Jan 20. - Mil
lions of tons Of coal may be saved to
the country through the Investigations
of the Technologic Branch of the
United States Geological Survey into
the briquetting of coal. For several
years this branch of the government
has been conducting a series of exper-
iments in the hope of stopping the
tremendous waste in the use OF fuels,
and one of them was the making Of
briquets out of slack or waste coal.
This fine coal, which has not nearly
the value of lump coal, because of the
difficulty in burning it, is mixed with
5 or 6 per cent of water gas pitch and
pressed into cakes or bricks by power.
full machinery.
Several hundred tons Of these bri.
quets were made at the fuel-testing
plant at ST Louis, Mo-, and later at
Norfolk, Va. This prepared fuel was
used in a number of tests by the
Pennsylvania, the Missouri Pacific,
the Lake Shore, the Michigan Central,
the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific,
the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
the Chicago and Eastern Illinois, the
Chesapeake and Ohio, and the Allan
tic Coast Line railroads, and in ev-
cry instance the briquets furnished
more power with less weight OF fuel
than the run-of-mine coal from the
same mines. They further showed less
smoke than the coal and indicated
that their proper use at terminals
might do away with a large part of
the smoke nuisance from the railroads
in the big cities of the country.
In cooperation with the navy de-
partment, a series Of tests were made
on the torpedo boat Biddle, off Hamp-
ton Roads, and the briquetes, weight
for aweight with the coal, succeeded
saya ger lratins much more power, htlt
there was very little difference In the
amount of smoke.
To the navy these tests are Of the
greatest Importance. The fact that
the briquets give more power than
the coal means that the vessel carry
ing 1000 tons Of briquets will be capa-
Bile Of steaming farther distance
than one with 1000 tons of raw coal
In time of war this would be very de-
sirable, especially If the fleet were in
foreign waters, far from coaling sta
tions.
To the railroads, the briquets, 1t Is
said, will undoubtedly prove q valu.
able fuel because Of the hotter fire
they make and the lessening Of the
smoke. In a number of the road tests,
the engines using briquets, carried
heavy trains much faster than with
the COAL They showed their ability
in number Of instances in making
up lost time, which would have been
impossible with the raw coal, ac-
cording to the statements of the men
who operated the engines.
A report on the results Of these
tests has just been made to the geo
logical survey by Prof. w. f. NJ.
Goss, consulting engineer in charge
Of locomotive tests. He sees many ad-
vantages to the railroads in the use of
briquets. 'In locomotive service y
says Mr.. Goss, "the substitution of
briquets for coal has resulted in
marked increase In efficiency, In an
increas of boiler capacity and In de-
crease in the production Of smoke. 1t
has been especially noted that care
full firing Of briquets at terminals is
effective In diminishing the amount
of smoke produced"
The tests as g whole indicate that
many low grade Goals, now considered
useless, may make an admirable fuel,
and thus add to the supply of the
country which is being used at a
rapid rate.