Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1910-01-13
POWER FROM Ignite
COAL GAS

A NEW POSSIBILITY OF THE
NORTH DAKOTA Ignite
SUPPLY.
North Dakota's Ignite coal fields
are practically inexhaustible. There
is stored up latent heat and energy
in these aepostts which may trans-.
form in nh distance the future, our
present syste of transportation and
power in many localities. One Of the
possible uses of this coal supply is in
its transportation into power. The
state engineer and mining inspector
has completed his annual inspec-
tion of the mines of the state. While
the present output is about the same
as last year, the prospects are for
great increase in the near future,
with the completion of additional
transportation lines. The following
interesting statement regarding
North Dakota coal and it's future
possibilities of usefulness is given by
State Engineer Atkinson in his an
nual report:
It is generally known that North
Dakota contains large area of work.
able veins of Ignite coal, estimated
at $4,000 square miles, and an esti-
mated total tonnage of workable coal
of five hundred billion tons. Thus far
only million tons have been min
ed The beds are usually horizontal
and at a depth of from fifty to two
hundred feet beneath the surface
Our Ignite coal is exceptionally free
from sulphur, which is so common in
! the eastern bituminous Goals, and it
contains only eight per cent of ash,
. while eastern bituminous Goals con-
tain from eight to twenty per cent.
Properly burned, North Dakota lig-
mite never clinkers. The fuel testing
department of the United States geo.
logical survey located at Pittsburg, is
making extended Investigations into
the problem of briquetting Ignite
and Prof. Babcock of our school of
mines. at Grand Forks, is likewise
making this problem a study and it
seems quite probable that within a
short time the manufacture OF bri-
quotes from our own Ignite will be a
profitable business. ....
The state engineer believes that
the most important method of hand
ling our Ignite coal and the method
which will prove extremely profitable
| to North Dakota, is the manufacture
of producer power gas. The United
States fuel testing department has
made exhaustive test with this lig-
mite in the gas producer plants and
surprisingly successful results have
been obtained. They have found that
North Dakota Ignite burned in the
gas producer will develop more power
/ than any of the eastern bituminous
Goals burned on the crate. To de-
velop one horse power per hour by
the steam engine requires 4.46 lbs,
Of Virginia anthracite, and 3.97 lbs.
of Ohio bituminous, while one horse
| power per hour can be obtained from
only 2.29 lbs. of North Dakota Ignite
when burned in the gas producer.
Assuming Ohio bituminous in North
Dakota at IS per ton and Ignite at
50 per ton saving OF II per cent
would be affected by using Ignite
in gas producer plant, over the use
of Ohio bituminous in an ordinary
steam engine. However, the PROPOSE
tion that will very likely be the most
practical for the future use of our
Ignite is the burning of this coal al
the mines in the gas producer and
transmitting the power electrically to
light our cities, for our manufac.
turers and for electric railroad lines
constructed for the benefit of the
people.