Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1911-07-11
SUCCESS IN nR|QUETT-
ING IGNITE
Government Experts Believe Briquets
Can Be Made Of Texas Ignite
for $2.51 a Ton.

Washington. July 1.-THE bureau
of mines, through its experiments at
the Pittsburg testing station, believes
that it has developed a fuel supply for
the Western part of the country that
will be of immense value. II has sue.
ceeded in making briquets without the
use of a binding material out of lig-
mite from California, Texas and North
Dakota. The difficulty heretofore with
the manufacture of briquets has been
the cost of the pitch which is consd.
cred necessary to hold the coal dust
together
Ignite is poor form of coal, brown
in color, and is found in great abun-
dance in several Western states. nota.
/ bly, North and South Dakota, Montana
and Texas. Its use has been greatly
restricted because of its tendency TO
slack or turn to dust shortly after it Is
mined and brought TO the surface Be
cause of the great amount Of moisture
| 1t contained between 80 and 10 per
cent, the Ignite has been difficult to
burn under boilers or in stoves. There
is said to be 10000 square miles of
territory underlain by Ignite and mill
ions of acres belong to the govern.
ment. The bureau of mines some time
ago conducted series of experiments
at the pumping plant of the reclama-
ton service at Williston. y. d., and
succeeded in developing furnace that
would burn the Ignite satisfactorily.
But this did not solve the problem of
the transportation of the Ignite. The
bureau therefore sent 10 Germany,
where the briquetting OF Ignite Is
much farther advanced, and obtained
from that country a powerful briquet.
ting machine. The experiments have
gone far enough to indicate that lig-
mite can be satisfactorily briquetted at
a cost that makes the manufacture OF
briquets commercially possible.
The results of the experiments are
contained in bulletin, "Briquetting
Tests of Ignite just issued by the
bureau of mines. The author. Charles
l.. Wright, says: The results of the
briqueting investigations conducted by
the government are expected TO prove
of considerable value. not only TO the
government itself as the owner of ex.
tensive Ignite deposits and the largest
single purchaser of fuel, but also 10
the people In the regions where liz.
mite is found. The problem OF a fuel
supply in those regions is of peculiar
Interest. for many of the Ignite de.
posts are situated long distances from
fields of high grade coal. The problem
assumes still larger proportions when
one realizes that the development OF
manufacturing industries in those re-
gions depends upon the ability to OBJ |
tain cheap and satisfactory fuel"
Mr.. Wright gives the approximate
cost of briquets. loaded on cars. from
a briquet plant located at the mines.
as S2.5l in Texas; 1888 in North Da |
kota; and in California as 1924. This |
applies to briquetting run-of.mine lig |
mite to improve its heat value and !
weather resisting properties rather |
than briqueting slack or waste coal |
1t is believed 1t will be possible to |
make briquets from the waste coal, |
which will reduce the cost materially. |
Copies of this bulletin, No. Il. NAV |
be obtained by those interested by |
writing to the director of the bureau |
of mines, Washington, d. c.