The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1913-04-17
INCREASED DEMAND
FOR ARTIFICIAL FUEL

The quantity of briquetted fuel
manufactured in the United States in
1912 showed a small gain over the out
put for 1911, and according to E. w.
Parker, of the United States GeoIogi-
cal Survey, the briquet industry may
be considered as now passing out of
the experimental stage and assuming
more substantial and permanent
character. The quantity of briquetted
fuel made in 1912, at 10 plants, was
220,064 short tons, valued at 1852. .261
as compared with 21S,443 tons valued
at $S0s,721 in 1911. OF these plants
seven used anthracite culm, nine used
bituminous or emi-bituminous slack,
one used residue from gas manufactur-
ed from oil, one used mixed anthra-
cite culm and bituminous slack. and
one used peat. The largest producer
of briquets in the United States in
1912 was the Berwind Fuel company,
of Superior, Wis, the output of which
was little in excess of $4,000 short
tons. The plant has a capacity of be-
tween 35 and 40 tons of briquets an
hour
Enormous Supply Of Briquet Material
The quantity of raw material avail
able for the manufacture of briquets,
as stated by Mr.. Parker, is ample and
may be obtained at slight cost. The
most desirable material for producing
a smokeless product is anthracite culm,
a plentiful supply of which still re-
mains in the anthracite region of
Pennsylvania and more is produced
daily in the mining operations. 1t is
not too much to believe or to hope
that in the near future the samll sizes
of anthracite, such as buckwheat and
smaller, that are now sold with btu
minous coal and at prices below the
actual cost of production, will become
more valuable as a raw material for
the briquet manufacturer. The output
of these small sizes. produced by
breaking up large coal to obtain the
domestic grades-egg, stove and nut
exceeds 20,000,0o0 long tons annually,
exclusive of 100000 to 100000 tons
annually recovered from the culm
banks by washeries. The present rev.
enue from this product will not exceed
$30,000,000 Washery and small size
coal is worth from so cents to $3.50
ton, the price depending ON the size.
As briquetted fuel it shoule worth
as much as stove or egg Goa SO to
81 per ton. The cost Of bridGetting is
81 to $l.25 per ton. The uniform size
of the briquets makes them highly de-
sirable as domestic fuel; besides if
properly made they are completely
consumed and do not produce that
bugbear to the housekeeper, clinkers.
The vast and almost untouched
areas of Ignite in North Dakota and
Texas still contain enormous supplies
of fuel that European experience has
taught is well adapted to briquetting
and that is much more usable in that
form than in the raw state. The
School of Mines of the North Dakota
University has been making some in
teresting and valuable experiments in
briquetting Ignite, under the direc-
tion of Prof. f. J. Babeock, and has
already attained excellent results.
The large areas of peat beds in the
United States are also available as a
source of raw material They are
generally remote from the coal fields,
and briquetted fuel from peat, when
properly prepared, makes an excellent
substitute for coal. The peat now
produced in the United States is used
for stable litter, fertilizer, etc. None
is used for fuel
A copy of the report on briquetting
may be obtained free on application to
the director of the Geological Survey,
Washington, ID. c.