The weekly Alaska citizen., 1917-11-05

grad" tutiS that should be of real
 commercial value. are in sharp con.
 trast 10 the conservation and sue.
 cessful use of the latter class of
 fuels in Europe Accordingly d study
 has been made by the Bureau Of the
 utilization of highash coal; the Use 1 ot wood refuse and other similar
 material. the recovery of by-pro- ducts. such as ammonium sulphata. 1 tar. and pitch: recent developments in the use of peat as producer fuel. results of low temperature distilla- ton of fuels; possibilities of the Slagging type of gas producer: the
 use of powdered fuel After all.
 this is just another phase of Safety First for it is looking ahead and
 laying up for a rainy day in our national life. which may be upon us even now. All this is part and par eel of an intelligent national pre- parednesS program. for as Lord North cliffe told the great National Busi- ness Convention in Atlantic City the other day. this war will be won by
 the engineers and the chemists" In attacking the smelter smoke
 problem, the Bureau co-operated with the Selby and Anaconda shelter
 commissions, composed of disinter-
 ested experts, who were empowered
 to investigate and report on the
 complaints of fume damage by the
 Selby smelter in Solano County, Cal.
 and the Anaconda plant in Deer
 Lodge County. Montana The di-
 rector of the Bureau of Mines served
 as member of each commission, and the Bureau co-operated with
 commissions in the broader aspects
 of their investigations. in an effort
 to make the results available for a general study of the scientifi. and technical problems involved, The
 Bureau of Mines has given special attention to processes for removing sulphur from shelter gases and has made decided progress in the study of the chemical reactions on which these processes are based.
 Of special interest to the peopl. of this district should be an agree ment between the Bureau of Mnes and Professor E. J. Babcock, of the
 university of North Dakota, for the study of the North Dakota iignites, coals very similar to those of the Nenana field. Lignite fields are ol wide extent in the Western States as in Alaska, but in many cases special methods must be used ill order to utilize the Ignite efficiently.
 John A. Davis of the local Bureau of Mines Experiment Station, spent some time with Dr. Babcock last winter studying his results with the Dakota coals, and has lines of ex- pertinent in mind to try out as soon as tests can be made on the local coals Notifications in grate, fur mace, and stove construction have been studied. but most of all meth ods of carbonizing and gasifying and | the treatment and utilization of valu | able by-products such as Ignite resi- l due, gas, tar, tar oils, tar acids, | and ammonia Attention is being | given to the type ot oven best adapt 1 ed for carbonizing Ignite and re | covering the by-products on com mercial scale.
 Lignite does not coke, and tho rather fine residue from gasilying, | though it contains the fixed carbon, is not in a desirable form for com mercial use. However, tests show that it can be made into briquets 1 of convenient size which satisfactori- ly withstand weathering and trans portation, and make an excellent fuel for domestic or power purposes. | The yield of gas suitable for power and heat, and under certain condi- tions for lighting, is large. Differ ent lignites yield different propor- tions of ammonia and tar acids both | having commercial value. The yield | of the tar acids is noticeably high, | as is that of phenols and cresols.
 Our readers may remember that | there was great deal in the press | of the country couple of years ago | about two processes devised by a young chemical engineer of the Blu reau of Mines. One of these enables | refiners of petrolum products to in crease the output of gasoline some 200 per cent or even more. The , patent right for the process is dedi- ,