The daily Alaska citizen., 1919-03-18

lit any distance.
 The light gases distil at low tempera- ture when Ignite is burned much before the solid carbon reaches the point of ignition, and they pass up the chimney unburned causing a further loss of available heat. During ig- milton Ignite crumbles badly, because it pos sesses no coking qualities, and particles of unbrrned fuel are lost thru the grate bars.
 UTILIZATION OF THE NENANA LGNlTE AS Mined
 The results obtained from such use as has been made ot the raw Nenana lgnlte (and from the use ot similar hgntes i'll North Dakota and Saskatchewan) together with the possibilities ot recovering by-products from the different methods of treatment, emphasize the conclusion that the Nenana Ignite should not be used without some sort ot preparation. Drying
 Drying is the simplest method ot treat ment and varlOuS types ot drlerS tor remOv- ing the moisture from Ignite are to be had ill the market But drying Ignite, atho 1t re- suits Ill saving ot trelgnt cnarges and Ill the neat necessary to superheat the moisture when the hgnlte IS burned, does not remedy the trouble due to the volatile gases; and the dried product is not suitable tor hand fired steam plants. The drying process makes large amount ot hne material which must be brlquetted or wasted, and the freight cost of the necessary binder for the briquettes would make the cost of this treatment proh- bitive.
 For generating power, the gas producer III combination With the gas engine IS SatlS- factory but 1t must be used i'll central sta ton near the Ignite mine to avoid unneceS- sary transportation ot the fuel. When so employed, however, gas producers afford an exceptionally cheap power and can compete III many instances even with tavorably located hydro-electric plants.
 The Carbonzns Process
 The carbonizing process which is some what similar to the gas producer in that it is one of destructive distillation but at much lower temperatures, will solve the difficulty of using the Ignite. In this process the mois- ture is evaporated and the volatile matter driven off in the form of light oils, tars and gas leaving carbonized residue or "artii- cial coal' having a value and efficiency con- parable to anthracite.
 The carbonizing plant erected by the gov ,:....., OI saskatchewan at l,stavan had a capacity of two or three tons per hour. The process was entire. ..4. ."... reducing the costly element of labor. The use of revolving cylinder lined with frebrick as carbonizer has been advocated by Professor Babcock of the University of North Dakota and i'll Denver plant was operating in 1916 at capacity of about 40 tons in 24 hours using horizontal coking ovens to carbonize the Ignite.
 The products of the carbonization pro- cess are artificial coal, oils and tars, ammo mia and gas.
 About one-half ton of artificial coal is produced per ton of raw Ignite, but this arti- fcial coal has double the effective heating value of the original fuel Approximately one half of the artificial coal will not pass thru a 3-S inch screen, and this portion will furnish a suitable fuel for locomotives and steamboats. The fine materials may be briquetted, using a binder distilled from other products made during the process with the addition of a small amount of coking coal, and will furnish an exceptionally good fuel for domestic use in stoves and furnaces.
 The oils and tars may be made into a number of valuable products such as are manufactured from the coal tar derivatives that have been the basis of the much vaunted German chemical industry.
 The ammonia may be recovered as ann monium sulfate which is worth perhaps 7M to 8 cents per pound and is exceedingly vaua- ble as fertilizer.
 The gas may be used in gas engines to generate power, and there is available from the carbonizing of a ton of Ignite enough gas to produce l60 horsepower hours. This gas is obtained practically free because the other products pay for the cost of carboniz- ing.