The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-08-04

is bunker fire, caused always by spon,
taneouS combustion.
Every American who reads news
papers and learns of coal strikes and
shorages of coal due to car congestion
or inadequate transportation facilities
has asked the question: Why not
keep the mines running and store the
coal in piles? The foregoing are the
good and sufficient reasons.
These obstacles to coal storage
mean that coal can not be mined until
there is a quick market for it. The
demand for domestic coal for heating
and cooking is fairly steady and can
be reckoned upon, so it is possible for
mines to keep fairly steady supply of
coal moving to retail dealers. But for
the great industrial consumers the
task is more difficult Factories have
Doom periods and slack periods. Their
demands for coal vary The result is
that the coal to fill large order for
a mill or public utility is not taken
out of the ground until the coal com
pany has obtained the order.
IN boom times when factories are
running full blast, the orders come in
fast. Then follow feverish efforts TO
get the coal out. But here another
factor enters. 1t is no use to bring
the coal up above ground unless cars
are available to take it away. With
everybody demanding coal at once,
the railroads can not supply cars rap
idly enough to take care of all de-
mands.
All these circumstances point to the
desirability of devising a plan for the
storage Of coal.
Water Storage System.
There has been one extensive, sue
cessful experiment in this country
along lines heretofore found feasible
in England. The Illinois traction COM
! pany which operates a network Of
interurban electric railroads through
out the state has established a system
of subaqueous storage. 1t has been
learned that coal can be stored under
water This keeps the air from work.
ing its deleterious effects on the coal
and also prevents spontaneous COM
| bustion. 1t is curious fact however,
| that a small quantity of water will not
| plSNOILs DuL SL1IiIuIdlSo spontaneous
combustion. Merely to moisten coal
, or have it half covered will set it afire.
| Many of the bunker fires on ships
| arise from leaks. To afford proper
and safe subaqueous storage, the coal
must be wholly submerged.
/ The reason this has not been resort
! ed to more generally is that such a
plant is expensive. The Illinois Trac
ton bins are vast concrete lined ba
sins. The handling of the coal is null
tiplied because it must be mined
hauled to the storage bins, dumped in
| flooded. Then when coal from the
bins is needed, the water must be par
! TALLY drained off, the coal hoisted the
transported again to the point of con
sumption. However, in some cases
the cost of storage is regarded as wei
| spent in that it provides insurance
against suspension due to shortage Of
| production, strikes or interference
with distribution.
Recent Investigations by the bureau
of mines reveal that the dangers Of
/ spontaneous combustion are not 81
/ great as they have been considered II
the past. The most recent study
made by o. P. Hood, chief mechanical
i engineer of the bureau, shows that the
combustion is caused by the surface
heating of the coal. The contact be
i tween the oxygen in the air and tht
inflammable elements in the Goa
Gauss the heating which increases t
the point of combustion. Mr.. HooC
points out that the surface presented
by ton of coal is tremendous. Eacf
lump presents a surface and so doe:
each powdered grain. The norma
coal pile is not so tightly packed as Il
prevent the passage of the oxygen
bearing air through interstices II
practically every particle of coal.
One Surface Acre Per Ton.
When all these minute surfaces ex
posed to the air are added by Mr.
Hood. he gets the astounding tota
of approximately one acre of surface
to every ton of coal.
Two remeTies for this are suggested
by Mr.. Hood First, store only larg'
Jumps of coal. In the lump, the Goa
is naturally packed so densely tina
the air does not penetrate. Jumps o
!, nut size are those giving the creates
air surface per ton. He suggests tina
by more careful handling, coal can b.
|, brought up and stored in large blocks
A second suggestion is that coal b
artificially compressed. Goal dust j
compressed into coal brisuuets as