The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-01-22
Bismarck, mandan Commercial
Bodies Send Large Dele
cations to Lehigh
DICKINSON MEN ARE HOSTS
Special Train Leaves Bismarck
= at 8 A. N. Sunday; Re-
turns at 8 p. NJ.

Dickinson, N. D., Jan. 22-Dickin-
son business and professional men
are assuming the role Of hosts next
Sunday at Lehigh, the Ignite min
ing center 10 miles east Of Dickin-
son, when some 200 prominent North
Dakotans come by special train to
inspect the new million dollar Ignite
briquetting plant just opened by the
Lehigh Brfquetting company.
Dickinson men are providing trans
portation for the visitors from the
depot at Lehigh to the plant, q dis
tance Of about . mile, and the Dick
inson Association Of Commerce is
serving lunch.
The special train over the North
ern Pacific railroad leaves Bismarck
at 9 q. m. and returns to the state
capital at s p. M, permitting a stop
from II q. m. to 2 p. M, Mandan
time, at the plant. Many state Off
cials and legislators will be in the
party as will visiting newspaper men
from outside the state who viii be
guests of the Greater North Dakota
Association. The Bismarck Associa-
ton Of Commerce and Mandan
Chamber of Commerce are sending
large delegations on the special
train.
In addition to seeing how North
Dakota Ignite can now be converted
into q commercial fuel Of high grade,
which may be expected eventually to
replace the entire imported coal tom
mage now imported into the north
west, the visitors at the Ignite bri-
quoting plant at Lehigh will see one
Of the most modern and efficient me-
chanical installations operating in
this entire area.
No Labor Handling
From the time the coal is loaded
into the cars in the mine until the
finished briquettes are unloaded at
distributing points no labor handling
is employed. From the mine tipple
It is delivered by gravity to q belt
conveyor which carries it to q special
Ignite crusher. From the crusher
sit is elevated to q screen tower where
the fine coal and dust arr, carried ty
d conveyor to the storage hoppers ia
the boiler room. Here It is auto
matically spread on chain crate
stokers, which automatically regu-
late' the heat requirement to main
tain steam pressure.
From the screen tower, the coal
destined for carbonization is fed. by
gravity into the steel reserve storage
bunkerS, from the bottom of which it
is fed into bucket chain conveyors,
which elevate it more than 80 feet to
the top of the steel tower which sup
ports the great dehydration and car
bonization ovens. Here the coal is
dumped into an automatic spreader
which feeds the Ignite into the de-
hydration ovens.
The Ignite then gravitates down.
ward, first through the dehydration
oven where the water is driven oft,
and into the carbonization. .distilla-
tion ovens where the tar and gases
are driven from it in the form Of
vapor. When these elements have
been completely removed, the coal is
carried through cooling chamber
and into the briquetting plant where
it receives a coating Of pitch which
forms the binder to held it in bri-
quetted form. After this operation
the pitch-coated char is carried to
the third floor of the building by
automatic conveyor and from there
proceeds by gravity downward
through the briquetting press to the
loading conveyor belts which deliv-
er it to the cars for shipment.
Mechanical Devices Interesting
Many special mechanical devices
for the handling and control Of this
great smoothly operating machine
like plant will be Of particular inter-
est to those mechanically inclined,
as it provides some features for the
first time seen in operation in the
CONTINUED on page nine)