Improvements in Artificial Fuel.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Nov., 1898-Accepted, 10th Dec., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Artificial Fuel.
We, GARDNER COMING and EDWARD COMING, both of 35, Wall Street, City,
County, and State of New York, and THE BRIQUETTE COAL COMPANY, a corpora-
tion organized and existing under the laws of the State of West Virginia, and
having its principal place of business at No. 5, Wall Street, City, County, and
State of New York, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
My invention relates to improvements in artificial fuel, its object being to devise
a method for the efficient utilization of the waste products of coal mines and
yards in the form of dust or culm; and consists in the new and improved steps
of the process of manufacturing the same into blocks or briquettes hereinafter
set forth and claimed.
In the working of the process, the binding ingredients employed for uniting
the coal dust into briquettes are suitable bitumens and quick or fresh burned
lime. Of the bitumens, natural asphaltum is preferred, although the artificial
bitumens such as the by- or residual products of petroleum, are suitable. The
crude natural asphaltum however, is too brittle for the purpose and requires
tempering by the admixture of some artificial bitumen, especially a residuum oil
of petroleum, to impart elasticity and tenacity.
To properly combine the coal dust and bitumen, both are heated to as high
temperature as practicable, without injury by burning or coking. By thorough
intermixture while thus heated, the thinnest possible film or coating of bitumen
is given to the dust particles to secure their firm cohesion when cooled. The
preferable temperatures employed with natural asphaltum, I have found to be
about 300° Fahrenheit for the dust, and 320° to 340° for the asphaltum. If
other bitumens are used the temperatures may be varied to adapt them to the
different melting points of the bitumens.
To secure the most efficient binding action of the lime it is slacked with suffi-
cient water to make a liquid mass of about the consistency of cream, and which
is therefore known as cream of lime." This is intermixed with the combined
dust and bitumen while their mass is still hot, and this step of the process is the
most essential part of the method.
The proportions of the ingredients are;

page_text: "
The process in detail is as follows: The coal dust is heated to the requisite
temperature, the asphaltum melted and the tempering oil mixed with it, and
the mixture heated to the requisite degree. These are then thoroughly combined
in a mixer which requires usually about three minutes. The cream of lime" is
then added to the hot mass, the mixing operation being continued until the water
begins to vaporize. The mass is then delivered to a press while still hot and
moist, and formed as quickly as possible into briquettes under heavy pressure.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The herein described process of making artificial fuel in blocks, which con-
sists in heating coal dust and bitumen to a high temperature and thoroughly
intermixing them, then adding cream of lime to the highly heated intermixture
and quickly stirring the same into the mass until vaporization of the water of
the cream of lime commences, and then quickly compressing the mass into
blocks.
2. The method of manufacturing artificial fuel in blocks, which consists in
separately heating coal dust, asphaltum, and a tempering agent of the asphaltum
to high temperature, then thoroughly mixing the same while at such tempera-
ture, then adding thereto cream of lime and continuing the mixing until the
vaporization of the water in the cream of lime commences, and then molding
the mass into blocks.
3. The herein described process of manufacturing artificial fuel in blocks, con-
sisting in adding to asphaltum a petroleum by-product, heating both to about
three hundred and twenty to three hundred and forty degrees Fahrenheit, heat-
ing coal dust to about three hundred degrees Fahrenheit, mixing all thoroughly
together while thus heated, adding cream of lime and continuing the mixing
operation until the water in the cream of lime begins to be vaporized, and then
quickly molding the mass under great pressure into blocks.
4. In artificial fuel the improvements in gross, substantially as described.
Dotad thin 1 dl Nabo 1000
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.