Year: 1876

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Miner md Many n Savant.


All over the coal country, says Potts
vile (Pa.) correspondent of the Sun, are
to be seen mountains of coal dirt. It has
been piled up ever since mining begun.
Thousands upon thousands of tons are
packed away in the mountain gorges. 1t
has always been considered useless and
valueless. Coal operators dumped the
dirt along the streams, in the hopes that
spring freshets would wash it away. A
portion of the upper section of the
Schuylkill canal was thrown out OF use
because the expense of dredging coal
dirt from the bottom was too great, and
the company accordingly abandoned it.


Suddenly all this accumulated coal
dirt has been broughtto market value,
and every ton of it is worth money to
the steam power manufacturer. Super
intendent Wootten is one among twenty
inventors who have been considering
his great problem and trying to solve
it. Few scientific men have ever wit
messed these immense mountains of coal
dirt without asking the question: "Can-
not this stuff be put into some shape to
be burned2" At least twenty different
parties and companies have been organ
lied for the purpose Of making a fuel
out Of the dirt that would burn. In
nearly every instance the parties took
the dirt. mixed it with coal tar, lime or
other material, and then pressed it TO-
gether in Jumps or molds. The stuff
would never burn satisfactorily. The
coal tar, etc., would ignite, but after
that the dirt would appear Like dead Gin
der and emit no heat at all.


One man took preparation OF buck
wheat meal and mixed it with the coal
dirt. Afterward it was pressed into
blocks the shape and size OF brick.
Samples were shown to Superintendent
Wootten by the inventor for inspection.
After thinking q moment the inventor
was asked whether he had ever consid-
cred that the -four alone would cost
much more per ton than the best anthra-
cite coal2 The reply was "no" that
he hadn't thought that far.


Mr.. Wooten labored considerably, and
at last came to the conclusion that the
only way the dirt could ever be used sat-
isfactorily would be to burn it the same
as other coal is used either by locomo-
tive or stationary engine. The trouble
was it would not burn, because it was
too compact, and would smother rather
than ignite. For fifty years that has
been the one great impediment, and
scientists could not overcome it. Final
ly, however, Mr.. Wootten thought of in
Producing steam blast through the
coal from the bottom, in the hope Of
penetrating the mass and supplying
plenty of air. He built furnace special
ly for it, and placed it under station
ary engine boiler. Instead of using
CRATE bars, he employed perforated
iron plate for the fire to rest upon. A
pipe from the boiler conveyed the steam,
and the necessary pressure supplied the
blast, and this stroke proved TO be the
key note of the entire coal dirt problem.
It burned freely, and threw out an i'm
mense heat. The oldest dirt was used
to see if it possessed burning qualities,
and it was found that it was consumed
freely, the same as the best of coal.


It was next tried in the furnace of
locomotiv engine, and was found to
burn equally well The other day when
the wind was blowing at velocity of
forty miles per hour, ccal dirt burning
engine took up train of one hundred
cars through the valley with the same
ease and with as little labor ras an engine
burning the very best anthracite coal.
This certainly is regarded as a great
revolution in the coal and iron country,
because it transforms at least q million
Of tons of heretofore useless coal dirt
into a fuel worth at the very least one
dollar per ton; and provides way. to
consume all coal dirt that may come to
the surface in the future.