f^6 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



some 30% of water. Thus for every 100 tons of dry coal shipped, 

 handling, charges and freight have also to be paid on some 43 tons 

 of water. Moreover, when the coal is burned in a furnace this water 

 has to be evaporated and sent up the chimney with a consequent 

 great loss of efficiency. If, on the other hand, the coal is stored, it 

 gradually loses a large part of its contained moisture, but in so doing 

 the lumps crack and crumble until the product is almost useless for 

 ordinary purposes. 



Methods for increasing the commercial value of this coal are 

 easy to suggest. For example, it could be dried, powdered, and 

 briquetted. Unfortunately, unlike German brown coal, it is so defi- 

 cient in inherent binding material that a briquette made without the 

 addition of a binder will not stand storage and handling; whilst 

 briquetting with the addition of a binder is an expensive operation 

 considering the low grade of the material to be treated. The bri- 

 quettes moreover are so high in volatile constituents that they tend 

 to disintegrate as soon as they are heated. Another suggestion 

 would be to carbonize the coal and use the residue briquetted or 

 othenvise. The volatile matter driven ofï from the coal by heat has 

 a lower calorific value per gram than has the original coal, so that the 

 residue is a higher grade fuel. The coal, however, does not soften 

 and coalesce when heated, or, in other words, does not coke, so that 

 the product is a friable material bearing somewhat the same relation 

 to the original that charcoal does to wood. • This carbonized residue 

 could be used in gas producers, or as powdered fuel, or, with the 

 addition of a suitable binder, could be briquetted and employed 

 generally as a fuel. 



Much work has been done in different parts of the world on the 

 utilization of lignites, and one must conclude from the results obtained 

 that at present the most hopeful treatment for the Souris lignite is 

 low temperature carbonization, with recovery of by-products, and the 

 briquetting of the residue with addition of a binder. In this connect- 

 ion it may be mentioned that it has long been known to fuel specialists 

 that a truly economical use of most bituminous coals necessitates a 

 preliminary carbonization with recovery of by-products. The 

 importance of this is now very widely understood, and it is reported 

 that the direct combustion of coking coals is prohibited in Germany. 



Although, as stated above, much work has been done on the 

 utilization of lignites, as far as the writers are aware comparatively 

 little exact information has yet been published on the carbonization 

 of lignites. This lacuna we are endeavouring to fill. 



Points which it was considered a systematic investigation should 

 elucidate, included the following. When a sample of lignite is car- 



