PAPERS OF GENERAL INTEREST 23 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMOKELESS FUEL 

 FEOM ILLINOIS COAL 



S. TT. Paer. UNm:EsiTY of Lllinois 



Experiments directed toward the modification of the 

 character of Illinois coals were begun in 1902, coincident 

 with the strike of the miners in the anthracite field of 

 Pennsylvania. TThile the lack of anthracite coal in the 

 Illinois markets had none of the distressing featnres re- 

 sulting from the hard coal famine of New England, still, 

 the inconvenience was marked and the question very 

 naturally arose as to whether we might not provide our 

 own fuel of a smokeless type by devising some process 

 of treatment applicable to Illinois coals which would 

 bring them within the range of substitutes for anthracite. 



The first published results of these experiments were 

 given in the Year Book for 1906, issued as Bulletin No. 

 4 of the Illinois State Geological Survey, under the title 

 "The Anthracizing of Bituminous Coal". This rather 

 ambitious jirogram and announcement seems, as we look 

 back upon it, to be appropriately characterized as the ex- 

 uberant expression of anticipatory zeal. At least, after 

 the i^assing of ten or twelve years filled rather strenu- 

 ously with investigational activities along this line, there 

 is evidence of a greater mildness of announcement, if not 

 born of wisdom then perhaps of experience and the very 

 positive discovery of how much we do not know about 

 coal. 



However, a stage has been reached in recent months 

 where we can properly consider that one chapter has 

 been completed and another begun. The line of demarka- 

 tion between chaj)ters is not very distinct and the divi- 

 sion relates more to the fact that a degree of progress 

 has been attained where industrial scale operations are 

 warranted and indeed essential before any final conclu- 

 sions can be drawn as to the practicability of utilizing 

 the results of purely scientific or laboratory investiga- 

 tions. 



Of course, it will not be possible in eight or ten minutes 

 to give any detail of the points covered by eighteen years 



