PAPERS OF GENERAL INTEREST 25 



sible for the smoke, soot and grime which attend the com- 

 bustion of bituminous coal in the raw state. 



You will at once say therefore that it is a simple propo- 

 sition of conducting a fractional distillation wherein the 

 process is not allowed to exceed a temperature of 750° C. 

 But there the difficulty is at once apparent of heating up 

 a mass of non-conducting material through a range of 

 700° by means of the application of external heat which 

 at once proceeds to build up against its o^^ti progress an 

 imj^enetrable wall of greater non-conductivity between 

 the source of heat and the mass to be heated: That, in 

 concise form, is the statement of the problem. A detailed 

 description of its solution as already noted would far 

 exceed the time limit set for this paper. Certain acces- 

 sory facts, however, are of interest and should be given 

 in this connection: 



The unmined coal reserves ^^^.thin the boundaries of 

 the State of Illinois exceed the estimated tonnage of any 

 other state in the Union, Pennsylvania and West Vir- 

 ginia not excepted. The average annual output of coal 

 from this state is in round numbers from 90,000,000 to 

 100,000,000 tons. This yearly output is exceeded by 

 Pennsylvania and in some years by West Virginia. It 

 has a potential value annually as a source of oil on the 

 basis of the investigations we are discussing to the extent 

 of 21/0 billion gallons, or approximately 1/5 of the entire 

 annual petroleum output of the country. It has also a 

 potential ^-ield of 600 billion cubic feet of gas, an amount 

 equal to the entire output of natural gas in the United 

 States for the year 1915, and with an estimated value at 

 that time of $i00,000,000. 



The above references to gas and oil may seem to be ir- 

 relevant but let us consider a few items in that connec- 

 tion. The modern industrial demand is increasingly urg- 

 ent for fuels of the liquid and gaseous t^^ie. The gener- 

 ation of power by oil-burning, including gasoline-burning 

 engines, in this country already equals if it does not ex- 

 ceed the power generated by solid fuel, or steam engines, 

 • and the end is by no means in sight. Motor trucks and 

 farm tractors, delivery vehicles and pleasure cars are 



