386 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



such as milling lower veins first and leaving 50% of the 

 coal underground, should be given up. Practice of better 

 uses of coal should be encouraged. Smoking chimneys 

 which waste millions of tons of coal annually should be 

 eliminated. Engines securing a higher efficiency from 

 coal fired should be put into use. The mechanical stoker 

 has aided greatly in correcting the last mentioned evil. 

 The Central Illinois Public Service Company, whose 

 plant is located at Harrisburg, Illinois, reports through 

 Supt. Cook of Marion, Illinois, that with stoker firing 

 and tubular boilers, it is possible to get a kilowatt hour of 

 electricity from each 2.75 lbs. of coal fired. The hand 

 firing process requires 4.75 lbs. . This is a saving of about 

 42% of coal formerly used by this company. 



The Illinois Tractions system, also, reports that with 

 the Curtis and Parson turbines and with Corliss engine 

 generators they are able to get equally good results. But 

 the average for this company is 5.5 lbs. per kilowatt hour, 

 on an average production of 543,450 kilowatts per day. 

 This shows that a vast saving can be effected through the 

 use of better machinery. 



Mr. Hight, chief engineer for the Illinois Traction Sys- 

 tem, says, ''The most efficient means of decreasing coal 

 consumption is by learning more completely how the coal 

 may be fired. A greater knovrledge of the use of coal and 

 the method of firing it and handling it will be most im- 

 portant steps toward efficient use of coal and a greater 

 saving and lower consumption of it." 



Coking of the coal and the substitution of gas engines 

 for steam engines mean a great extension of the life of 

 our coal deposits. As late as 1917 Illinois coal was 

 classed as non-coking coal of high sulphur content. It 

 was also mentioned that investigations along the lines 

 of coking Illinois coals were at that time preliminary and 

 that even small improvements might be expected at any 

 time which would revolutionize our uses of bituminou's 

 coal^^^ 



These words read almost like prophecy, for at this 

 tune, only five years later, 100% Illinois coals and mix- 

 tures of high percentage of Illinois coals are being coked 

 successfully. Plants at Duquoin and Centralia, while 



