334 



FUEL, ARTIFICIAL. 



fuel, by using either coal-tar, fluid pitch, or dry 

 pitch, the names of Grant, Rathwell, Cooke, 

 Wylara, Warlich, Dobree, Moreau, and De 

 Heynin, are prominent. 



Fluid and dry pitch formed a good cement 

 for bituminous and semi-bituminous coal-dust, 

 but it did not succeed as well with anthracite 

 and semi-anthracite waste, which is mined in 

 South Wales and in some parts of France and 

 Belgium. Before the cement is consumed, the 

 bituminous artificial fuel is coked, and conse- 

 quently it does not crumble in the fire. It is 

 not the same with anthracite or lean coal-dust. 

 When cemented with coal-tar or pitch, or any 

 other resinous material, the cement consumes 

 in the fire more rapidly than the coal, and the 

 particles of coal, having lost their adhesive 

 coating, crumble in the fire and fall through 

 the grates without being consumed. 



Resinous materials expand when burning, 

 while clay, on the contrary, contracts progres- 

 sively when submitted to elevated tempera- 

 tures. Clay, used alone, would not have given 

 a fuel impervious to moisture. It was sup- 

 posed that, by mixing clay and pitch with the 

 coal-dust, the fuel manufactured would not 

 only be water-proof, but would remain in the 

 fire, without crumbling, until consumed, the 

 skrinkage of the clay compensating for the 

 swelling of the pitch. 



Among the experimenters in that direction 

 who have really improved the manufacture of 

 artificial fuel, are Chabannes, Sunderlandt, 

 Stafford, Oram, Geary, Goodwin, Mohum, 

 Sterling, Albert, Newton, Holcombe, Smith. 

 All these attempts were unsuccessful. The 

 presence of pitch in the fuel made it unfit for 

 domestic use, and the clay impaired its com- 

 bustible character for manufacturing purposes. 



Patents were also granted to several invent- 

 ors for a mixture of bituminous and of anthra- 

 cite coal-dust, and coking the mixture. The 

 first one of these patents was granted, in 1823, 

 to John Christie and Thomas Harper, in Eng- 

 land. The result was the same as with Besse- 

 mer, Baroulier, and others. The machinery 

 was too expensive, and the product was not 

 marketable. 



A large number of patents have been grant- 

 ed in this country for artificial fuel. Most of 

 them are modified copies of foreign patents. 

 Dr. Joshua R. Hayes, of Winchester, Pa. (pat- 

 ent March 4, 1873), uses coal-dust, clay, and 

 asphaltum ; but, although the manner in 

 which he combines these materials is new and 

 ingenious, the product -will be liable to the 

 same objections made against the fuel manu- 

 factured in Europe from coal-dust, clay, and 

 pitch, by Stafford, Oram, Goodwin, Geary, 

 and others. 



The manufacture of. artificial fuel, although 

 being far from having attained the importance 

 which it must attain in the near future, has 

 been developed more rapidly in France and in 

 Belgium than in England. English coal .is 

 harder than French and Belgian coal; and, 



until within the last three years, the price of 

 coal in England was so low that there was no 

 inducement for capitalists to invest their 

 money for the development of an industry 

 which presented but poor prospects of good 

 dividends. But increase after increase in the 

 price of coal during the last three years has 

 entirely changed the state of affairs. Large 

 companies were organized last year, with im- 

 mense capital, for the manufacture of "patent 

 fuel " by different processes. The last one 

 patented in England, and which has also been 

 patented in this country, is the invention of 

 Martin Rae, of Uphall, North Britain. It con- 

 sists in mixing with coal-dust 15 per cent, of 

 what he calls a bituminous mastic. In this 

 process we have again a mixture of clay, coal- 

 dust, and some other bituminous material, fluid 

 shale-pitch. 



A company was organized in May, 18V3, 

 with a capital of one million dollars, under the 

 name of "The Diamond Fuel Company," to 

 apply David Barker's process. 



In these two processes, as well as in the old 

 one of cementing coal-dust with pitch, or ros- 

 in, or asphalt, a large amount of natural coal 

 is consumed, not only to dry or carbonize the 

 product, but also to heat the cement and the 

 coal-dust itself. If the dust was not heated, 

 the cement would not adhere to the particles 

 of coal. There is also the unnecessary han- 

 dling in carrying the fuel to the drying-oven, 

 and removing it when dry. 



Both Martin Rae and David Barker are in- 

 ventors, not only of the process, but of the 

 machinery for its application. 



The mixing-machines in Europe are almost 

 all constructed on the same plan : they con- 

 sist of vertical or horizontal cylinders, differ- 

 ing only in height or in length. 



Although the compressing-machines used in 

 Europe are numerous, they are all modifica- 

 tions of four distinct mechanical modes of ap- 

 plying pressure : First, by means of rollers ; 

 second, by pistons in closed moulds ; third, by 

 pistons in open moulds ; and fourth, by pistons 

 pressing cylindrical lumps with a hole through 

 the centre. 



Most of the machines have also been tried 

 to convert peat into a dense fuel. Some of 

 them have answered the purpose very well 

 Milch's machine, for instance. Large peat-fac- 

 tories are in operation at Stalbach, Halle, Has- 

 pelmoor, and Neudstadt, in Germany, and at 

 Montangin, in France. 



I now proceed (continues Mr. Loiseau) to 

 describe what appears to be their deficiences. 



It is evident that no artificial fuel containing 

 a resinous substance will ever be used for do- 

 mestic purposes, on account of the smoke and 

 of the bad odor. Another objection is, that 

 such a fuel is liable to spontaneous combus- 

 tion. No objection of the kind can be raised 

 against artificial fuel cemented with clay and 

 milk of lime. 



In my process (says Mr. Loiseau) I use the 



