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The United States Navy Department and the Submarine Defense 

 Association have developed a " colloidal fuel," and a summary of 

 their report follows : — • 



" Pulverized coal can now be successfully held in suspension 

 so that the colloidal liquid flows freely through the pipes 

 pre-heaters, and burners of ships and power, heating and 

 industrial plants equipped to burn fuel oil. Months after 

 mixing, the composites show little or no deposits. A fixateur, 

 which comprises about 1 per cent, or 20 lbs. per ton, acts to 

 stabilise the particles of pulverised coal dispersed in the oil. 

 In colloidal fuel every solid particle has its film of liquid hydro- 

 carbon and a protective and peptizing colloid, itself combust5ble. 

 These particles are in three classes as to dimensions — coarse, 

 colloid, and molecular. By coarse is meant here the fineness 

 of fifty million particles per cubic inch. The fixateur and fixated 

 oil are readily made and may be shipped anywhere. The 

 manufacture or distribution of the new fuels incorporating 

 sohd carbon in fixated oils involves no doubtful process or 

 industrial problem. On burning, the combustion is so complete 

 that with fair coal there is left no slag and very little ash, what 

 there is being light as pumice and granular as sand. 



"It is the propertj'- of colloidal fuel that without loss of 

 efficiency per unit volume or change of oil storage or burning 

 equipment it makes possible the conservation of at least 25 per 

 cent, of the fuel oil now burned, or conversely M-itb. the oils 

 now available in increases by 50 per cent, the world supply of 

 fuel that is Hquid. We may go further and state that a number 

 of new fuels have been realised, each with varjdng percentages 

 of oil and solid carbon. One useful composite, in the range of 

 ordinary temperatures, is composed of about half coal and half 

 f)il. Another unctuous semi-liquid is nearly three-fourths coal 

 and one-fourth oil. All the fuel pastes are mobile to sustained 

 and easily applied pressure, and may thus be pumped, fed, 

 and atomised in the combustion chamber. These semi-fluid 

 composites will constitute the most compact and safest fuel 

 for domestic and industrial use, and they will largely eUminate 

 the smoke and ash nuisances of cities. 



" For example, industrial colloidal fuel, grade No. 10, 

 devised to use up some poor coal holding 25-5 per cent, ash, 

 is composed of 61i per cent, of pressure still oil, wax tailings, 

 petroleum pitch and fixateur running 18,505 B.T.U. per lb. 

 and 38J per cent, of ' anthracite rice ' running 10,900 B.T.U. 

 per lb. This grade contains 162,500 B.T.U. per gallon, and 

 has 10-2 per cent, of ash. The fixated oil itself had 151,750 

 B.T.U. per gallon. In fuel value, therefore, the colloidal fuel 

 of grade No. 10 is worth 7| per cent, more per gallon than the oil 

 from which it is made. 



" If instead of ' anthracite rice ' very high in ash, a crude 

 oil coke which is ashless had been employed, the colloidal fuel 

 gallon would have contained 182,154 B.T.U., or roundly, 

 20 per cent, more than the oil base, and only quarter of 1 per cent, 

 sulphur." 



S 11464 Q 



