SCIENCE 



FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, it 



THE McAULEY PROCESS OF BURNING PULVERIZED 

 FUEL. 



One of the most important problems of the day is that of the 

 ■economical use of fuel, and much ingenuity has been expended in 

 attempts to find its best solution. VVe are all interested in this 

 matter, for we are all in some way connected with the fuel ques- 

 tion. Iron and steel furnaces, factories, locomotives, steamships, 

 and the domestic hearth, — one and all are most lavish users of 



lem by attacking it from the other end ; i.e., by endeavoring to se- 

 cure the more perfect combustion of the fuel itself, as well as the 

 burning of cheaper fuel than ordinary coal. All manner of patent 

 fuels have been tried, and some with a fair degree of success. 

 Mechanical firing has also been resorted to, but in all such pro- 

 cesses there seem to have been objectionable features of great 

 magnitude. 



It has long been recognized that if coal could be very finely pul- 

 verized, and each little particle of coal could be surrounded with a 

 film of air on its way to the furnace, the combustion ensuing would 

 be very much improved. Many have been the devices to burn pul- 

 verized fuel in such a manner ; but the success achieved has usually 



fuel. When it is considered that it is theoretically possible to gen- 

 erate one horse-power by the consumption of a quarter of a pound 

 of coal per hour, and this is compared with the results of actual 

 practice, an idea is obtained of the room for improvement. An or- 

 dinary non-expansive, non-condensing engine requires commonly 

 from ten to twelve pounds of coal per hour, while in our best ex- 

 pansive and condensing engines the same amount of work is ac- 

 complished with only two pounds per hour. But the latter figure 

 represents excellent practice rarely reached by the majority of even 

 large fuel-consumers. The average consumption of coal may be 

 taken as at least four pounds per horse-power hour. 



At the present day nearly all efforts to further economize fuel are 

 being exerted in the direction of better boilers and furnaces, more 

 efficient engines, a higher grade of workmanship, and more skilful 

 management ; in fact, in the more economical use of the heat after 

 it has been obtained. Many inventors have, nevertheless, with 

 varying degrees of success, attempted the solution of the fuel prob- 



been small, and the difficulties besetting the problem have appeared 

 insurmountable. A very promising effort in this direction is that 

 of Mr. J. G. McAuley of Lansing, Mich. X'ague mentions of his 

 method have from time to time reached the public, but it is only 

 within a short time that his process seems to have been brought to 

 practical perfection. In order to satisfy certain capitalists of its 

 merits, the process was applied, some time ago, to one of the 

 puddling-furnaces of the Chester Rolling Mills of Chester, Penn., 

 and the writer enjoyed the advantage of being present for several 

 days during this test. The idea underlying this process is that of 

 the automatic delivery into the combustion-chamber of a regular 

 supply of finely pulverized coal, each little particle of the latter be- 

 ing surrounded by a film of air while on its way to the combustion- 

 chamber ; so that, on arriving there, combustion may be nearly in- 

 stantaneous and practically perfect. 



The manner of obtaining this highly desirable result is ingenious 

 and extremely simple. The combustion-chamber of the furnace is 



