Ivi. ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS. 



sive report of the lecture will be found in the "Australasian 

 Manufacturer,'' for January 19th, 1918. 



After referring to the work of the late Mr. T. U. Walton 

 in the direction of studying the economy of fuel utilisation, 

 the lecturer proceeded to show that coal had been derived 

 from the cellulose and resins of former plants* The pro- 

 portions of the remains of these conferred certain properties 

 upon the coal for the production of gas or of heat. When 

 used as fuel, coal should be sold upon its calorific value as 

 determined by a simple apparatus, such as Thomson's bomb. 

 Coal is one of the few substances that a manufacturer buys 

 without a guarantee as to its value. 



The energy obtained from coal is but a fraction of the 

 theoretical amount; the ordinary steam engine utilises 1/11 

 while the gas engine uses 1/5 of the energy of the fuel. 

 Possibly the cheapest source of power now available is 

 Mond producer gas, which is derived from bituminous and 

 low grade coals* 



Economy in the use of coal can only be secured by insti- 

 tuting a strict chemical control over the combustion. A 

 pound of coal requires 12 pounds of air for its complete 

 combustion, and while an excess of air is unavoidable, the 

 excess should be kept as low as possible* This can be done 

 by testing the composition of the chimney gases, for which 

 cheap, simple and reliable carbon dioxide recorders are 

 available. These give a continuous record of the carbon 

 dioxide in the gases, and tell if the coal is being burnt to 

 the best advantage. The use of coal dust as a fuel, as well 

 as the surface combustion of gaseous fuel, was explained at 

 some length* 



A discussion was contributed by Drs. Guthrie and 

 Murphy, Messrs. F. W. Steel, B. J. Smart, Vicars, A. B* 

 Hector, S. E. Sibley and the Chairman, 



