AN IDEAL FUEL 



1069 



experience, the consensus of opinion has 

 given preference to pitch made from oil 

 or coal-tar. This tar is a by-product 

 obtained ii_ the manufacture of coke in 

 by-product ovens and in the manufacture 

 of gas, either from the destructive dis- 

 tillation of coal or by carburetting water- 

 gas with oil. 



Measured in percentages, our briquet 

 production is but an infinitesimal part of 

 our entire fuel production ; yet it consti- 

 tutes the very cream, for the briquet is 

 the fuel ideal, and, as its superiority over 

 raw coal becomes better recognized, the 

 demand for it will force the utilization 

 of today's mine waste. In speaking of 

 the commercial future of the briquet, 

 Mr C. T. Malcolmson, a mining engi- 

 neer, says in a recent issue of the "Black 

 Diamond" : 



"If the conservation of natural re- 

 sources is to pass from the period of 

 agitation to one productive of practical 

 results, the briquetting of coal is one 

 solution of the waste. The agitation for 

 the reduction in smoke is another factor 

 assisting this new industry. We cannot 

 hope to take the high-volatile coals mined 

 in Illinois and make of them, by treat- 

 ment, a fuel which will be smokeless in 

 burning under all conditions, but there 

 are high-grade, low-volatile coals sold in 

 the Chicago market which, if briquetted, 

 will make a smokeless fuel. 



"As a rule these high-grade, low-vola- 

 tile coals are friable, and the lump coal 

 slacks if exposed. 



"The United States government has 

 demonstrated that briquets made from 

 these coals withstand the action of the 



