The recent studies of the volatile matter in coal, and its relation to the operation of coke ovens and other forms of combustion, have demonstrated that as much as one-third of this matter is inert and non-combustible, a fact which may have a direct bearing on smoke prevention by explaining its cause and indicating means for its abatement.
Experiments in the storage of coal have proven that oxygen is absorbed during exposure to air, thereby causing, in some cases, a deterioration in heating value, and indicating that, for certain coals, in case they are to be stored a long time for naval and other purposes, storage under water is advisable.
The tests of different coals under steam boilers have shown the possibility of increasing the general efficiency of hand-fired steam boilers from 10 to 15% over ordinary results. If this saving could be made in the great number of hand-fired boilers now being operated in all parts of the United States, it would result in large saving in the fuel bill of the country. Experiments which have been made with residence-heating boilers justify the belief that it will be possible
to perfect such types of boilers as may economically give a smokeless operation. The tests under steam boilers furnish specific information as to the most efficient method of utilizing each of a number of different types of coal in Government buildings and power plants in different parts of the country.
The tests in the gas producer have shown that many fuels of such low grade as to be practically valueless for steam-furnace purposes, including slack coal, bone coal, and lignite, may be economically converted into producer gas, and may thus generate sufficient power to render them of high commercial value.
Practically every shipment out of several hundred tested in the gas producers, including coals as high in ash content as 45%, and lignites and peats high in moisture, has been successfully converted into producer gas which has been used in operating gas engines. It has been estimated that on an average there was developed from each coal tested in the gas-producer plant two and one-half times the power developed when used in the ordinary steam-boiler plant, and that such relative efficiencies will probably hold good for the average plant of moderate power capacity, though this ratio may be greatly reduced in large steam plants of the most modern type. It was found that the low-grade lignites of North Dakota developed as much power, when converted into producer gas, as did the best West Virginia bituminous coals when utilized under the steam boiler; and, in this way, lignite beds underlying from 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 acres of public lands, supposed to have little or no commercial value, are shown to have a large value for power development.
The tests made with reference to the manufacture and combustion of briquetted coal have demonstrated conclusively that by this means many low-grade bituminous coals and lignites may have their commercial value increased to an extent which more than covers the increased cost of making; and these tests have also shown that bituminous coals of the higher grades may be burned in locomotives with greatly increased efficiency and capacity and with less smoke than the same coal not briquetted. These tests have shown that, with the same fuel consumption of briquettes as of raw coal, the same locomotive can very materially increase its hauling capacity and thus reduce the cost of transportation.
The investigations into smoke abatement have indicated clearly
that each type of coal may be burned practically without smoke in some type of furnace or with some arrangement of mechanical stoker, draft, etc. The elimination of smoke means more complete combustion of the fuel, and consequently less waste and higher efficiency.
The investigations into the waste of coal in mining have shown the enormous extent of this waste, aggregating probably from 300,000,000 to 400,000,000 tons yearly, of which at least one-half might be saved. It is being demonstrated that the low-grade coals, high in sulphur and ash, now left underground, can be used economically in the gas producer for power and light, and, therefore, should be mined at the same time that the high-grade coal is being removed. Moreover, attention is now being called to the practicability of a further large reduction of waste through more efficient mining methods.