ECONOMISING COAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4831, 18 May 1925, Page 2

ECONOMISING COAL.

BRICKS FROM ASHES. OTHER SCIENTIFIC RESULTS. Lecturing at the Huddersfleld Technical College on coal economy Mr W. 'H. Casmey, of Holdsworh and Sons, Ltd. (Bradford), said that it was a surprising fact that although coal was discovered 1240 years ago they were now considering how to burn it economically, namely, without making smoke. Britain produced over 12,000,000 tons of furnace clinker and ashes yearly, and science had shp-.vn that by roughly grinding these and mixing with them a given weight of lime and water a mixture was found from which splendid brick's could be produced. The bricks were piled on small lorries, 400 on each, and then run into a circular steel chamber, ca'led an autoclavi, 60ft long by 6ft 6in in diameter. When the chamber was full the end was screwed on and made steam-tight. Steam at 1201 b pressure was then turned on, and the bricks were kept under this pressure for about six hours, and when cooled th':.y were ready for use. Fancy 5000 million bricks made per annum from clinker and ashes 1 The soot from chimneys, when freed from smoke and dust, was a most valuable food for all vegetation, including fruit trees and root crops. There was material for building houses and food for the community from clinker and sm>kc. . In future nil coal would be treated chemically before being used foi power purposes, thus bringing it on tu the same basis as iron, stone, cotton, wool, or other raw material, and we should then find we could secure from one ton of coal 14cwt of smokeless fuel, three gallons of motor spirit, 17 gallons of oil, 151 b of sulphate, of amonia. and 5000 cubic feet of rich gas, the total value being twice that of the coal. It was nothing less than disgraceful that there wag such a huge death-rate, approximately 400,000 a year, one-half of which could be attributed to the breathing of foul dust, and smoke-laden air. Millions sterling were spent yearly for collecting, purifying, and distributing water to the community, but a much larger sum was wasted in fouling the air.