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Show SEEfiS TOM" ; lap CIIY W. R. Calvert, Salt Lake Geologist, Recommends and Explains Method. Advises That Coal Be Crushed, Devolatilized and Briquctted. l!y W. K. CALVERT, Salt Lakft geologist, for ecvcn years vith the coat department of the bureau of mines In the United States and Alaska. Nearly frvvry community posHOss.-.s some tnj.i.: of I(it::tl intermit, a discussion of vliidi conHtitutoa :t popular form of Indoor In-door sport. In 'this reapfict Salt Lake 1-i w.-ll c-n'lowf-Ml, for during ft. period rvcrtn nwirly half the year n local ron-(lit.ion ron-(lit.ion c-xi:i! m that can always be rdicd i.i.oii to ill) in conversational lapses, and to v.'Iiidi a:iy tyn.; of comment, l-i a-iapt-d, 1ms it y.r:; K-'iy or profound. N-,vcr-liirl.MM. Inc-il rr;ddcnLs would gladly allow .smiHj old-r t..pi: lo ron.itliut.: I d; main i;,i:ne. and It la liio purpose of tin; present pres-ent tutiiiunt to uti'er a nu-tiiud whereby Hun drsiro niav he consunuuatt'd. V -h r by y,ar tin: on. physical ilniw-l,a:k ilniw-l,a:k to an oilKiMvi.se exceptional environment environ-ment lias been a.'ravaled, and tin; vll-jmicicrW: vll-jmicicrW: j-.Tiol thus far lias h.en the past lew weeks. I Ouch morning wo have K roncd our way cd yward UirunKh the denHo smoke pall tilling the valley, and o:i reaching deyk or counter have viewed --at (Irst with concern and linally witn flt.adeutHl Inditt'erenre the Mini of carbon newly deposited. No vvondrr. then, that to each resident of Salt J.ake tlui smoke pionlem Is one of individual Importune, ftud that (lie solution of this problem is W'-rioud v behiK souk I it. ll may bo accepted as fundamental in jnoposin a rcim-dy for our sinoke evil 1 iiat . while there may be many pallia -tlvos, ! he only n'.d a nd lasting cure is t h.- prevention of smoke in its incep-1 incep-1 ton. . Charming the type of furnace in ou'leo, residence or factory will undoubtedly undoubt-edly alleviate the Kit nation somewhat, nud en refill nrtugj of the present type will also have its beneficial effect. However, How-ever, nothing short of a complete cure should satisfy, and only a positively jemedial method should be employed. To the writer, therefore, only one course Is open, ittid that is to utilize a fuel that Ls smokeless, regardless of type ot iur-nace iur-nace or method of Jinny. Coal Substitute Proposed. irrunlinK that only one course of procedure pro-cedure is possible, there may perhaps be somu question as to the type of fuel best adapted to brine: about the result desired, uf all fuels iho most ideal from every stand point, so far as stationary iiies arc concerned, is natural kuh, and imjulrv has come to the wrtter many times 'as to the possibility of obtaining a supply of sufficient quantity from some .source assuring permanency and reasonable reason-able cost, to the consumer. The proven occurrence of gas in Great Sail Lake valley within an economic dis-1;mko dis-1;mko from the city has led to hope in , some quarters time tuieh. a supply is available. However, ideological deductions deduc-tions do not arrive at such a conclusion. conclu-sion. The gas is mainly if not entirely im-thane. presumably having Its origin in ve;,-etatlnri buried in the sediments deposited de-posited in Lake Bonneville, the remnant of which body of waier now forms our lamed inland sea. li lias been a uniform experience that pas of such an origin cannot ho depended depend-ed upon to furnish a supply of extended duration, and should that rule hold, a commercial source of gaseous fuel nuL'tt ; Ve soutvht elsewhere. The nearest area in; Wyoming wherein gas can presumably bo , developed in considerable quantity is, near Hock Springs. However, whilo a I :irld of importance is lillely to occur, the j cost to the consumer in Salt Lako would probably bo excessive because of the nec- ' t i ry pipeline investment. I ! : I'uel oil has been proposed as a sttbsti- I into for coal, and here again the question I of cost Is a vital factor, even if the uu- I certain problem of adequate supply were not involved. Those best qualified to ! : sne;tk with authority on the subject, state that, little hope can be entertained of obviating ob-viating smoke in Salt Hake City through the use of fuel oil, because of the economic eco-nomic consideration cited. Possible utili-z:iion utili-z:iion of coke likewise falls in the same oatcgory, and. in consequence, t iie prob- i !em seems to ho reduced to the considera- t ir-ii of the one fuel concerning which I titer.? can bo no question as to permanent j supply nur of prohibitive costs. That fuel i is coal. I Can Bituminous Coal Be Used? Coal is classified and delimitated by various names based on its physieai char- : acrer. The t yoe possessing- t U; least i !-; t value. s ligniie. v.'hicb contains a hi;: li percentage of w a tor and usually onsidn-abh' ash. Of progress; vel" better tank is subbit u minous. bit ominous, sen ii-bi ii-bi I urn i nous, sem h nt h raeito and alithrs -du a i'd this graduation d base.) on an inoreasing proportion of cu-hon with con-Hpleet con-Hpleet lessening of tap voIaiHe eontent. Since it is. the v...latile pari of coal that is t he main "ft end er wit h respect to oi no. it I'otiOws that 'ho use of a coal .'lid containing lili So oC this s-noke-form-ing nnutei- vouKi solve our problem, and C'p query r.at tn al'y arises regarding- u source of supply. I' tab contains r.o coal withi'i ber borders bor-ders above the bituminous grade, and that eoal. mo'-eovtr. is exceptionally rich ;n smoky volatile com pounds. Therefore, i'" a natural smokeless fuel is to he sought i; will need W- in o;:er regions. p lias hen sugg--fe, i):it an; braeite fields.: d Colm-ado . -a n .iv;t n upon. If this .an be subuituted ,r ,,im' pri s- nt tue! i i-e;isonab!-' cos; to tin- consumer, our orobleei tio douh! soltri, but lite .TM"r v mt e..-nan d to sm;o Unit Mich a u:iou be mole . ouiple'r -. Authra- -'to 's slow -buronig. and is j-ol a-lapt-d lo cv.'ry tpo of lnrn.o-o. dn '.icl, it. is .!-:;b;ful i!' it C'pdd be i-:uploed in certain ;tMS of Isul'-rs. ueh iocoi ! o t i V s . and. is mi i,-ge st t-d pre-, ions-v. a - t t ,,i: ig- siurl i-ompl :te su lis; i t ut :on is a pa 11 ia t ive .led not a cure, i 'onseie a"-i the prob. 'eui sei.uns to be redueed iinaily to a sin-ie sin-ie line of inquiry : i 'a n I bit u mi tarns -.als of Vtah be so utilized thai tin- ceiu-hined ceiu-hined essiidials of lack of smoke, adaptability adapt-ability to -all types of furnaee ami reason-;..ole reason-;..ole cost ni:y be attained': The writer id-; eves that this combinai ;ou is en '.in. 1 v 'o.Me. Process Outlined. Kriefiy s'.ated, the nieil'Od o'" u,;hr.a-'iou u,;hr.a-'iou propo;,-d i-ousists '!rst in t:.'Vo;a ; i 1 nii tin- coa! that is. pi ;'e:no o I'r.t- ;;.iSeS - ?.nai next to prepare the rs'iltmg piod- us.-.,,Ti1i.''ii n ' n 'i'!--hi.'.g '';', 7 n-'-l- o:.i or in: - ; m, ,v; .-.'.r.w ''. 'o a ii ea i. . ur t tu d . o: f i ,'. ; s vet. nut. burn a-. -,. of - : rb" j l'ji. : t. not : o l' :;': .nd,)-' Th- r- - nc.in:-1 of i.b-: o.-U;.'.:.' eo.il. ' 1 e-o n,fe. oap." jcrbo, ::rd ad:. .'a v. ' :.i t - . ;.;i-.;'t j of ' orMbu.-tlbo- .iho'.vd by 'm-iiL to 1 r- a-l .-.I :r r; v.- .-..a! u.., .-one: fori i of u'v i i .. - , out' - I :o;n-i to I " ii" ' - :. r- ' "i'i.... VO , l.d". K -- . 1 o .r t ,.. j jf-j- tun, :.nu ..i.lv' .-..jor" -t.i;,. r'f'.'L I re,ij;re-l P-r . I, ton of eoal treated, a I larg-i uj'-inu' is thus a.aiiabb: p,r ,.i;,,.r of lor tjst-.a ue-n t ao';eii. la.iu-i' by -1 rod ' :c ai-e l;n, '-r..-osot. . i ;H afj.l amnio .t sul-P':;ite, sul-P':;ite, ali of v. bp ;, md r-:,dv mark-r. If refinem-To ln t.y-pioduets .s deur-d, the aai.ioe o;.' . , b-nzol atai c-rtam Inifii-Vfdalilei Inifii-Vfdalilei em b1: h-r:ved. Briquettes Defined. U.doro di---.-ovs:r:.: a:,y de-tails or the subjeer. furtl.fr it is ne.haps desirable to d.-fine cl.-arly the t.rm bri'.p-iet Lc as anpli'.d to the final fuel product, as there is a popular and possibly well deserved prejudice against, briquettes as a suhstl-Ttite suhstl-Ttite lor rau- coal. TfujoreLtea!! y. a coal onqu tte should afford a.n ideal nn-, due to absence of waste, ease of nandiing and cleanliness in use, but tile ilifliculty lias been in obtaining a briquctted prod tie t at a cost allowing competition with raw I uel and 1 ree from ma ny of the ohjec-tio ohjec-tio uable a eon in pant merits found in most ot th-; coniuier:i;ii t pes of briquettes now on the market. ( ue feature that is always associated with the commercial briquette of today h-i thai i I is not mm e ei'f jej.jjit, bi nder d 'sregardeil, than Lhe lump coal from whicdi the briquette is made. In other words, tiie bemica character of the Oig-inal Oig-inal eoal remains unaltered to a large degree. .V briquctted lignite, for example, remains a hgniLe eoal so far as its burning burn-ing qualities are con ee rued, and the advantages ad-vantages gained by briquetting are, therefore, merely ihoso aeeruiiig to alternation al-ternation of physical condition, such as greater resistance to weathering- influence influ-ence and greater convenience in storing and handling. Consequently, briq nesting-raw nesting-raw Utah coal would do nothing- to reduce re-duce its quality of smoking during- combustion. com-bustion. Furthermore, ordinary briquettes that' is, those made, by "compressing raw coal always possess the undesirable feature of disintegrating on burning' and thus likel v to lose much of their heat value by passing through the grate bars. On the contrary, the briquettes made of devolatilized coal represent a chemically altered coal that is practically smokeless. J-iy adding five per cent of raw coking-coal coking-coal to the devo.'afilized product before briq netting the. undesirable feature of disintegration on burning is also removed. re-moved. No attempt will bo made in the present statement to cite the various desirable de-sirable characteristics of the final product prod-uct from a fuel standpoint, but the claim is made that it, compares favorably with the very best type of coal in every respect re-spect without the accompaniment of smoke-giving- qualities. They ' can be stored indefinitely without danger of spontaneous combustion, as they are dry originally and are waterproof they are remarlcably clean to handle; they light readily and their heat efficiency is considerably con-siderably greater than the raw coal from which they are made. Evil Must Be Removed, "In proposing- any substitution of a smokeless fuel- for our present type of fuel the question of relative costs immediately im-mediately occurs to each individual, for unless reduction of smoke, can be accomplished accom-plished without penalizing- the pocket-hook, pocket-hook, severely lessening or curing the evil may not be worth the price. In the present pres-ent instance it is believed that the type of fuel proposed can be delivered to the consumer at a cost he will consider reasonable rea-sonable for the results obtained A cost sheet covering- condit ions as tfiey exist in these days when the H. C L. is a supreme issue is not available, but the figures of showed that the briquctted fuel could be delivered in direct comne-tition comne-tition with ordinary domestic fuel. Likewise Like-wise cots for plant erection are now antedated. Those for 19.1 ti indicated that a plant with a riuilv capacity of 270 tons of raw coal could be installed for about $290,000, and the capacity could be dou- I bled for an additional cost of $S0,000. Since the coal tonnage used in Halt Lake for domestic and manufacturing-purposes manufacturing-purposes is now at the rate of DGO.000 tons per annum, n plant of the size c'ted would care for the city's - needs. Local locomotives entering into and going out Irotu Salt Lako could tise their present type of fuel without, adding greatly to the problem of smoke cure, but the switching engine should be included' in the users of smokeless fuel. The amount of coal now used in railroad rail-road switching- is not known to the writer, but it is probably npt so great that a plant with a40 tons dailv capacity could not supply such need as well as I the tonnage required in the city as a1 whole.' It is recognized that the foregoing1 statement, is entire!-.- inadequate to cover, the subject, with any degree of completeness. complete-ness. However, most of the data neees- ' snry to round out a full exposition of the subject are of a technical character and do not come within tiie puiwiew 1 of thus article. In fact, if a possible line ot attack is suggested or) a condition that must be remedied or ptagiuition of lite city's growth must result, then the , purpose of the statement has been fulfilled. |