Show Chemist Finds in sa Way to o Produce Artificial Coal CoalBy By HOWARD W. W BLAKESLEE Associated Press Science Editor PITTSBURG Pa P Nov 0 20 AP AP- AP The Tho making of or synthetic coal to all api appearances arances the equal of natural coal oal out of cellulose was described to the international conference on bituminous coal at Carnegie Institute Institute institute tute of ot Technology today by I rich B Bergius German erman chemist Cellulose Is a a. chemical obtained from wood corn lk and various plants and is 18 usel as an nil element clement of ot many commercial products from silken stockings to auto lacquers and gunpowder Bergius us made artificial coal In minute quantities several years ago but only during the last year he said tOda today has he made It In sufficient dent clent quantities to demonstrate that it It is virtually real coal IN COOKED LEAD This time ho he converted about eleven cleven pounds' pounds of cellulose e It was placed in an airtight metal vessel with water and thoroughly mixed High pressure was as produced In the vessel Tho The conter contents ts is were heated to degrees centigrade by standing standIng standIng stand- stand Ing tho the container in molten lead After twenty-four twenty hours of this sealed selled cooking the heat was shut shutoff shutoff shutoff off gas that had accumulated inside allowed to escape from the container container container con con- and th the liquid permitted to con condense When it hardened it was coal I Mr Bergius described numerous tests that ha he tried to find out outI I whether It was chemically exactly the same Bame as natures nature's coal lIe He found that of the cellulose used all but butof of 1 per pel cent was recovered that thatIs Is that from eleven pounds of wood I he had virtually eleven pounds of I coal coat He calls It end coal As a final test teet he subjected It to the latest modern process of liquefying coal which Is attracting the major attention of the present coal con con- gress He said paid said it liquefied like Uko real coal producing the same unmistakable unmistakable oils acids and ALSO USED LIGNIN Mr r. r Bergius Berg described also the production p. of oJ artificial coal front from lignin which is a wood product akin to cellulose Though this experiment experiment experiment ex ex- succeeded he said it had so far tar only been made in a a. small wa way owing to the difficulty of obtaining ob obtaining ob- ob t larger quantities of ot lignin sufficiently pure The results of our investigations investigations he said show again that the end coal resulting from cellulose Is very closely related to natural coal that hat this end coal is of an aromatic nature and that it therefore Is more likely that a a. considerable proportion of ot natural coal Is derived from cellulose cel- cel He named Dr I Karl rl Sc as an associate undertaking tire the cellulose cel- cel and the lignin experiments |