| Show JOAN JOliN FELL OIL SHALE MAN MANUSES MANUSES A. A I USES A MOST JOST XO NOVEL EI METHOD J Tho saying Necessity Is the mother moth mOth- er of or Invention Is so trite that the epigram or some of or Its applications application must have ha been current In the centuries cen- cen that preceded Noahs Noah's building of ark Particularly pertinent nevertheless Is the tho quotation to the shale shalo process being used to distill oilIn oilin oil ol In Australia by J John hn Fell managing director of the Commonwealth Oil corporation Forced by Incessant labor troubles Mr tIr Fell is distilling g oil oU In situ or from the shale as us it ft lies In the bed lied This system makes m unnecessary mining and transporting transport transport- ing the sha shale c mid and also the erection of expensive distillation Plants plant The Australian shale mea measures ures ore are perhaps the richest in the voi 11 li They are found In l deposits depos its rarely more than a mill mil j n loati leiti and width lh In III thickness U the e ms vary from a foot Coot to four feet Ceet In one tunnel of the Commonwealth company company a bed with an average width varying from three to four Cour feet has been exposed for feet The mineral carries from Crom to ICO gallons of oil on to the ton Shale h has s been work worked d in Australia Austral Austral- ia since 1 1865 65 Although was successful In some some respects this operation gradually gave gaye way to th the export of the mineral for gas enrichment In 1905 the Commonwealth Commonwealth Common Common- wc wealth Oil on corporation was organic e ed Capital amounting to pounds was ra raised ed and expended This was Vas supplemented by further capital from debentures Up to date datZ shareholders have not received ed au any dividends Labor troubles troubles' resulted in Mr Fells Fell's securing the right to work the pr property perty for the joint benefit of oC himself eH and company Since the cost of labor and nd supplies had mounted to high altitudes Mr Fell decided t to distill ithe shale right as asIt asit asit It had been laid down by nature or orin orin orin in situ Accordingly the old workings were entered and chambers constructed so that the mineral could be pe distilled without danger of or seating setting fire to the whole depo deposit lt As the I shale measures lie u comparatively comparatively comparatively com com- thin str strata a between ll noncombustible noncombustible noncombustible non- non combustible formations the horning ng of the shale can be regulated by the amo amoun n of air all which is fed Ced into the firing chamber 1 Mr Mi Fells Fell's method which is not not-al- together new a similar process oi has huv- Ing lug been een patented in the he United States years years years' ago is to extend an adit adt Into nto a shale area arro By running drifts from the adit the mineral is off in squares Each block is bricked bricked brick brick- ed off so that it forms an all airtight space The adit alit leading from the fire chamber thus constructed Is bull bull- headed Through the bunh 1 is put an outlet for the gases and also il o pa passages passages pas pas- sages by which the thc amount of oC theair the theair air can be regulated After Artel the fire has been started the gas gad pours O oi out t of If f the outlet pipe Part of it is immediately condensed ed d and oil made Excess gas bas which hi h hj j is given off off is used in the process of refining the oil Mr 11 Foil Feil whIm when n In Information in in- formation was last received Vt tram from r m Australia was planning to use nse the excess gas for tha the generation cf of electricity which could be he use used In n surrounding towns Mr h Fell is of the m that hat the whole of th the shale can cn be halH by the new me method without any danger or difficulty One of or the advantages advantages ad ad- vantages of or the in situ method of or distillation is that low-grade low costs could mining wl which ch at present not bo be handled at ut all aU will be burnt burntout burntout burntout output of out and thus a n maximum Qi oi qi obtained from the deposit o 0 |
