Show New Process Produces Soft Coal From Sugar Cane NEW YORK In YORK In an emergency American farmers may grow the country's soft coal cow in their fields The fact that fairly good soft coal is now being made from sugars the carbohydrates of farm crops was reported to the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers Engineers Engineers Engi Engi- by E. E Berl of the Carnegie Institute of Technology J The sugar coal is too expensive to tobe tobe be practical but was made to U settle an old controversy about the origin I of coal and oil In the Carnegie laboratories I whose experts include some of the ther r leading scientists of the coal fields the artificial coal is made in two ways Sugar heated in water at high temperature produces a sandy I form of r coal al When weak alkali is added to the water Berl said excellent coking coals are the result Adding pressure pressure pressure pres pres- sure to the hot sugar wa water ter increases increases increases in in- creases the amount of carbon in the man-made man coal These product farm-product coals Berl Bed said can be treat treated d with hydrogen to make the same products which the Germans and English obtain from hydrogenated coal These products include gasoline and oil for motor cars The old idea said Berl that coal came from the woody or lignin part of plants is as dead as the idea that petroleum is from dead fish He said that the Carnegie experiments experiments experiments ments show that coal oil and bitumen bitumen bi bi- bi all come from carbohydrates in plants |