THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. ________________________________________________________________________________ 30 July 7, 1916. THE ITALIAN COAL TRADE AND THE WAR. Although the Italian coal industry had been very badly ■tried through a severe industrial crisis, the substitution of water power for steam power, and of electric light by gas hght, and through the increased employment of such fuels as lignite, petroleum, oil, and gas for motive power or heating, the prospects of development were very fair until the end o-f July 1914, as is shown by the total coal imports of 1913 from Great Britain, the United States, .France, Germany, and other countries, which, according to the most recent statistics published by the Italian Customs authorities, amounted to 10,860,860 tons. After the declaration of war, however, the Italian coal industry passed through a very critical period, the depression being only in part overcome by the Italian Government requisitioning all the available coal to satisfy the fuel requirements of the railways, Navy, and mili- tary establishments, and placing very large orders abroad. The intervention of the Government authorities soon enabled large stocks of coal to be formed in different portions of the Peninsula, and from time to time a portion of the same could be sold at very advantageous conditions to industrial consumers, private railways, etc. Through this arrangement the former clientele of the Italian coal merchants was replaced by a few large firms, and in many cases by the Italian Government itself. The rapid mobilisation of the troops, and the great increase immediately essential for the manufacturing operations producing materials for the Army and its equipment, led to the necessity of intensifying to the utmost degree the importation of coal, especially in view of the unsafe conditions of the seas. This could not be accomplished to the extent desired, for during August 1914 all coal importations were suddenly reduced to half, and only returned to their normal quantity during the month of September, afterwards falling short again all through 1915, during which period they reached very discouraging figures. The lack of railway wagons caused overcrowding in the Italian ports, especially at Genoa, Savona, Spezia, Sampierdarena, Leghorn, etc., etc., which greatly retarded the delivery of coal to the different depots, who thus had to draw upon their stocks, and in some cases to suspend delivery altogether. One of the first effects of the reduction in coal importa- tions from England was an increase in those from Germany and Austria, but the participation of Italy in the war stopped all this traffic, cutting short all further supplies and complicating the question of payments. The reason why these two countries were able to export coal to Italy, despite the high overland freights, is not difficult to explain. They flooded the market with offers, and with commercial travellers who spoke the Italian language perfectly, besides facilitating matters by making all quotations in Italian, and granting fairly long credits, that were often guaranteed through the invest- ment of German or Austrian capital in many of the con- cerns using or importing coal. If English firms had worked on -the same principles, the others would never have had a footing in the coal business of Italy. The imports of German and Austrian coal amounted in 1913 to about 1,220,500 tons, and in 1914 to about 1,500,000 tons, but these figures are only approximate, it being practically impossible to obtain exact statistics. The United States greatly increased their -coal ship- ments to Italy during 1914 and 1915, as can be seen from Table I. These relate, however, only to the port of Genoa, as complete statistics for all Italian coal imports are not yet available. Table I. 1914. 1915. From Tons. Tons. English ports 2,779/64 ... 1,918,945 A merican ports 347,769 737,277 German ports 37,155 — Dutch ports 1,325 -— Belgian ports 100 — French ports ....... 902 4,210 Italian ports 1,620 4,919 Total 3,168,035 ... 2,665,351 As will be seen, the American shipments amounted to 347,769 tons during 1914, and were more than doubled in 1915, viz., to 737,277 tons. This last figure should not be neglected, as it is actually more than one-third (about 36 per cent.) of the British coal imports through Genoa. The price of the coal imported from the United States was brought very close to that quoted by Great Britain and other European countries, by facilities which made the Italian buyers overlook the comparatively long periods required for delivery, as well as the stringent conditions of payment, viz., cash against document!, and in gold, without taking into consideration the very high rates of exchange, which, in many cases, ros-e to 30 per cent, and even higher. The total British coal shipments to all parts of Italy amounted to 9,397,132 tons in 1913, and to 8,485,121 tons in 1914, showing a decrease of 912,011 tons, or about 9 per cent, when compared with the preceding year. The statistics for 1915 are not yet available, but from Table I., which represents about one-third of the total coal traffic to Italy in 1915, the British coal exports would appear to have still further receded during that year. Whilst the table shows a slight effort on the part of France to increase her coal shipments to Italy, it will not be easy for these to reach much higher figures than those given, owing to the cost of the overland freight, and to the difficulty of finding sufficient ships for transpor- tation by sea from Le Havre, Bordeaux, or Dieppe, from which coal is generally exported. Table II.—Total Coal Imports in the Port of Genoa. Tons. 1913 .......................... 3,192,299 ' 1914 ___________________________ 3,163,035 1915 ........................... 2,665,351 From Table II. it appears that the total coal imports at Genoa in 1914 suffered a decrease of 24,264 tons when compared with 1913. During 1915 the decrease was, however, much more pronounced, amounting to 526,948 tons as compared with 1913, and 502,684 tons when compared with 1914. This decrease for 1915 does not, however, give a proper idea of the reduction in the amount of coal imported to Italy from Great Britain through Genoa. This, as can be calculated from Table I., was 860,219 tons below 1914, or about 31 per cent. This* point should be noted by British coal exporters, and steps taken, if possible, to intensify the coal traffic with Genoa, which is the most important port in Italy from an industrial and commercial point of view. The total imports of coal in the neighbouring port of Savona during 1913 were 1,246,780 tons; during 1914, 1,265,362 tons; and during 1915, '1,107,927 tons, the reduction in the last-named year amounting to only 138,853 tons, or about 11 per cent., as compared with 1913. The amount of British coal imported in this case cannot yet be given, no reliable statistics being available at present. Italy’s entrance into the war had a great effect on the coal traffic to Adriatic ports, owing to naval opera- tions, and most of this traffic was therefore directed to Genoa, Savona, Sampierdarena, Spezia, Leghorn, Naples, Bari, Brindisi, Palermo, and other sea ports in the Mediterranean. This led to grave inconvenience to the cities, etc., on and near the Adriatic Sea, and also to the Italian railway authorities, who were obliged to employ a larger number of wagons to convey the coal formerly arriving by water, besides increasing the price in com- parison with more favoured localities. Table III. shows that the war led to a reduction in the number of steamers transporting coal to Genoa, whereas the number of the sailing ships increased enormously over any previous yearly record. Table III. Month. Steamers. Sailing vessels. 1914 1915. 1911. 191 ■». January 65 ... 48 — 2 February 62 ... 31 ? 2 4 March 57 ... 68 — 7 A pril 58 ... 24 ? 1 ? 5 May 76 ... 56 ... 2 ... 6 June 51 ... 42 — 2 July . ... 61 ... 53 ? 1 o August 32 ... 72 ... 1 ... 3 September 61 ... 67 ... 1 ... 6 October 75 ... 78 ... 4 ... 13 November 53 56 1 ... 6 December 79 ... 36 ... 6 ... 8 Total ... 730 ... 631 ... 19 ... 64 As regards sailing ships, the increase is due princi- pally to two reasons, viz., the necessity of saving bunker fuel and the desirability of distributing the coal ship- ments among vessels of smaller tonnage, so as to avoid the attention of submarines. Strangely enough, the increase in sailing ships was only very slight in the case of coal cargoes from Great Britain to Genoa, as this is confirmed by Table IV., compiled from a reliable source. Table IV. From— British ports ............... American ports ............. French ports ............... ................. Italian ports ............... No. of sailing vessels. 1911, 191? 4 ... 6 1 ... 11 4 ... 19 10 ... 28 Total .................... 19 ... 64 The increased use of sailing ships would give British shippers a certain advantage, as it would thus be possible to reduce the quantity of bunker coal and avoid the destruction of better ships by the enemy. Such a measure might also -assist in solving the present shortage of finding tonnage for coal or other goods, and lower the freights from English ports to Italy. The only difficulty would be the longer time required for delivery, but this would be overlooked in many cases by buyers in view of the lowered freight rates. One of the reasons enabling the United States of America to compete so successfully with Great Britain in exporting coal was just the adoption of a certain number of sailing ships in the place of steamers, this permitting in many cases a reduction in freights, and solving the tonnage difficulty. The same policy was followed by France, and the point should therefore not be overlooked by British coal exporters, especially at present, when they cannot afford to lose any of their trade, or allow others to take their place in the markets of the world. It must not, however, be supposed from the above that all American coal exported to Genoa was carried in sailing ships, the most recent statistics showing that only 26,092 tons were transported in this way in 1915. In the case of coal from French and Italian ports, the conditions were different. (See Table V.) Table V. Steamers. ______ From— ?914. 1915? Tons. Tons. American ports...... 346,570 ... 711,185 ........ ........ ........ ........ German ports _____ 37,155 ... — Dutch ports ........ 1,325 ... — Belgian ports......... 100 ... French ports ........... — ... — Italian ports .......... — ... 140 Sailing vessels. 1914. 191? Tons. Tons. 1,199 ... 26,092 .. 902 4.210 .. 1,621 ... 4,779 Coal is employed in Italy by the navy, railways, army, and industrial works, very little being used for domestic heating, owing to the shortness of the winter in many parts of the country. There is, however, a growing tendency to increase ite use for this purpose, and this could be encouraged by essaying the importation of English fireplaces or ranges, which are little known in Italy, and would undoubtedly be adopted by many, and especially by those living in certain mountain districts. A further means of increasing the importation of coal would be by financing the establishment of more foundries and metal working or mechanical works than there are at present. According to the Customs statistics, the Italian rail- ways consume on the average 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 tons of coal per year. The consumption of the Italian war and mercantile fleet was represented before the war by about another two million tons, of which 540,000 tons represented bunker coal at Genoa alone. The industrial consumption of the industry was about eight million tons of coal per annum. The conditions are, however, at present reversed, more coal being con- sumed by the railways and war and mercantile fleets, and less for industrial purposes. Compressed coal blocks, or briquettes, are manufac- tured by private firms very largely in Italy from coal dust, small coal, and other materials, to the extent of about 605,938 tons per annum, principally for the rail- ways. It is worth considering whether the exportation of similar products would not also be worth the while from England. Before the war the coal mostly used by the Italian railways was mainly imported from Newport, and repre- sented up to 80 per cent, of the total consumption, only about 10 per cent, of American coal being used. The case is, however, quite different at present, and mixtures of various coals are used, which often smoke badly, giving out less heat th-an any of the Newport coals for- merly imported. Coal plays a very important part in the preparation of war ammunitions, in the manufacture of guns, cannons, and other arms, and for this reason its ship- ment from the countries of the Allies should be facili- tated and assisted in every possible way. ___________________________ COKE AS A BOILER FUEL.* Increasing Adoption. As an economical and efficient fuel for all types of stationary boilers, broken coke has already established its reputation. There can, of course, be no doubt that the difficult position of the coal market during the last 18 months has been instrumental in accounting for the large extent to which the use of the newer fuel has increased. The apathy of the average fuel consumer, moreover, is such that in many instances nothing short of a serious emergency will persuade him to try any- thing in the nature of a novelty, whatever its merits. The small boiler user, in particular, finds himself at the present time a victim of ever-increasing coal prices, added to which is the difficulty and uncertainty of obtaining delivery. Perhaps, then, it is scarcely to be wondered that coke should have, since the beginning of the year, taken the place of steam coal in about a hundred separate installations in the inner area of London alone. Forced Draught. In nearly all these cases, the new blower, introduced by the London Coke Committee, has been installed, and appears to possess many advantages over the earlier forced draught apparatus. When a change from coal to coke fuel is contemplated, it is usually to be found that the natural draught induced by the chimney, while ample for bringing about the combustion of coal, is inadequate for ensuring the sufficiently rapid burning of coke. Some assistance is, therefore, imperative. In the past, additional draught has been obtained either by the “ induced ” method, in which an exhaust fan is located near to and discharges into the chimney shaft, or by ordinary “ forced ” means, employing a pressure fan applied to the underside of the grate. The induced system depends upon the maintenance of a partial vacuum over the fire, but possesses the disad- vantages of increasing the infiltration of air through the brickwork setting, while it tends, by increasing the speed of the waste gases, to carry forward and discharge at the chimney a portion of the grit and dust which, with the forced system properly applied, remains on the grate, or falls immediately beyond the bridge wall or first baffle. Various types of steam jet forced draught furnaces, permitting a comparatively short chimney shaft to be used, have been employed in conjunction with coke and breeze burning for some years, but in many cases the necessary alterations have been cumber- some and expensive, so that the system is scarcely to be compared with the new blower. The London Coke Committee’s apparatus may best be described as pro- viding an “ impelled ” draught, which is admitted beneath the firebars by one long and one short delivery pipe, fashioned somewhat on the lines of a Venturi tube. The whole can be fitted to a coal burning boiler in a few hours, and requires for its operation only from 2 to 3 per cent, of the steam raised. Grate Area. Grate area plays a decidedly important part in the case of coke-fired boilers, for the economic rate of com- bustion of fuel and the area of the boiler fire-grates determine the normal evaporative capacity. When burning coke, 22 lb. to 25 lb. per sq. ft. of grate area per hour represents the economic average maxima for hand- fired fixed grates. Higher rates may, of course, be attained, but only at the expense of efficiency. Probably 18 lb. to 20 lb. would represent the best normal working rate for coke or breeze of average qualtiy. The limiting factor in grate area in the Lanca- shire typo of boiler is the length of grate which a man may efficiently stoke and clinker—usually 6 ft. 6 in. to 7 ft. 6 in., measured from the furnace front. This con- sideration limits the total effective area to 36 to 38 sq. ft. in the larger boilers of the type. Bv assuming evapora- tive values for coke and breeze respectively of 9 lb. and * The Times Engineering Supplement.