856 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. April 26, 1918. then mixed with culm in the same proportions as before and fired. The results of these tests are found in columns H, I and J. At the conclusion of these tests, the old Spring Brook boiler fuel was fired to determine the relative values in evaporation of the water. The results of this test are found in column D. The second series of tests consisted of non-coking coal mixed with the culm in the following proportions :— 50, 70, 80 and 100 per cent, of bituminous with 50, 30, 20 and 0 per cent, of culm. The results of this test are given in columns B, K, L and M. The figures on line 16 show the number of pounds of water evaporated from and at 212 degs. Fahr, per lb. of dry fuel, the temperature of the draught being corrected to 60 degs. Fahr. After deducting the water evaporated by the soft coal in the mixtures, the remainder is credited to that which was evaporated by the culm (see line 17). The best results were obtained when the culm was mixed with pulverised coking coal. The amount of water evaporated, shown in column J, was 5*92 lb., or 99’38 per cent, of the water evaporated by the soft coal alone, which was 5’957 lb. Tests were also carried out on locomotives of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, with results equally in favour of the mixture of culm and soft coal. The reason why coking coal is better adapted to mix with culm lies in the fact that the coking coal fuses at a comparatively low temperature, and the fusion takes up the particles of the culm, forming a homogeneous mass of fuel which burns uniformly. It was also noticed that the mixture was easier to burr, than was comparatively short time. Just at this point it was observed that the culm and the bituminous coal in the mixture burned at the same rate. With an addition of anthracite culm in the soft coal, the mixed fuel contains less volatile ingredients than does raw bituminous. Furthermore, with a fuel consisting of one-third culm and two-thirds soft coal, every two particles of soft coal has, as its neighbour, a particle of culm. Consequently the soft coal particles have a greater opportunity to obtain oxygen in the combustion chamber necessary for a more complete combustion. Thus, the culm in the mixed fuel reduces the excess of volatile matter, which, if not diluted, will be distilled and a part of it expelled from the stack as smoke. The function of the culm addition to the bituminous coal, therefore, is to give the volatile constituents of the soft coal a more complete combustion, thereby preventing the emission of unburned hydrocarbons and securing more heat. At the conclusion of the runs made on the different engines the railroad company built a mixing plant, where, upon arrival, the bituminous coal is unloaded into a pit, from which it is raised to the plant by means of a dragline. After passing over bar screens, with f- in. openings, the coarse material is fed on to a crusher, where it is sufficiently reduced to pass through a screen of 1- in. mesh. Both the screenings and the crushed coal are then dropped into a bin. The silt is brought from the slush bank at the shaft in 5-ton cars, and dumped into a bin at the plant. The material from each bin is then gravitated to a revolving table located directly under the bins- The Notes from the Coal Fields. [Local Correspondence.] South Wales and Monmouthshire. Question of Monthly Statements—Brokerage Charges— Railways After the War—Coal and Coke Supplies Committee—Output Comparison. It is felt that strong representation should be made to the Coal Controller as to the burden imposed by his requirement of a monthly statement from the collieries. In view of the depleted staff and the large amount of work which the numerous returns involve, it is felt that the requirement of his Department imposes a severe burden, and the desire is that the return should be quarterly rather than monthly. According to a supplied report of the eighth annual meeting of the Monmouthshire Collieries Rescue Society, 41 firms are now affiliated to the society, representing an output of 11,095,506 tons. The officials were re-elected. Coal exporters have taken steps to . safeguard their interests in respect of the Controller’s action as to transfer of brokerage to the colliery companies. They have, it is understood, taken the opinion of counsel, and this, is believed to be favourable to their contention. .The subject came up on Tuesday at the meeting, of Cardiff. Chamber of Commerce, Mr. T. J. Callaghan in the chair, and. it was announced that the exporters would meet to receive the opinion of counsel and to decide what steps should be taken in regard to it. Mr. Callaghan further dwelt upon the advisability of establishing a Coal Exporters’ Association. Table III.—Results of Culm Burntxg- Tests with Bituminous Coal, Spring Brook Boiler Plant, Lehigh Valley Company. Wilkes-Barre, Penn. A B C D E F G H I J K L M Spring Coking coal-Run-of-mine. Coking coal—Pul veris d Non-coking coal-Run-of-mine. Non- C ulm, i Brook Coking coking Hazleton ; boiler 30 p.c. A 70p.c.C. 50 p.c. A 50 p.c. < . 70 p.c. A 30 p.c. A 50 p.c. A 70 p c. A 50 p.c. B ! 70 p.c. B 80 p.c. B coal coal. Shaft. ! fuel. 30 p.c. C 70 p.c. C. 50 p.c. C. 30 p.c. C. 50 p.c. C. , 30 p.c. C. JOp.c. C. 1. Weight of fuel, lb 4,200 10,200 3,500 4,20 i 5,400 4,800 4,200 5,400 4,800 5,000 5,700 : 11,000 5,400 2. Weight of dry fuel, lb 4,170 9,492 3,215 4,063 5,080 4,588 4,076 5,080 4,588 4,853 ’ 5,206 • 10,124 5,008 3. Weight of feed water, lb 22,518 25,716 42,534 48,950 6,260 7,236 13,761 15,823 15,846 18,379 18,780 21,707 19,599 22,653 17,514 20,209 20,016 24,603 13,176 39,824 20,850 4. Water evaporated from and at 212 degs. Fahr. 23,093 28,363 15,308 45,752 23,995 5. Water evaporated from and at 212 degs. Fahr. and temperature of air corrected to 60 degs. Fahr 24,841 933 50,602 2,329 7,420 1,332 15,728 1,231 18,519 1,625 22,032 1,229 21,815 1,115 20,569 1,514 23,119 28,867 17,315 46,368 24,745 6. Weight of ash, lb ’ 1,165 1,338 1,411 | 2,609 1,185 7. Per cent, of ash 22’21 22’28 38’06 29’21 30’09 25’60 26’55 28’04 24’27 26’76 24’75 23’72 21’94 8. Steam pressure, lb 60 60 6<* 60 60 60 56 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 9. Temperature of feed water 70 61 56 62 56 66 58 58 59 50 63’1 61 10. Temperature of air 81 54 7’1 64 66 6’4 65 7’0 59 83 61 66 50 42 62 55 11. Percentage of CO.2 in F gases 72 6 0 80 7’5 6’4 7’0 8’0 7’0 8’0 9’0 12. Efficiency of combustion 91’68 86’89 70’22 84’88 83’77 86 82 90’34 85’74 89’98 94 20 85’19 87’11 86’78 13. Percentage of heat converted into steam 45’53 39’55 21’03 34’28 31 33 39’09 42’71 36’02 41’76 47’66 27T5 36’02 38’01 14. Percentage of heat lost in ash 8’32 13’11 29’78 s 15 12 16’23 13 18 9’66 14’26 10’02 5’80 14’81 12’89 13*22 15. Percentage of heat lost through stack, etc 46’15 47’34 49T9 50’60 52 44 47’73 47’63 49’72 48’22 46’54 58’04 51’09 48’77 16. Pounds of water evaporated from and at 212 degs. Fahr, per lb. of dry fuel. Air c n- dition corrected to 60 degs. Fahr 5’957 5’331 2’308 3 871 3’646 4’802 5’352 4’049 5’ 39 5’948 3’32 ’> 4’580 4’941 17. Pounds of water evaporated from and at 212 degs. Fahr, per lb. of dry culm. Air con- dition corrected to 60 degs. Fahr 2’308 2’575 3’553 3’824 3T66 4 046 5’920 1’243 2 759 3 311 18. Pounds of fuel burned per sq. ft. of grate per hr. 5’30 6’54 4’42 5'30 6’82 1 6’06 5’30 6’82 6 06 6’31 9’59 7 39 8T8 19. Boiler horse-power developed, 120’0 117’0 36 0 76’0 89’0 | 1 1060 115’0 99’0 112’0 139’0 112 0 119’0 125’0 soft coal alone. This is due to the fact that when soft coal alone is burned, the fuel bed becomes a hard mass requiring considerable poking to effect complete com- bustion, whereas in the case of the mixed fuel the coked mass is more easily handled by the fireman, as it breaks up into small pieces with less labour, thereby increasing the speed and quality of the combustion. The non- coking coal, on the other hand, does not fuse, and therefore burns independently of the culm. It will be observed from the results of these tests that the culm can be commercially utilised in a furnace where bituminous coal is now being used, such as large factories, railway locomotives and ocean liners. A reduction in the amount of smoke now being pro- duced by ocean steamers can be accomplished through the use of a mixture of soft coal and anthracite culm ; furthermore, the use of such a mixed fuel would also reduce the cost of the fuel. From experiments, the best results can be obtained from 30 per cent, of culm thoroughly mixed with 70 per cent, of pulverised coking coal. This proportion of the fuel mixture will produce a heat efficiency equal to or greater than that produced by the same weight of soft coal. This is due to the fact that the mixed fuel burns more evenly, so that the volatile matter in the soft coal has a better chance for more complete combustion. As a consequence, the mixed fuel produces approximately 50 per cent, of the smoke made by bituminous coal only. The more culm the mixture contains the less will be the smoke produced. The culm contains more ash than the average bitumi- nous coal, but this disadvantage is more than balanced by the fact that when mixed in the proper proportions it gives a better combustion, and consequently produces more available heat than is produced by burning soft coal alone. This fact has been ascertained by experience. Soft coal consists of two chief combustible ingre- dients—namely, fixed carbon and volatile hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons contain approximately 85 per cent, carbon and 15 per cent, of hydrogen. The evolution of hydrocarbon from soft coal is begun at a comparatively low temperature, so that a quantity of smoke is formed, because the volatile constituents in the fuel come out rapidly, while, at the same time, the supply of oxygen in the combustion zone becomes so deficient directly over the fresh fuel that a greater part of the volatile combustible matter is distilled, liberating the carbon in a free state in the combustion zone, and as this travels towards the flues and thence to the smoke stack, its temperature falls. Under these conditions, the carbon particles, thus distilled, condense, and each particle attracts others to it, and becomes larger and larger. Finally, the result’ng “flakes” have grown so large relatively that they become collectively visible as smoke. Since coking coal and culm were used in these tests, the burning fuel produced a mass of porous, spongy coke, and, being porous, the coked mass burned out in a proper amounts of bituminous coal and slush are scraped from the tables, and both ingredients drop on to a third revolving table, where they are thoroughly mixed. It is again scraped off and discharged on to a chute, thence to elevator buckets, where the mixed product is loaded into the cars from which the soft coal was unloaded. The machinery is driven by a 50 horse- power motor. The present capacity of the plant, under normal con- ditions, is approximately 100tons per hour; but it is the intention of the company to make slight alterations this spring, so that the capacity may be increased to from 150 to 209 tons per hour. LAW INTELLIGENCE. HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE. KING’S BENCH DI VISION.—April 19. Before Mr. Justice Bailhache. Claim for Demurrage. Hadjipateras and others v. S. Weigall and Company and another.—The plaintiffs in this case claimed £541 for demurrage incurred at Spezia under a charter-party dated June 20, 1916, relating to the chartering of the plaintiffs’ steamship “Leandros.” The plaintiffs are a Greek firm, owners of the “ Leandros,” and under the charter-party the vessel was chartered to the defendants to load a cargo of coal at Swansea for conveyance to an Italian port. A cargo was taken out to Spezia, and the “ Leandros ” arrived there on the night of July 16, 1916. The lay days expired on July 21, but discharge was not completed until July 25, and the plaintiffs claimed for 4 days 4 hours’ demurrage accordingly. The defendants pleaded that the charter-party relieved them of this liability by reason of congestion caused by the war. The point at issue was whether a special clause written in the charter-party overruled the printed clause relieving from liability. His lordship said it had been decided that in such a case the clause which had been specially written in must overrule the other, and he must so hold that the defendants were liable. Even if it were not so, there would still be a difficulty in the way of the defendants. It was evident that the delay in unloading at Spezia was due to con- gestion owing to the war. The exceptions clause gave relief in case of strikes, lock-outs, civil commotion, or other causes beyond the consignees’ control, but according to the ejusdem generis rule of English law, the “ other causes ” must be of the same nature as those specified, and it had been held that delay caused by there being too much business at a port was not ejusdem generis as delay caused by a stoppage of business. The two causes of delay were exactly opposite. Judgment for the 'plaintiffs, with costs. An Order has been issued by the Board of Trade that south of a line drawn from the Wash to the Bristol Channel tramways must reduce their coal consumption by 15 per cent. Another matter that came up in the Chamber of Commerce meeting has special interest for the coal trade, it being reported that intimation had been made concern- ing the railway position after the war. Sir Albert Stanley had stated that whilst, in regard to business generally, the first occupation of the Government after the war would be to bring about abandonment of State control, the rail- ways and canals would be excepted, and these would never again revert to the pre-war position. Such a declaration rouses question as to the position of the mineral lines in the colliery valleys, for current expenses since recent wage advances, and increased costs have practically extinguished the surplus available for ordinary and pre- ference dividends, and coal operators are wondering whether heavier rates and charges will be laid upon them in order to make up any deficit when the present Govern- ment guarantee ceases. Two of the leaders among the extreme section of the colliers in the Rhondda Valley were summoned at Ponty- pridd, the allegation being that they had made statements likely to cause disaffection. The case against one of the defendants was dismissed, but that against a man named Cook, who admitted that he had stated that “ one of the objects of the Miners’ Federation was the finding of 50,000 men as cannon fodder,” was considered proved, and he was sent to prison for three months. Steps are being taken by the Federation to obtain mitigation of the sentence. A striking incident connected with the coal trade is the purchase of a ketch, 68 tons burden, by Captain Bride, of the Merchants’ Exchange, Cardiff. This little craft, which carries coal to the smaller ports of the Bristol Channel and neighbourhood, is nearly 130 years old, and is said to be constructed of oak taken from a British man-of-war. The vessel is still in active service, and is reported to be in thoroughly good condition at the present time. One firm of shipbrokers in Cardiff have acted as agents for “ fixing ” the little vessel for at least 60 years. The Coal and Coke Supplies Committee met on Monday in Cardiff, and among those attending was Mr. F. Hodges, one of the miners’ agents, on behalf of the South Wales Federation. Reference was made to the fact that the Coal Controller had been desired to exclude South Wales from any system of rationing of house coal, seeing that, already, under the allocation system, the output is restricted. The committee has considered this matter of supplying house coal from the collieries to the retail dealers and others, and a request has been issued by the merchants that con- sumers will stock coal during the summer months in order to meet probable transport difficulties as well as shortage of output in the winter. First grade coal for household purposes are said to be in much smaller supply because of the enlistment of men from the collieries, and house- holders are therefore desired to accept lower qualities, or, as far as possible, to burn anthracite. A resolution as to combing out eligible men up to 32 from Government Departments, controlled and munition works, was submitted, and it was ultimately passed with the addition of words showing that the reference was not intended to apply to miners. Swansea trade last week was not nearly so good, there being a drop of nearly 23,000 tons. The shipments of coal did not reach 30,000 tons. Patent fuel was 11,230 tons, whilst tinplate, steel, etc., figured at 6,690 tons.