766

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

October 11, 1918.

the actual values that were determined for shales
there were twelve within 5 per cent., and they were
from different parts of Lancashire—two or three from
Cheshire. He though that shale itself had a fairly
constant ash content—somewhere about 90 per cent.;
he did not think it varied much. If there was any
variation, the shale probably contained small quan-
tities of carbonaceous matter. In reply to a further
question by Mr. Laws, as to what difference would be
made in the coal by an error of 5 per cent, in the
calculation, and what it would amount to when one
got into the practical region, Mr. Drakeley said the
5 per cent, referred to the variation in particular
shales. They did not all possess the same composition.
As these samples from various parts only showed a
variation of 5 per cent., he considered it was pecu-
liarly constant. The ash obtained by igniting shale
was generally regarded as inorganic matter which was
left behind after the moisture was driven off. Pos-
sibly some contained chalky matter and gave off a
large quantity of carbon dioxide, thus reducing the
percentage of ash.

Mr. Dixon asked what should be done where the
ash yielded by the shale could not be picked out to
begin with. A seam might be fairly clean to look at
but burn with a percentage of ash which was not
discernible in the coal itself.

Mr. Drakeley said in such a case he should plot
a diagram. He explained the manner in which he
would proceed.

Mr. Drummond Paton asked for information about
the heat given off in the ash itself. In coal combus-
tion small quantities of ash were thrown off and
carried forward to the flame, and they intercepted
the latent energy. Perhaps Mr. Drakeley would go
further with his investigations and consider the action
of dust in the flame. He also wished to know whether
there was any difference due to the ash being white
oi' dark.

Dr. Hickling, supplementing Mr. Paton’s observa-
tions, said they seemed to come to this, that the ash
coming out of the furnace carried with it a certain
amount of heat which one could easily arrive at. One
knew its specific heat. The bomb calorimeter did not
show that because at the end of the experiment the
bomb calorimeter was practically at the temperature
it started at; therefore the ash in it had given up all
its heat. That heat was included in the 1,500 (or what-
ever it was) B.Th.U. in the coal. In the inner furnace
they did not get the whole of that because some of it
was carried away with the ash coming out at high
temperature.

Mr. Drakeley said he thought a very large per-
centage of the loss was due to the amount of the
carbon in the ash. Cinders were formed which con-
tained combustible matter. He was not in a position
to give any detail in regard to the furnace; some of
the practical people would perhaps supply that know-
ledge., Quite recently there was a paper in the
Colliery Guardian* which, if he could trust his
memory, dealt with this question, but only for a par-
ticular anthracite coal. The point was rather out-
side the scope of the paper, and he could not furnish
any details with regard to the practical use of coal
in the furnace. It depended so largely upon the
furnace itself that he doubted whether they could get
any figures to represent it. In reply to Dr. Hickling,
he said that at the end of the bomb experiment the
amount of heat obtained in the ash was practically
a negative quantity, the rise in temperature in the
bomb being not much above 8 degs. Fahr, or 4 degs.
Cent.

Dr. Hickling said, with regard to the question
of the ash content being constant in different parts
of the same seam, that Prof. Kendal at the last
meeting of the society had pointed out that the
ash in coal could be divided into three different classes.
In the first place there must obviously be the ash of
the original material from which the coal was formed;
secondly, the ash from mud deposited along with the
coal; thirdly, the ash from various minerals, usually
crystalline carbonates, calcium, and so on. It would
be very useful if Mr. Drakeley would consider those
three factors. With regard to the point which Mr.
Drakeley brought out, that the shale itself seemed
to be very constant, he thought there was a simple
explanation. The mud was mainly clay, and clay was
of an extremely constant chemical composition; it
always contained 12 to 13 per cent, of combined water.
This water was driven off when the material was
incinerated. Probably that accounted for the fact
that there was 89 per cent, of the residue left by
weight. Ordinary shale mixed with coal gave a very
constant ash content. So far as the impurities in the
shale itself were concerned, that constant would
probably be maintained. On the other hand, if the
coal contained a considerable quantity of spar, that
would have a much greater effect in proportion to
its weight. The residue which that would leave on
combustion would be something like the 56 or 53 per
cent, which Mr. Drakeley got. Another type of im-
purity which clearly would give a very different effect
was pyrites. Obviously it was a difficult matter to
separate those various impurities, but if the matter
was looked at from that point of view, it might help
towards a solution of the problem.

Mr. Drakeley agreed that the impurity was not
necessarily shale, and it would have^ been better if
the word “impurity” had been substituted for
“shale” in the equation. In the last paper that he
sent in to the Institution of Mining Engineers he
brought out the point about the different types of
ash, but it was returned to him to be cut out. When
he wrote his paper on “Coal Washing,” read twelve
months ago, he thought the point was important, but
apparently the authorities thought that in coal wash-
ing there were only two types of ash to be considered—
that which could be washed and those which could
not. Replying to Mr. Paton, he did not think the
colour of the ash was likely to have any influence.

* Colliery Guardian, September 6, 1918, p. 495.

Dr. Hickling said it might be useful to put it in
this way : If the question of colour came in at all,
it would only come in through the incomplete combus-
tion of the material. In so far as one was dealing
with mineral ash, it was a practical certainty that
the ash would be white when the material was com-
pletely combusted. When it was black or dark, that
was due to carbonaceous matter.

Mr. Bolton Shaw said if a difference in the
humidity of the atmosphere affected the results, a
standard of humidity should be specified in coal tests,
and it should be stated on what basis the calorific value
was to be determined. It would be interesting if Mr.
Drakeley would give figures showing to what extent
that calorific value did vary, what percentages of error
arose from that cause.

Mr. Drakeley said he had results, but he could not
give them at present. The importance of the
humidity of the atmosphere was brought strongly to
his notice. All the coal that he used was subjected
to air-drying only. From the point of view of ex-
pressing numbers, it would be better to dry the coal
at 105 degs., and then they had a fixed point. It was
rather a difficult matter to get a fixed humidity unless
they had absolute saturation. They must arrange for
a certain amount of moisture in the air.

Mr. Bolton Shaw remarked that it came out all
right as long as there was a specification.

Mr. Drakeley said the best way would be to dry
it first and then put it in the atmosphere to get to
its standard, or else dry it completely at 105 degs.
To dry at 100 degs. did not give such satisfactory
results, but it was not far off. At 105 degs. one got
a more fixed value for the moisture content. He
thought oxidation was the chief trouble at that tem-
perature. Most coal increased in weight at 105 degs.
It was possible to dry in nitrogen.

Mr. Laws suggested that the idea was to have
something simple, and if one had to generate nitrogen
and pass it over the coal the thing would be tre-
mendously complicated. It seemed to him that drying
at 105 degs. was the sensible way, and it should be
the standard method.

Dr. Hickling stated that a large amount of work
in this direction had been done in the United States,
where very definite regulations about the drying of
coal had been laid down.

Mr. Laws agreed that in the United States it was
quite definite; a standard was established straight
away. They wanted simplicity, and it seemed to him
that 105 degs. was quite simple.

Mr. Drakeley said that in this particular case air-
drying was sufficiently satisfactory because the ven-
lating system kept the atmosphere at about the same
relative humidity. Week after week it did not vary
much, so that difficulty hardly came up in this con-
nection. He did not know whether certain samples
were dried or in what atmosphere, and the results
were very poor indeed. The same coal was left to dry
in the colliery, and immediately the point came on
to the line which he originally got from other samples.

Mr. Drummond Paton said this subject was one of
several which would have to be definitely settled in the
researches which were now being conducted into ques-
tions affecting coal. Mr. Drakeley deserved their
hearty thanks for the work that he was doing. He
was one of the class of pioneers who did not get much
consolation from the public whose interests they
served, and he ought to be supported by all those who
appreciated the value of his work.

The discussion was adjourned.

Hull Coal Trade.—The returns for September show that
during that month 220,774 tons of coal were brought to
Hull from the collieries, a decrease of 14,582 tons com-
pared with September last year. The total entry of coal
into Hull this year up to September 30 was 2,021,245 tons,
or a decrease of 150,493 tons compared with the corre-
sponding period of last year.

Meeting of Lancashire Colliery Managers.—A largely
attended and representative meeting of Lancashire colliery
managers was held at the Royal Hotel, Wigan, on Saturday.
The general feeling was that the increase in the under-
managers’ and firemen’s wages rendered it imperative on
the managers to ask for a proportional increase. The dis-
cussion of the remuneration of colliery managers was
deferred to a further meeting in Manchester, at which a
deputation will be appointed to meet the Coal Owners’
Association. It was declared that the origin of the unrest
is the refusal of the Coal Controller to meet the managers
on the formation of pit committees. The articles of the
National Association of Colliery Managers were con-
demned, and it was agreed to amend them or inaugurate
a new association on broader lines. The meeting was
attended by over 70 members.

Coal Controller at Nuneaton.—Sir Guy Calthrop, the
Coal Controller, on Monday addressed a representative
gathering of coal owners, managers, and men’s repre-
sentatives at Nuneaton on the necessity for a greater out-
put of coal. He said that unless things improved we were
going to be faced with a deficiency ,of something like 30
million tons. Whatever coal was raised would be used
with economy. It was essential that we should have an
increased output, not only to supply our Allies, but for
our own industry at home. He had been blamed for
the last “ comb out ” of miners, but he was not ashamed
of anything he had done. Mine owners, managers and
men, he said, should concentrate their effort in the
interests of the nation. He was told that the output of
that coal field at the present time was about 8,000 tons
a week short of what it was between October and De-
cember of last year. The total absenteeism for August was
over 13 per cent., but he believed it had improved since.
What he desired them to realise was that the man who
could work and would not work every day in the week
was not doing his share. He begged of both sides to
avoid disputes. The men’s representatives drew the atten-
tion of Sir Guy Calthrop to the absolute necessity of in-
creased meat rations if the best work was to be got out
of the men. Sir Guy said he had approached Mr. Clynes,
and he was most anxious to assist in that direction.

THE AMERICAN COAL TRADE.

Mr. W. G. McAdoo, Director-General of Railways,
states in a report to the President, that during the
first six months of this year the railways transported
22,000,000 tons more coal than in the first half of
1917, which was the period of the largest coal move-
ment in history.

The Black Diamond (September 14) reports that in
the east the bituminous situation is on a much more
comfortable basis, particularly so in New England,
where that section was never so well off with bitu-
minous as it is at present. Nearly all the manufac-
turers have more than enough coal to carry them
through the winter, while the railroads have mate-
rially added to their storage holdings. It appears that
most of the trouble in that section comes from the
waterway transportation, as the railroad shipments
seem to be exceptionally well handled.

New York also reports a better supply of coal, with
a demand stiff enough to take all that is offered in
spite of increased production.

In the Pittsburg district, despite the utmost efforts
of the operators, the output remains at a level much
below the needs of the consumers. The cause of this
is attributed mainly to the lack of cars, and also to
a shortage of labour, which apparently cannot be
overcome. The production for the last week of August
in that district averages about 77 per cent, of the
appraised capacity, and that amount was about
400,000 tons short of normal.

The output of bituminous coal in the United States
during the week ended August 31 was approximately
the same as the week preceding. Estimates place pro-
duction during this week at 12,642,000 net tons, as
against 12,620,000 net tons during the week of August
24 and 11,056,000 net tons during the corresponding
week of 1917. The average daily requirements speci-
fied by the United States Fuel Administration,
April 1, 1918, to March 31, 1919, amount to 2,013,000
tons. For some months the output fell below that
estimate. To cover the deficit a daily output of
2,017,000 tons is needed, a figure which was slightly
exceeded by the actual daily output from the second
week of June to the last week of August.

The production of anthracite in the week ended
August 31 was estimated at 2,259,715 tons, an increase
of 5’9 per'cent, over the previous week and 13-5 per
cent, over the corresponding week of last year.

The position at Hampton Roads has not improved.
Pocahontas and New River coals cost over 6 dols.
per ton when loaded at the piers. Shippers have
great difficulty in moving their coal, as there are
twenty export orders for every available boat.

The union leaders are not disposed to let the wage
scale question die. The Fuel Administrator informed
President Wilson, when the last increase was granted,
that there would be no more during the war, and in
reply to what was said about bonuses he declared that
he would correct the evil, where proved, by reducing
the price limit.

The anthracite miners want an increase because the
bituminous miners, by pleading unsteady work, ob-
tained an increase. The Federal and State employ-
ment bureaus are trying to save the day in the anthra-
cite regions by hunting up loafers and sending them
to the mines for work.

A cablegram states that coal production in America
for the last week in September was 13,043,000 tons of
soft coal and 2,071,000 tons of hard coal. This ex-
ceeded every record in the history of the United States
except one.

OBITUARY.

Capt. Arthur W. Simpkin, (Int.B.Sc.Lond.), York-
shire Regt., attached West Yorks, who is officially re-
ported killed in action on September 30, was engaged,
before the war, as a mining pupil at Messrs. Hy. Briggs
and Company Limited, Snydale Collieries, Pontefract,
Yorks. He joined the Army in February 1915, and had
seen much active service in France. He was the eldest
son of Mr. I. W. Simpkin, M.E., Woodkirk, Dewsbury,
Yorks (late instructor in mining, geology and surveying
to the Somerset County Council). Of his two other
brothers, Capt. H. H. Simpkin, Yorkshire Regt., fell in
action on March 22 last, and 2nd Lieut. S. F. Simpkin,
M.C., R.F.A., was severely wounded on March 21 last.

THE TIN-PLATE TRADE.

Liverpool.

Works are so heavily booked up that it is becoming very
difficult to place orders. The demand is good, and the full
official price—32s. 4|d. per basis box for cokes, net cash,
f.o.t at works—is readily paid. The bulk of the business
going through is for the home trade. Portugal is taking
fair quantities. Wasters in all large sizes are in good
request, and top figures have to be paid.

Mr. W. Vaux Graham, of Queen Anne’s Gate, S.W.,
has been instructed by the Water Power Committee of
the Board of Trade to examine and report on the available
water power in Ireland and its possibilities in relation to
production of electricity, peat fuel, etc.

New Proviso Regarding Non-Detonating Explosives.—
The Home Secretary’s Order, by which certain non-
detonating explosives are included in the term “ permitted
explosives ” until December 31, 1920, states that the words
“ and at the faces ” shall be inserted in the first proviso
to the cause after the words “ on the floor, roof and sides
of the roads.”

Coal Consumer Fined.—The Barnet magistrates ordered
Edward Speyer, of Ridghurst, Shenley, to pay £5 and
£3 3s. costs for failing to notify the local coal overseer
of a variation of his requisition as a customer. The
defendant was allotted a total of 135 tons of fuel, made
up of 60 tons of household coal, 48 tons of anthracite, and
27 tons of coke. Included in the requisition were a
gardener’s cottage and entrance lodge, groom’s rooms,
and coachman’s house. Afterwards, with his cognisance,
the butler’s wife and an electrician obtained more coal
by separate requisitions.