Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1931. OIL FUEL FROM COAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 51, Issue 133, 18 March 1931, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1931. OIL FUEL FROM COAL.

The announcement regarding the success of tests by the Admiralty in the production of oil fuel from coal is of great importance in view of the prospective effect of the process upon the coal-mining industry in Britain. Though at present the cost of such fuel is a little above the world price for natural oil, the utilisation of the domestic product would be a profitable step in view of the impetus it would give to industry. There is another important factor also, that it would render Britain independent, at all events to a large extent, of overseas supplies, which in the event of hostilities are liable to be cut off or at least rendered irregular and uncertain. The increasing use of oil fuel, not only in the Royal" Navy, but also in the mercantile marine, makes the question of adequate regular supply a matter of moment. The production of such fuel from coal is not a new process, the announcement just made referring apparently to improvements in the quality. Some years ago, Dr. Bergius, of Germany, after extended work on the liquefaction of coal by forcing extra hydrogen into the coal substance, claimed that far higher oil yields could be obtained from suitable coal by this method than by any other. A strong British syndicate obtained in 1924 an option on the rights of this process for the British Empire, and carried out experiments with British coal in conjunction with the inventor. Three years ago, if not earlier, a process invented by Mr Charles Turner was in operation in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The process, which it took the inventor fourteen years to perfect, is on the principle of low-temperature carbonisation. The feature is a series of special valves by means of which the coal is passed through certain heating chambers and impregnated with lowpressure super-heated steam. Jn popular language, when the steam is raised in temperature the solid coal bursts out in a "'swear," and out of its pores oozes the "volatile" which, with the steam, goes to a condenser. The steam condenses to water, the Volatile" to oil, and they flow together into a separator. The oil. being the lighter, is on top, and is drawn off by a pipe to the containers. The coal residue is screened and washed, and is ready for sale. One ton of raw coal of ordinary bituminous quality yields thirty gallons of pitch-free oil and Iscwt of smokeless fuel, of which 13cwt is marketable and the other 2cwt is used again as fuel for the distillation process. The Civil Lord of the Admiralty, who made the announcement in the House of Commons, did not state what method had been adopted in the tests, but this is a negligible aspect compared with the general one regarding the quality of the fuel produced.