Coke Has A Smokeless, Radiant Glow

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31657, 18 April 1968, Page 16

Coke Has A Smokeless, Radiant Glow

Coke provides the hottest fuel that is available on the market today, and if burned in the domestic grate in the specialised manner that this fuel requires, will give a wonderful glowing fire, such as no other fuel can provide. Coke as everyone knows is made from

coal—the very best quality coal that is available coke definitely is not a waste product of gas manufacture as so many people think—it is a scientifically-controlled, highly efficient premium fuel, which lights readily, and bums with an intense, smokeless, highly radiant glow. The coals from which coke is made are high volatile, low ash, highswelling coals in the main, and blends from the Liverpool, Dobson, Point Elizabeth and Strongman Mines are carefully prepared for the carbonisation or coking process.

These high-quality coals are charged into a hermetically sealed retort at the gas works and are heated to a temperature of 1200 degrees C. in the absence of air—under

these conditions the coal mass melts, and turns into a plastic mass, and the volatile vapours, comprising the gas, tar and ammonia content, are freed and carried away by a suction pump. After a few hours the coal mass is left in a sponge-like condition, the solid carbon being exposed over a large area, where it is readily available for reaction with atmospheric air, when the time comes for it to bum in the domestic grate. The hollow pores from which the vapour and tar have been liberated provide channels for the combustion air, and this accounts for t its high reactivity as a fuel. Coke is a smokeless fuel, and in recent years has been used in the Smokeless Zones of England, to overcome

the health and property damage hazards that have become such a problem in the denselypopulated areas of that country. New Zealand, in general, has few of the problems associated with the over-developed and over - populated areas of the world, but Christchurch is singularly unfortunate in that it has a climatic anomaly, which creates an “inversion” condition in the atmosphere at certain times of the year. This inversion condition places an impermeable hood over certain areas of the city, under which smoke and smog can accumulate, and it is becoming increasingly evident that something must be done to correct this situation* before it becomes dangerous to public health. To burn coke success-

fully on the domestic grate, a few simple rules must be A deep fire bed is required. Never poke a coke fire. Remove ash before refuelling, by gentle poker agitation along the bottom of the grate. Use the right coke grade for its rightful purpose—No 1 size for the incinerator or space heater and No 2 for the open fire. Almost any domestic grate will burn coke successfully, but where a grate has a low front curb, it is often a good idea to fix a steel grid or fence across the top of the grate front, to hold the fuel back in the grate and thus allow a greater depth of fuel to be built up against the back wall. The depth of the fuel bed is the secret of

success when burning coke, and a few metal bars welded on to a frame, and mounted across the front of the grate, will transform the ordinary fireplace into a highly efficient heating device. Coke is lighter than the coal from which it is made, this is naturally so, insofar as the gas and tar vapours have been removed—a ton of coal occupies about 45 cubic feet whilst a ton of coke occupies about 75 cubic feet, but a ton of coke holds much more usable and recoverable heat than the ton of coal from which it was made—this is because of the high carbon con-

tent of coke and the readily-burnable characteristic of the carbon, combined with the highly porous nature of a piece of coke, which has been freed from its volatile smoke producing element. Domestic coke quality in Christchurch is very high by world standards—it is highly reactive and can be lit from two sheets of newspaper and a few sticks, but easier still, a gas poker will provide a quickly lit and troublefree fire. ' Why not experiment with your sitting room grate this autumn—get a metal fence made for your grate, if it has a shallow basket, and

build up a deep bed of coke and see for yourself what a hot fire will do for your sitting room. If you want any help look in either the Gas Company showroom window in Worcester Street, or the State Coal Depot window in Gloucester Street—there you will see a grate fitted with the fence that I have described you will also see how the fire should be laid in order to get the best results.

Coke is readily available in Christchurch. Most fuel merchants stock it and will deliver it to your home, or you can purchase it in multi-wall paper bags at many stores.