POWER PROBLEMS

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 24, 29 January 1929, Page 19

POWER PROBLEMS

GREAT COAL QUESTION

WORLD REORGANISATION

HAENESSING THE SEA

i The international reorganisation of the world's coal industry was urged in a paper by Lord Melchett (Sir Alfred Mojid) beforo the International Coal Conference, at the Carnegie Institute of Technology at Pittsburgh, reports' the "Christian Science Monitor." At ttio same time Georges Claude outlined plans for obtaining limitless energy from the sea. Mr. Claude came to the conference from Havana, Cuba, where he ia installing his "sea motor," which depends on the differing temperatures of upper aud lower ocean levels for its motive power. . He will return immediately to Cuba, following a short visit to Boston, Lord Melchett, whose address was delivered in. absentia, is orgauiser of the Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., and is a former member of the Cabinet. Ho forecast a profound chango in the British coal industry, which, ho said, like that in the United States, Germany, and other countries, was left disorganised by the war, "with a surplus of nearly 250,000 men who were legally insured as belonging to the industry." SAYS ENGLAND MAY LOSE FOGS. A changed England was forecast by Lord Melchett, with tho increase of central power stations, distribution of power by pipe line and wire, and greater use of smokeless coko as fuel. "The day may not be far distant," he added, "when Britain may render herself independent of outside sources of oil supply, when Britain will make the skies even in industrial areas that azure blue which tho foreigner sees in reality and the Briton in fiction; when London even in November will be relieved of those throat-teasing and eye-burning fogs which are not a part of ancient history, like the Tower of London, but aro a part of her system of coal wastage."

WOKI.D EEGULATION NEEDED. . "The coal problems of the world aro one,' 1 lie declared.

What is required is ... national arrangements, not necessarily amalgamations, which shall so rationalise the coal industry that the productive power is brought into line with consumptive capacity." •

In view of the stir created on either side of the Atlantic by Lord Melehett's recent activity in forming the Finance Company of Great Britain and America, and similar great international credit and chemical organisations, thc-re was the inclination at the coal conference to speculate over his proposal at international coal co-operation. "It is my firm belief," he said in part,; ''that :the main line of salvation lies in a better organisation of the industry. If must commence nationally. It must be extended to cmbraco the European coal producing countries, and ultimately the coal producing countries of the world. ■

"For there are many undeveloped countries which have contained tremendous reserves of coal. At the appropriate time and under the appropriate conditions these -will bo worked, and for the future of the industry throughout the world it is important that from the beginning the new fields and producing countries should be embraced in the frontiers of a rationalised industry.". POWER PROM SEA. The address delivered by Georges Claude was probably the moat extraordinary than any coal conference has listened to. Calmly, the man whose air liquification process has been capitalised at 25,000,000 dollars in America by the Air Beduotion Company, whose Neon tubes are known over the country and whose synthesis of ammonia method is being 1 put into use in West Virginia by the dv Ponts in a 10,000,000 dollar project, outlined plans for tapping the limitless store of the sea's energy. Mr. Claude told how he travelled to the Sahara Desert in 1924 with the idea of investigating the possibility of getting motive steam power from solar energy. : It rained all the time he was in the Sahara, Mr. Claude explained with a smile. This seeming misfortune actually was a benefit. It accustomed him to the idea of using aparatus with water that "boiled" at 60 or 70 degrees. Then one day as he reflected that the water at the bed of even tropic seas is near the freezing point, while the surface water remains uniformly above 25 degrees Centigrade the idea occurred that such differences in temperatures "would be sufficient to produce steam, to condense it, and move turbines." A turbine of 60 kilowatts was successfully set up in Belgium which moved at 6000 revolutions a minute by the action of difference in temperature of 18 decrees Centigrade. "I Tiave now," said Mr. Claude, "but to prove that the difficulties oJ: the installation at the sea are equally soluble. For that purpose I plan to have my Ougreem, Belgium, plant transported to Cuba, where these ideas have met with the best welcome, and to connect this plant with the deep waters by a convenient pipe as soon as I have ascertained the submarine current, ternpern turesj and depth conditions in the vicinity of Havana, which I am now doing. "After that I shall probably be able in a measure to pass to the realisation of the first of our industrial plants, which shall be a 12,000 kilowatt one." Mr. Claude did not minimise the difficulties or expense of tho problem. Floating islands off deep water might bo used, he agreed, and these might also serve for aviation landing centres. French and American capital is financing his own company in its present plans.