NEW ZEALAND COAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 26 July 1927, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND COAL.

DISTILLATION OF LIGNITE,

EXPERIMENTS IN EUROPE.

BRIQUETTES AND MOTOR FUEL

No subject has in recent years received greater attention from engineers and fuel technologists than the economic utilisation of coal. Research work is actively proceeding in Great Britain, on the Continent and in America, every country having its own problems to solve.

Until recently, New Zealand had little opportunity of profiting by these investigations. The coal mined in the ‘Dominion is still consumed in its raw state, and large quantities arte importted from Australia for special purposes, .such as burning in railway locomotives and gas manufacture. The country is also dependent on overseas sources for the whole of its light and heavy oil fuel. Now, however, it is disclosed that commercial tests were made, in the presence of a representative of the New Zealand Government, in Belgium and Saxony last year with nearly 100 tons of Waikato lignite slack. The results were such that the fuel technologists who carried out the tests are convinced that if the process—lowtemperature distllation —is established in the Dominion a residential fuel of such high quality will be produced that- the need for importing steam coal will be eliminated. They believe, moseover, that the process will supply a. large part of New Zealand’s needs in motor fuel and heavy oil. LOW TEMPERATURE PROCESS.

The interests responsible for the tests have been very active, and for the purpose of carrying the proposals further a New Zealand Company, Carbonite, Ltd., has been formed, with prominent English and Continental firms among its shareholders. It is understood that negotiations are proceeding with the Government and with several colliery interests in the North and South Islands for operating the distillation in the Dominion. The “Debauclie” process is the invention of an eminent engineer and fuel technologist. Mr Hubert Debauelie, 0.8. E., of Gilly, Belgium, and lias been m successful operation for over 30 years in the brown coalfield of Saxony, where over 5000 tons of coal arc treated daily by the process. Its application to New Zealand lignite originated through commercial enterprise, those responsible being Captain 11. D. Dansey and Mr W. E. Duncan, member of the Institute of Fuel Technology (Eng.), both of Auckland. For research work they have been assisted by Mr L. V. Ellis, A.M.I.Cliem.E. In 1925, 20 tons of lignite slack from the Waikato coalfield were shipped to Europe, and extensive investigations were undertaken in England bv Mr Duncan. As a result is' was decided that Belgium offered a better field for the enquiry, seeing that the treatment of lignite by distillation had hot been developed commercially in Great Britain, which has no coals of that variety.

GOOD ,STEAM FUEL. The 20 tons of slack were accordingly sent over, and preliminary tests were carried out at Gilly under the supervision of Dr J. B. Garbe, formerly assistant professor at the University of Louvain. The results were communicated to the New Zealand Government and it was decided to carry out tests on a commercial scale. A further 75 tons of Waikato lignite lin. slack were shipped to the Continent, and treated strictly upon a eomercial basis. These tests extended over seven days and were supervised by Dr A. Thau, an eminent fuel technologist Sir Richard . Redmayne, formerly chief inspector of coal mines for Great Britain, observed the teshs as representative of the New Zealand Government. A week’s operations gave an average return of llcwt. of residual fuel per ton of coal, together with light an heavy oils and sufficient gas for the continuous heating of the retort. The residual fuel had a calorific value more than 25 per cent, above that of untreated l Waikato coal. BELGIAN LOCOMOTIVE TESTS. The distilled coal was screened, yielding a nut coal suitable for marine

and industrial purposes, and the “fines” were made into briquettes and small “ovoids.” Under ste ami-boiler trials jin Belgium the briquettes and nut ooal burned with an intense and relatively short flame, giving complete combustion and no smoke. A minimum of attention was required, a full head of steam was maintained and the grates needed no cleaning The railway engineer in charge declared the Waikato briquettes were greatly superior .to those in regular use by the Belgian. State Railways and were among the best he had ever dealt with. The fuel was also tested in a. locomotive of the Belgian State Railways, and behaved similarly, and giving very much higher efficiency that the local briquettes used. The remainder of the fuel was shipped back to. New Zealand and tested by the Railway Department in locomotives on the grade from Wellington to Johnsonville on the Hutt line, and in the Lyttelton tunnel. The report in every instance was that a full head of steam was maintained without smoke or objectionable fumes. Identical trials showed that 24|lb of briquettes were equivalent to 27flb of imported, coal. While these results were obtained from resultant fuels, the production of by-products is reported as satisfactory, the vield in heavy oil being 10 imperial gallons and 2 gallons of motor spirit. It is expected, however, that 11) gallons of heavy oil and 2| gallons of motor spirit ~ per ton of raw lignite will be obtained in operations on a commercial basis.