BOILER ALTERATIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20172, 5 February 1929, Page 7

BOILER ALTERATIONS.

THE POWER BOARD'S PLANT. USE OF PULVERISED COAL.j i' i A suggestion that as the Auckland Electric-Power Board was considering the raising of a new loan, part of which would be devoted to alterations to the boiler plant, it shoud not definitely state the alterations would be in the direction of fuel pil, was made by Mr. S. Irwin Crookes, in a report to the board yesterday. Mr. Crookes recenty returned from a world tour. • It was further suggested", particulars should be obtained from the manufacturers in, England as to the feasibility- of converting the boilers to the use of pulverised coal, at the same time obtaining an estimate of the cost of conversion, if feasible. This could then be compared with the estimated cost of conversion to liquid fuel firing. Mr. Crookes said a further aspect which indicated caution should be exercised was due to the fact that it was probable in tli3 near future that low-temperature carbonisation of coal, or some similar process, might bo started iu New Zealand. This would result in a considerable quantity of semi-coke, in the form of briquettes, being available, and some prominent technical authorities considered the briquettes could be -utilised quite readily for steam-raisiftg in boilers already supplied with automatic stokers, without any additional expense. Finally, Mr. Crookes advocated a careful economic comparison between the possible use of pulverised coal and liquid fuel in the present boilers, and consideration of the use of briquetted semi-coke. This was emphasised with the object of reducing to a minimum possible expenditure on alteration? to the board's boiler plant.

Commenting on the suggestions, Mr. R. H. Bartley, general manager, said he had already commenced investigations regarding the use of pulverised coal.. He intended to obtain the fullest particulars, and .to investigate the possibility of adopting the suggested method of fueling at the King's Wharf power station. There was no doubt some alterations to the boilers would be necessary with the change to water-power. Two difficulties presented themselves; one was the question of storage, and the other was the difficulty of economically adapting the different-sized boilers to the use of pulverised coal.