BROWN COALS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20006, 25 January 1927, Page 10

BROWN COALS.

IMMENSE POSSIBILITIES. NUISANCE TO LONDON BUILDERS. (From Oub Own Cobbespondent.) „ LONDON, December 15. Before the Institution of Fuel Technology, in London, a paper was read by Dr M, W. Travers. The paper was prepared by Sir Richard Redmayne (formerly Chief Inspector of Mints), who unfortunately could not attend. The subject was “Brown Coal and the Great Possibilities of its Exploitation in the British Empire.” Dr Travers remarked that the available resources of this cheap fuel were of a vastness undreamt of by the general public. Even under this building—the Institution of Mechanical Engineers—there is a layer of' probably 2ft of brown ooal which extends all over the London area, he said. “It is known only too well to builders, who describe it as an infernal nuisance. In the London soil it is a brown, squashy substance, and builders in preparing foundations have to go through 2ft of it before getting to the clay.” Sir Richard’s paper, said Dr Travers, had been prepared following a report on the subject to the Dominions, where the utilisation of brown coal was becoming a question of great importance. The available resources of this cheap fuel were of a vastness undreamt of by the general public. Brown coal, while af little importance to this country, was of the greatest possible interest to the Empire, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Canada all possessed extensive supplies. Perhaps in point of thickness the deposits of the Latrobe Valley, Victoria . (Australia), were the most remarkable in the world. An area of SO mile* in length in that district contained within a depth of 1000 ft from the surface at least 31,144,319,000 long tons, the thickness of the beds of coal in the aggregate being 781, one bed alone being 266 ft thick. So far as proved up to the present, however, the moisture content there was high. Some of the brown coals of highest value which Sir Richard had investigated were in new Zealand, where no less than 513,000,000 long tons of proved brown ooal existed, and where the probable reserves were three times that quantity. In Canada the reserves of brown coal were enormous. Sir Philip Dawson, M.P., commenting on the histone importance of Sir Richard Redmayne’s paper, pointed out that 40 per cent, of the electric current generated in Germany to-day was generated direct by brown coal. The generating works were erected on the coalfield, and were producing current at a very low price. This utilisation of an inferior fuel ought to be more largely applied to the vast dumps of very interior coal now lying idle at the pitmoutha in this country. During the recent ooal stoppage that class of material, previously thought to be valueless, was burnt in comparatively large quantises by Birmingham Corporation with extraordinary results. The calorific value of that stuff, although low, was certainly much higher than that of the brown coal used in Germany, and did not contain the same percentage of moisture. A large development in that direction was promised in this country. Certain coals in this country were eminently suitable for distillation, having large quantities of oil. In Scotland particularly there were quantities of cannel coal, to-day more or less useless, which, from analysis which he had made, contained from 20 to 30 gallons of oil to the ton. Those dumps could at present be had for the asking. Cannel coal, when taken direct from the mine, contained up to 80 gallons of oil a ton. A plant had already been erected in Scotland which would utilise that otherwise useless material by producing oil, and also gas of a high calorific value. Arrangements had been made with the gas companies whereby that gas would be pumped directly into their gas mains. This would enable the gas companies to shut down their own producing plants in favour of the gas now to be produced at a far cheaper rate. Distillation plants of a similar kind were being put up in England. With the advantages which he thought would be brought by the passing of the Electricity Bill there was a bright future in this country in the better utilisation of coal.