BRIQUETTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7181, 4 June 1891, Page 4

BRIQUETTES.

UTILISATION OF COAL WASTE. The manufacture of briquettes from Victorian coal is a subject which is touched upon in a. report which has been furnished by Mr J. Cosmo Newbery to the Mining Department. He states that the process adopted by him in the experiment which he recently carried out wa3 simply to warm the lignite when wet and press it into a heated mould. The pressure was obtained by using the hydraulic press at the Victorian railway workshops, at Newport. " Something has yefc to be learnt," writes Mr Newbery, "us to the pressure necessary, and the size or grain to give the freestburning briquette, but this can only be done when the work i 3 carried out on a practical scale, which ia not possible with the presentappliances. Eecentinformation from Germany makes it doubtful whether the fuel in this form can be used on locomotive engines, as any email fragments which become detached 'from the ma3s and are sufficiently light to be carried away by the draught, are a source of danger, not only to the country generally during day weather, but also to the railway stations, goods sheds, and the carriages or trucks of the train, for the lignite sparks, unlike coal, wood, or coke sparks, will not go out till wholly consumed, and everywhere it rests there is danger. When the briquette is made with rather roughly crushed lignite, I think it will burn more freely and be better for stationary engines than when made with finely-crushed material; but with it there would be much more danger from sparks in locomotives. It is possible that the difficulty may be got over by making two classes of briquettes — one for locomotives, and one for stationary engines and household purposes. Considering the vast deposits we have of this fuel, probably the thickest in the world, the subject is well worth every inquiry." In the opinion of Mr Newbery coal washing should also be introduced. On this point he says : — "The recent improvements in coal washing are creating a revolution in the coal-mining industry of Europe. The waste heaps of many mines ia England and on the Continent are being washed, and are yielding a better profit than the nunes. Many of our Gippsland coala would be vastly improved by washing- Leaving out the labour, this coal washing is said to be done by the Liihrig system at a cost of 1-Jd per ton."