i STEAM COAL - Clpdigital.org

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF
THE HECLA COKE TRANSFER.
By the purchase of the properties of the Hecla
Coke Co., the official announcement of which was
made a few days ago, the H. C. Frick Coke Co.
obtains practically the full control of the strictly
Connellsville coke production. None of this coke
goes to interests outside of the steel corporation.
'I'he purchase of the Hecla properties gives the
Frick company 1,072 ovens and 17,000 acres of
valuable coking coal and increases its number of
ovens to 16,417 ovens out of a total of 23,109 ovens.
Besides operating its own ovens the Frick company
has a long-term contract for the production
of the 1,019 ovens of the Oliver & Snyder Co. and
has purchased the output of several small independent
concerns in the region. The Frick company
also owns 2,248 ovens in the lower Connellsvile,
or Klondike region, which belonged to the
American Steel & Wire Co. and the Illinois Steel
Co., and were taken over in April, 1903. The
Frick company recently added to its holdings in
the Connellsville field, 1,070 acres of valuable coking
coal land which was bought from J. B. Thompson
and his associates. The Hecla Coke Co. is
being operated as a subsidiary company of the
H. C. Frick Coke Co., and Thomas Lynch, president
of the Frick company, has been made president
of the Hecla company.
ROYAL COMMISSION'S REPORT ON
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 39
COKE AND BRIQUETTE MAKING.
The following is the report of the British Royal
commission on coal supply, on the manufacture of
coke and briquettes:
"In the industry of the manufacture of coke by
far the most important step in recent times has
been the introduction of the by-product recovery
ovens. The prejudice against coke made in these
ovens lasted long, but is being gradually overcome.
It is found that by careful quenching, the
difficulty as to color can be to a large extent obviated,
while chemical analysis and practical experience
show little or no difference between the
coke made in these and other forms of oven. That
there is still a large margin for the further introduction
of these recovery ovens is shown by the
fact that in 1902 only 10 per cent, of the total output
of coke was obtained from them.
"The production of coke as it is extensively carried
on in this country, without full utilization of
the volatile products, is condemned by all the
witnesses. In the best modern practice these
products are either burnt in flues around the ovens,
or are separated in cooling into liquids and gases,
me latter of which are used for heating the ovens
themselves. The surplus gas can be used for the
production of power under steam boilers, or with
greater advantage in gas engines. Coke-oven gas
is a rich gas, approximating to illuminating, and
f_r richer than producer gas.
"The importance of the extended adoption of
coking cannot be exaggerated. It is one of the
methods by which small coal can be rendered
marketable, and in some districts it has reduced
the waste by furnishing the collieries with an outlet
for the small coal, without which outlet it is
doubtful whether they could have been carried on.
"Hitherto the manufacture of briquettes has
been mainly confined to South Wales, where the
small coal made in the screening and in the transit
of the best steam coal is mixed with eight to
10 per cent, of pitch and converted into briquettes.
Large quantities of similar small steam coal are
exported to the continent for the same purpose.
Of the value of these briquettes as a fuel there is
no doubt, and they are extensively purchased by
the royal navy as a reserve stock in hot climates,
where they are said to deteriorate less than Welsh
coal. In England and Scotland briquettes are seldom
made, probably because there is a good market
for small coal. There is, however, every reason
to anticipate that in the future they will be
more largely used for steam and domestic purposes,
and there appears to be a good field for the
discovery of a suitable binding material, pitch,
which is the chief binder used at present, being
rather too smoky for domestic purposes, and also
high in price.
"The evidence points to the conclusion that a
suitable briquette plant, if well managed, should
pay in connection with a colliery; at present the
briquette factories in this country are mostly
situated at or near docks. Suggestions have been
made that partial distillation, in addition to washing
and cleaning, would give a much wider choice
of material for the manufacture of first-class briquettes,
and that coal and oil might be used in
combination so as to form briquettes of good calorific
value out of inferior coal."
GROWTH OF SOUTHERN COAL OUTPUT.
The growth of the production of coal in the
states South of the Mason and Dixon line is
shown by the following table:
1890. 1900. 1904.
Virginia 784,000 2,393,704 3,500,000
West Virginia.. .7,394,600 22,647,200 30,500,000
Tennessee 2,169,500 3,509,500 4,750,000
Kentucky 2,701,400 5,328,900 7,095,000
Alabama 4,090,400 8,394,200 11,252,000