I. C. 7618

Annual Report of Research and Technologic Work on Coal - 1950

Arno C. Fieldner1
Sidney Gottley2 

Cover Page 22kb

Table of Contents 152kb

Page
Section 1
526kb
Introduction 1
Summary 2
Acknowledgments 4
Origin, composition, and properties of coal 5
Inspection, sampling, and analysis 5
Analyses of miscellaneous materials 7
Constitution, properties, and analytical methods 7
Coal classification 7
Petrographic studies of coal 8
Electron microscopy of coal 8
Extractable waxes from American lignites 9
Section 2
541kb
Coal Mining 10
Coal investigations 10
Alaska 10
Greek lignite 10
Georges Creek, Md. 10
Study of coking-coal reserves 12
Mining methods and practices 12
Bull Mountain, Mont. 12
Iowa 12
Mechanical mining studies 13
Anthracite mechanical mining research 13
Compressed-air receivers 14
Studies on the use of Diesel engines underground 14
Coal-mining practices in Germany and Japan 15
Control of coal-mine fires 15
Decreasing explosive hazards underground 16
Toxic mine atmospheres 16
Roof control 18
Anthracite flood prevention 18
Preparation of coal 19
Coal washing 19
Cyclone thickener performance tests 19
Coal-preparation bibliography 19
Preparation characteristics of Illinois coals 20
Preparation characteristics of Cumberland Plateau, Tenn., coal 20
Upgrading marginal coking coals by coal-preparation methods 20
Section 3
534kb
Coal preparation for synthetic fuels 21
Briquetting of coal 22
Drying low-rank coals 22
Rocky Mountain coals 22
Lignite 23
Storage of coal 23
Low-rank Rocky Mountain coals 23
Lignite 23
Storage of dried lignite 24
Utilization of coal for combustion 24
Fuel-engineering service 24
Boiler feed-water conditioning 25
Boiler-water research 27
Smoke abatement 28
Combustion 28
Corrosion of wall tubes in steam generators 28
Section 4
580kb
Factors affecting heat absorption in furnaces 29
Steam-dried lignite 29
Carbonization of coal 30
Coke production 30
Survey of carbonizing properties of American coals 30
Methods of testing 33
Coals tested 34
Sewell-bed coal 34
British Columbia, Alaska, and Western Coals 35
Lower Banner coal, Russell County, Va. 35
Thick Freeport and Pittsburgh coals, Pennsylvania; Elkhorn coal, Kentucky; and American and Mary Lee coals, Alabama 36
Testing Alabama Coals in the 17-inch test oven 36
Foundry cokes form Sunnyside coal, Utah 36
Low-temperature carbonization of noncoking coals 37
Desulfurization during carbonization with added gases 39
Ammonium sulfate yields 40
Section 5
609kb
Expanding properties of coal during coking 40
Plasticity of coals 43
Coke properties 43
Oxidizing properties of bituminous coals 43
Gasification of coal, coke, and lignite 45
Lignite 45
Underground gasification 45
Second field-scale experiment at Gorgas, Ala. 46
Research on the production of synthesis gas 48
Gasification of pulverized coal 48
Pulverized-fuel-gasification pilot plant 48
Section 6
500kb
High-pressure gasification 49
Purification pilot plant 49
Laboratory-scale experimentation 49
Production of synthesis gas 51
Gas treating and testing 51
Vortex combustion studies for powdered-coal gasification 52
Oxygen production by multistage fractional permeation 53
Synthesis-gas production 54
Section 7
638kb
Liquefaction of coal by direct hydrogenation:  Research and development 55
Function of solvents and catalysts in early stages of coal hydrogenation 55
Action of solvents 55
Catalysts for coal hydrogenation; reaction mechanism 56
Bench-scale process development 58
Dependence of coal hydrogenation on operating variables 58
Hydrogenation of coal in the absence of solvents 59
Pilot-plant operations 59
Separation and identification of products of coal hydrogenation 60
Phenols in coal-hydrogenation oils 60
Characterization of coal 61
Liquefaction of coal by hydrogenation of carbon monoxide:  Research and development 62
Reaction mechanism studies 62
Metallic carbides:  The magnetic balance 62
Reaction-rate studies 63
Section 8
484kb
Effect of reduction of metal oxide catalysts 64
Separation and identification of products of hydrogenation of carbon monoxide 65
Homologation of alcohols 66
Study of fundamental properties of fixed and fluidized beds 67
Pilot-plant synthesis of hydrocarbons from carbon monoxide and hydrogen 67
Synthetic liquid fuels demonstration plants 68
Coal-hydrogenation plant 68
Gas-synthesis plant 72
Oxygen production 72
Koppers powdered-coal gasifier 72
Section 9
391kb
Kerpely gas producer 73
Engineering studies and cost estimates 73
Technical reports and foreign document work 80
Abstracts and bibliographies 80
Foreign documents 80

1  Chief, Fuels and Explosives Division, Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C.

2  Assistant to the chief, Fuels and Explosives Division, Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C.