I. C. 7446

Annual Report of Research and Technologic Work on Coal Fiscal Year 19471

A. C. Fieldner2
 P. M. Ambrose3

Cover Page 66kb

Table of Contents

Page
Section 1
1017kb
Introduction 5
Summary 6
Section 2
683kb
Acknowledgments 10
Origin, composition, and properties of coals 11
Inspection, sampling, and analysis 11
Analyses of Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon coals 12
Data on coals in Districts 12, 14, and 16 13
Laboratory lists 13
Constitution, properties, and analytical methods 14
Extractable waxes from lignitic and subbituminous coals of the United States 14
Analyses of miscellaneous materials 14
Section 3
1915kb
Reflectance of coal 16
Electron microscope studies of metal fumes and Fischer-Tropsch catalysts 16
Petrographic studies of coal 17
Glacial peat deposit near Pittsburgh 20
Origin and constitution of coal 20
Study of materials relating to acid formation in coal mines 20
Section 4
929kb
Coal mining 21
Experimental mine and dust explosions 21
Demonstrations 21
Technical assistance and services to others 21
Coal investigations 22
Coal Creek, Gunnison County, Colo. 22
Coking-coal deposits on Lookout Mountain, Dekalb and Cherokee Counties, Ala. 26
Georges Creek Basin, Md. 28
Coosa coal field, Ala. 28
Section 5
1033kb
Castleman coal basin, Md. 29
Deep River, N. C. 29
Alaska 29
Mining methods and practices 30
Strip mining of bituminous coal 30
Section 6
1231kb
Mining of Belgium and Germany 32
Eickhoff-Schrämlader machine 33
Bureau of Mines scraper-shaker loader 34
Eickhoff shearing machine 34
Korfmann universal shearing machine, model SK 20 34
German coal planer 35
Anthracite flood prevention 35
Acid mine water from anthracite mines 35
Anthracite mine dust problems 36
Back filling in anthracite mines 36
Section 7
1105kb
Diesel exhaust gases 37
Comoustion performance of fuels in Diesel engines 38
Electrical equipment for mines 39
Requirements for multiple-shot blasting units 39
Mine-communication apparatus 39
Toxic mine atmospheres 40
Relationship of safety and efficiency in coal mining 40
Gaseous explosions and use of explosives 40
Increase in charge limit of permissible explosives 40
Permissibility tests 42
Section 8
983kb
Substitutions in permissible explosives 43
Field samples of permissible explosives 43
Consumption of permissible explosives 43
Firedamp safety of powder-powered tools for splicing cables and punching rails 43
Determination of the reactivity of calcium carbide and acetylene-water vapor mixtures 44
Preparation of coal 46
Recovery of fine coal from slurry water 46
Preparation characteristics of Illinois coal 46
New heavy-medium process for cleaning fine coal 46
European practice 48
Coal preparation in The Netherlands 48
Section 9
1151kb
Coal preparation in western Germany 49
Drying lignite 50
Storage of coal 53
Utilization of coal for combustion 54
Fuel-engineering service 54
Boiler feed-water conditioning 55
Instructions on testing of boiler water 56
Innovations in boiler-water-control testing 56
Boiler-water research 57
Section 10
1821kb
Smoke abatement 58
Determination of solid fuel reactivity by ignitibility 58
External corrosion of furnace-wall tubes 59
Smokeless packaged fuel for domestic use 59
Mineral wool from Rhode Island anthracite 60
Developments in Switzerland 60
Carbonization and gasification 61
Laboratory tests of coking coals 61
Survey of carbonizing properties of American coals 63
Section 11
1325kb
Argentine asfaltita 73
Venezuelan coal 74
Expansion-test investigations 74
Section 12
1310kb
Plasticity of coals 80
Oxidizing properties of various bituminous coals 83
Low-temperature coke by Krupp-Lurgi process 86
Carbonization of Elkhorn No. 3-bed coal 86
Carbonizing properties of western coals 87
Carbonization of Velva lignite and Monarch coal 88
Improvement of methods for testing physical properties of coke 88
Large-scale coking investigations 88
Fuel industry of Japan - low-temperature carbonization 89
Section 13
1645kb
Gases from carbonization tests 90
High-B.t.u. gas from solid fuels 90
Gasification of Buckwheat anthracite 91
Gasification of subbituminous coal and lignite 92
Section 14
2510kb
Underground gasification 99
Liquefaction 100
Facilities for research and development, Bruceton, Pa. 100
Synthesis of liquid fuels from hydrogen and carbon monoxide 101
Process development, pilot-plant and bench-scale tests 101
Preparation and testing of catalysts 102
Section 15
2079kb
Synthesis of liquid fuels by hydrogenation of coal 108
Experiments in small autoclaves 108
Separation and identification of constituents of synthetic liquid fuels 110
Chemical engineering research, design of special instruments and equipment, and cost estimates on synthetic liquid-fuel processes 112
Experiments to provide data for the design of Fischer-Tropsch pilot plants 112
Fuels and lubricants missions 112

1  The Bureau of Mines will welcome reprinting of this paper, provided the following acknowledgment is used:  "Reprinted from Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7446."

2  Chief, Fuels and Explosives Branch, Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C.

3  Assistant chief, Fuels and Explosives Branch, Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C.