Producing Liquid Fuels at the Mine
Page 49
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THE only plant in the country where coal is taken from the mine and immediately converted into motor spirit, oil fuel and other refined chemical products, is that set up by Low Temperature Carbon isation , Ltd., at its coal oil refinery adjacent to the Holsover Colliery.
It is claimed that here the technical difficulties, many of an extremely stubborn nature, have been disposed of, and the whole operations are now ready for any required degree of expansion At this plant and one in South Wales, the company will be dealing with 2,000 tons of coal daily, and the production of petrol now amounts to the very useful quantity of 20,000.000 gallons per year.
After screening and washing, the coal is taken to the Coalite works, the products of the various seams being Headed and fed to the eight batteries of retorts, where they are heated for a period dependent upon the nature of the coal, The gas is then led away, some condensing in hydraulic mains. The rest goes to electrostatic precipitation chambers, where suspended matter is removed, thence through condensers to the petrol-recovery plant.
Crude coal oil coming from the hydraulic mains and condensers is led to a neighbouring distillation plant operated by the British Diesel Oil and Petrol Co.. Ltd.
For the production of oil fuel, various oil fractions are chemically treated, and the oil again redistilled to obtain a Diesel oil to the required specification.
The products can he varied accord ing to national requirements. Thus the whole of the crude oil can be converted into an equal volume of petrol by hydrogenation, or, to a large extent, into Diesel oil.