Coal smoke

“ The burning of coal is the principal source of these, not only when the coal is burned with the production of smoke, but also when smokeless, and even when the coal is first converted into gas and burned in the most perfect forms of combustion. It results from this that while in the air over the uninhabited parts of the earth and over the ocean the number of particles is small, being principally produced by natural causes or carried from distant lands, they are much more numerous in inhabited areas, especially in those where much coal is burned. ”

“ Those who have once used fuel in this form are not likely to return to the crude and wasteful heating by coal. All the cities and large towns west of the Alleghanies are made disagreeable by bituminous coal smoke. The extent of this annoyance and its detraction from the pleasure of daily living cannot be exaggerated. The atmosphere is more or less vitiated, and the sky obscured, houses, furniture, clothing, are dirty, and clean linen and clean hands and face are not expected. All this is changed where gas is used for fuel. The city becomes cheerful, and the people can see each other. ”

“ We may prevent smoke, though we cannot cure it, and this prevention depends upon how we supply air to the gas which the coal gives off when heated, and upon the condition of this gas when we bring it in contact with the air by which its combustion is to be effected. We must always remember that coal when its temperature is sufficiently heated, whether in a gas retort or fireplace, gives off a series of combustible hydrocarbon gases and vapors, and all we have to do in order to obtain smokeless fires is to secure the complete combustion of these. ”

“ In using raw coal for heating purposes these valuable products are not only absolutely lost to us, but in their stead we are favored with those semi-gaseous by-products in the atmosphere too well known to the denizens of London and other large towns as smoke. Professor Roberts has calculated that the soot in the pall hanging over London on a winter's clay amounts to fifty tons, and that the carbonic oxide, a poisonous compound, resulting from the imperfect combustion of coal, may be taken as at least five times that amount. ”

“ The flame produced from coal, wood, turf, oil, wax, tallow, or other bodies, which are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxigen, proceeds from the production of carburetted hydrogen gas, evolved from the combustible body when in an ignited state.
It must have been noticed at the same time, that in the common mode of burning coal in a fire-place, or stove, nearly the whole of this inflammable gaseous matter is lost. We often see a flame suddenly burst from the densest smoke, and as suddenly disappear ”

“ The recent studies of the volatile matter in coal, and its relation to the operation of coke ovens and other forms of combustion, have demonstrated that as much as one-third of this matter is inert and non-combustible, a fact which may have a direct bearing on smoke prevention by explaining its cause and indicating means for its abatement. ”

“ A combination of the alternate and spreading methods should be used, the coal being fired evenly, quickly, lightly and often, and the fires worked as little as possible. Smoke can be diminished by giving the gases a long travel under the action of heated brickwork before they strike the boiler heating surfaces. Air introduced over the fires and the use of heated arches, etc., for mingling the air with the gases distilled from the coal will also diminish smoke. ”

“ As their phenomena of color show that they are not water vapor alone, it is a fair conclusion that they are made up of a mixture of dust and water vapor, such as occurs in our chimney smoke. Our ordinary coal smoke is always composed in large part of steam, in which the little bits of carbon are mingled, as the soot is in the London fog. When dust of any kind becomes entangled in water vapor, the union is of a singularly permanent nature, the two being unwilling to separate until they fall as rain. ”

“ Sometimes in an unexpected moment there is a great dislodgement of coal, and a tremendous quantity of gas is set free, which may be sufficient to foul the passages for some distance around. The introduction or exposure of a naked light for even so much as a second is sufficient to cause explosion of the mass; doors are blown down, props and tubbing are charred up, and the volume of smoke, rushing up by the nearest shaft and overthrowing the engine-house and other structures at the mouth, conveys its own sad message to those at the surface, of the dreadful catastrophe that has happened below. ”

“ The coking process is a complete combustion of the volatile principles of the coal. The mass of coal being first kindled at the surface, where it is supplied with an abundance of oxygen, because the doors in front and vents in the rear are open, no more smoke goes from the chimney than from that of a common kitchen fire. The gas generated from the slightly heated coal cannot escape destruction in passing up to the bright flame of the oven. Any deficiency in oxygen for consuming the smoke is supplied by the air entering the grooves of the dampers. ”

“ The great principle is to prevent the escape of smoke before it is completely burnt. This may be accomplished by careful stoking, by keeping the unburnt coal at the front of the fire, and by ridges exposing the smoke to red-hot fire-clay before it escapes. In domestic fires, gas is gradually replacing coal for cooking, with a corresponding reduction of the smoke-nuisance. ”

“ The Smoke Nuisance.—Smokeless combustion is not only feasible for almost any kind of coal, but more economical if properly attended. The principal difficulty exists in the design of the proper furnace to suit the fuel and to meet the conditions under which it is burned. There ought to be no restriction on the use of bituminous or any other coal. On the other hand, no excuse should be accepted for black smoke from any source within city limits. If not willing or able to suppress it, the offensive industry must be made to move. ”

“ Neither are the evils of this kind of dust wholly æsthetic, for it is extremely injurious to health and enormously expensive. After enduring coal smoke as a necessary evil for generations, civilised humanity has now embarked64 upon a vigorous campaign for its elimination, and very encouraging results have already been achieved in many parts of the world. The war against smoke is carried on by numerous societies in Europe and America ”

“ It is important that our coal supplies be conserved not only for their use in manufacture and the arts, but also that smoke does not vitiate the atmosphere and render it unhealthful, and discolor the objects in the landscape. ”

“ The most striking defense of the railroad smoke nuisance, however, comes from the president of the Erie Eailroad, one Frank D. Underwood, who is on record in a letter to Monsignor Sheppard, of Jersey City, rector of the Roman Catholic Church of St. Michael, that
There is a good deal of nonsense about coal smoke being injurious. There is no healthier class of people in the world than those employed about soft coal mines, and they are begrimed from head to foot the majority of their lives. ”

“ We have nothing in this country like that city, where two millions of tons of coal are burned annually, the smoke from which fills the air and stretches like a black cloud far into the country.
Thus, added to the five hundred tons of carbonic acid thrown from the lungs of its animal life every day, are many times that amount, (some two thousand tons,) daily, pouring out from its forest of factory chimneys. ”

“ The combustion of coal is certainly responsible for-their existence, but it is the sulphur of the coal (oxidized ultimately to sulphuric acid) , and not the carbon, that is the active agent. So long as coal is burnt at all this manufacture of sulphuric acid and of fogs must continue; it is not to be got rid of by improved methods of combustion, though the character of the fogs may be materially improved. The evil effects of town air on plant life and human lungs, also often attributed to preventible smoke, are in like manner due to this non-preventible sulphuric acid. ”

“ Curious, isn't it?"
"It's simply astounding," said Jack. "But why do we burn coal so wastefully, Doctor? Why can't we utilize more of its heat? And what becomes of the waste heat?"
"Our methods are imperfect," answered the Doctor. "In a big manufacturing city thousands of tons of coal, or what is essentially the same thing, go off into the air every day in the shape of black smoke. You see the blackness of smoke is nothing but pure carbon or in other words coal. Then again think of the heat that goes up every smoke stack and is wasted in the air. ”

“ In manufacturing districts where soft coal is extensively used as power fuel the smoke pall may be dense enough to hide the outlines of large objects at a distance of 4 or 5 miles. A low-lying lid holds the smoke pollution close to the ground and impairs seeing very materially. The airman may fly above the lid into a region of clear air; the marine pilot, except in harbors, is out of the way of smoke; the locomotive engineer, who cannot avoid the smoke pall, sometimes finds it disconcerting. ”

“ Smoke from a fire of dry hard wood, from anthracite coal or from a gas flame is chiefly a column of hot air. Often it cannot be seen. There is very little solid matter in it. The thick, black smoke from locomotives, factories and house chimneys is made by burning soft coal in a wasteful way. If you will turn back and read the little story of how gas is made, you will understand the changes that take place when coal is heated. In making gas, the coal is not burned but is roasted in an airless retort or oven. The heat sets the coal gas free. ”

“ With the introduction of gas as a heating agent, there will be no more carting about of coals and ashes, and no more troublesome lighting of fires with wood, paper, and matches. No more [Pg 84] coal-scuttles, no more smoky chimneys, no more chimney sweeps! On the other hand, the old open coal fire is cheerful, “pokable,” and conducive to ventilation; while the Englishman loves to stand in front of it and toast himself. All this, however, may still be secured in the gas stoves of the future, as any one could easily have satisfied himself at the recent Smoke Abatement Exhibition in London. ”

“ Thus, coal need no longer be seen, except at the colliery and the gas-works. With the substitution of gas for coal, as a fuel, will end the present abominable and wasteful production of smoke. When smoke, “blacks,” and noxious gases are thus done away with, life in our most populous towns may become a real pleasure. Trees, grass, and flowers will flourish, and architecture be seen in all its beauty. Personal comfort will be greatly enhanced by the absence of smuts, “pea-soup” fogs, and noxious fumes; and monuments, public buildings, and pictures saved from premature destruction. ”

“ When an ordinary open fire is burning brightly and clearly without flame, throw a few small pieces of raw coal into the midst of the glowing coals. They will flame fiercely, but without smoking. Then throw a heap of coal or one large lump on a similar fire. Now you will have dense volumes of smoke, and little or no flame, simply because the cooling action of the large bulk of coal in the course of distillation brings the temperature of its gases below that required for their complete combustion. ”

“ The most perfect fuels, because the least injurious, are wood and alcohol. How often have we seen a farmhouse overtopped by some great tree and through its branches the fragrant wood-smoke floating gently from the chimney. The substitution of coal for wood would be quickly followed by a succession of troubles which would finally kill the tree, not by "closing its pores" with soot, but by poisoning the living cells in leaves and branches by the sulphur and chlorine fumes given off in burning the coal. ”

“ When coal is burned, oxygen of the air unites chemically with the carbon and hydrogen of the coal to form carbonic acid, or carbon dioxid, as it is technically called, and water vapor. The incombustible mineral matter of the coal remains as ashes. Hence smoke contains carbonic acid gas and water vapor in addition to fine particles of unburned coal carried away in the draft of air.
When the grade is steep a great deal of work must be done by the locomotive, much steam is required, and the quantity of fuel burned is large in proportion. ”

“ As the coal grows hotter, it becomes glutinous, and sticks together. To keep up the fire, and revive it, you now and then give it a stir with a long piece of iron made for the purpose. As it burns out, you must throw on more coals, and thus with a little pains you have a fire all day long. The smoke that rises is horribly thick, but if the chimneys are well built, it is carried clean away, and consequently incommodes the streets more than the houses. The smell of sulphur caused by this is offensive to persons lately come from France, but one soon gets used to it ”

“ But besides the flame, which is a peculiar gas in the state of combustion, heat expels from coal an aqueous vapour, loaded with several kinds of ammoniacal salts, a thick viscid fluid resembling tar, and some gases that are not of a combustible nature. The consequence of which is, that the flame of a coal-fire is continually wavering and changing, both in shape, as well as brilliance and in colour, so that what one moment gave a beautiful bright light, in the next, perhaps, is obscured by a stream of thick smoke. ”

“ When small domestic stoves are used, with very slow combustion, as has been recently proposed, upon the score of a misjudged economy, there is great danger of the inmates being suffocated or asphyxied, by the regurgitation of the noxious burned air. The smoke doctors who recommend such a vicious plan, from their ignorance of chemical science, are not aware that the carbonic acid gas, of coke or coal, must be heated 250° F. above the atmospheric air, to acquire the same low specific gravity with it. ”