Abstract :
The paper opens with the statement that Great Britain is dependent almost entirely upon coal for the production of electricity, the amount of water-power available being comparatively small. This being so, the inauguration of the ¿grid¿ transmission system and the co-ordination of power production afford favourable conditions for combining the latter with the distillation of coal. The development of the Babcock process of low-temperature coal distillation is briefly described. So far as the authors are aware, this is the only process of its kind developed in Great Britain. It is suggested that the electric power plant of the future will take in coal as its raw material, but will deliver, in addition to electricity, motor spirit, fuel oil, creosote, pitch and other derivatives of coal tar. A discussion of the actual results obtained from the coal distillation plant at Dunston-on-Tyne follows. The plant was designed for the production of an ideal power-station fuel, low in volatiles and therefore smokeless, and for the recovery of the more valuable by-products consistent with the production of such a fuel. The broad result obtained is that 16 gallons of tar oils and ¿ton of semi-coke are produced from 1 ton of Northumberland small coal. The paper goes on to discuss the potentialities of low-temperature tar and it is explained that investigation of this aspect of coal distillation is by no means complete. The field of research is said to be one which presents wide possibilities. In conclusion it is claimed that a new situation exists in which a practical process of coal distillation has been evolved in conjunction with the generation of electricity, and that as a result a definite step forward in the better utilization of our most valuable national asset, namely coal, is now due. A full description of the coal distillation plant at Dunston-on-Tyne is given as an Appendix to the paper.
