Beckley Post-Herald from Beckley, West Virginia • Page 6

six BECKLEY POST-HERALD, BECKT.EX W. VA, THURSDAY FEBRUARY 2, 1950 Important Gas From Coal Experiments Are Conducted On University Campus Bureau Of Mines Experts; Work Out New Processes The future of West Vir- giuia's coal may well lie ID. important experimental efforts to make synthesis gas from coal now being conducted by the U. S. Bureau of Mines research experts pu the West Virginia University campus in Morgantown.

The public has known little ol these efforts, except through an occasional article in the newspapers, being made by ihe Uni- versity Station of the Bureau Mines in its assignment of working out experimentally a new and successful process for making synthesis gas from coal. Highly technical in nature, the research being conducted has not been secret but bas been ignored by the people who should be taking tbe most interest in it. An insight into the operations of the University Station was given last year by the Bureau of Mines when it invited the public to inspect its research efforts on the occasion of the U. S. interior Department's celebration of its 100 years of conservation effort.

Biffest Coct The cost of synthesis gas con- Smokeless Coal Page RICHARD H. MASON. Editor Coal Fuel Cost Drops, Nears Commercial Stage Gasoline From Coal By Hydrogenation Method Would Cost 14.2 Cents Per Gallon: Boyd Sees Need For Processing Plants WASHINGTON The cost of making oil and other liquid fuels from coal and shale has come down so much that it is approaching the commercial stage, a House Appropriations subcommittee has been told. Dr. A.

C. Fieidner, chief of the Bureau of Mines' Fuels and. Explosives Division, estimated the cost of producing fuels from shale at nine cents a gallon at the refinery. Without profit, he said, crude shale oil will cost $1.50 a barrel. iThus, he said, a selling price of a barrel would cover income and "yield a moderate return on the investment." He added, however, that he was referring to the product of the bureau's Colorado plant, which means that transportation costs (would have to be added.

To transport it to the Pacific coast "in a pipe line of fairly large capacity," he said. Comparable prices at refineries run from 10 to 14 cents a gallon, he said. he said, would cost about 30 cents Bureau of Mines, was asked: The steel shell of the pilot plant scale synthesis gas generator at the University Station of the Bureau of Mines is shown in the above picture as the initial construction of the pilot plant was started. The eii'utes over 70 per cent of the i synthesis gas is generated by entrapment of pulverized coal in super- cost of the finished synthetic li- heated and oxygen. (Bureau of Mines Photo) cos quid fuel.

Consequently, low-cost synthetic liquid fuel depends upon finding a new way for making low-cost synthesis gas. In the experimental program beuig conducted by the Bureau of Mines with the cooperation of the stall, various new processes are being created and evolved systematically, and data essential to the design of largs- scaie plants are being obtained. As soon as some problems are solved, operation of experimental equipment discloses new problems, -which also must be solved. By step-by-step procedure, improved, methods are being fashioned for converting coal to low- synthesis gas. Directed by Dr.

L. D. Schmidt, supervising engineer, the station's research staff has chosen two processes as the most promising IOL runner experimental development. The first process is the gasiiication. of pulverized coal in extremely hot steam containing oxygen.

The other process upon wnich they are working experimentally is the jasification of coal underground in place. The University station is the headquarters of the underground gasiiication experiment that is being carried on in cooperation with Gorgas, Alabama. This field-scale experiment at Gorgas is the culmination of pilot plant work that originated snd was carried out to completion on the University campus. University Cooperates Ail work being done at the station is being done in cooperation with West Virginia University, As part of the cooperation, about 60 students of the University are employed on a parl-time basis on the construction and operation of these coal gasification pilot plants as well as in the laboratory. This arrangement gives the Bureau of Mines valuable assistance in its -work and gives the students the advantage of very valuable experience as well as additional income.

"Without this income many students would be unable to continue their education. The experimental work being a barrel. Comparable petroleum prices, he said, range from $2.20 to $2.80 a barrel. In the case of coal, Dr. Fieldner estimated the net cost of making gasoline through the hydrogenation method at 14.2 cents a gallon.

This, he said, provides for a costs, amortization of the plant I in 15 years, and six per cent profit taxes on the unamortized i investment. The estimated price would be wholesale price at the plant, NOTABLESTEPS MADE IN 1949 INPrrSAFETY Fewer Men Lose Livei In Coal Industry During Year Notable strides in safety in the coal mining industry: last year were pointed up yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Mines. men were killed than in any other year, and not a single disaster was written into the records. The bureau defines a disaster as an accident in which five or more men lose their lives.

The fatality rate of 1.24 per million tons of coal in 1949 also was lower than in any other year. of these new records was a notable achievement and to- jgether they point to marked pro- Dr. Fieldner, who has proposed gress in coal mine safety," the a Congressional investigation of the nation's fuel resources because he believes petroleum and natural gas are being consumed at a dangerous rate, inquired into the national emergency phase; of operations. Dr. James Boyd, director of the "If we got into an emergency today and our petroleum supply was shut off in this country, and we did not find a new source of natural petroleum, and our foreign supply was shut off, do you think our synthetic fuels would take care of the Dr.

Boyd replied: "Not at the present stage, no, sir! Because you haven't a going industry. It takes a great deal of steel, manpower and know-how to build the plants. It would require several years to develop a sizable national production." bureau said. On the basis of nearly complete reports, an estimated total of 593 men were killed in coal mines dur- ng the year. This total by a was the lowest number of fatal- ties for any year in the statistical listory of the industry.

It was 375 less than the former record low of 968 in 1946. Compared with 1948, the 1949 total was a reduction of 41 per cent or 417 fewer fatal accidents. "The long-term improvement in coal mine safety may be gauged SlateFaflWarningDevice Is Invented By Ex-Miner In early experiments on the gasification of coal at Morgantown, it was decided to build a model experimental gasification retort in order to gain some information concerning the problems which would be encountered in underground gasification procedures. This retort was constructed, having a rectangular fuel bed seven feet long by five feet wide, and a capacity of approximately one ton of coal The interior of the model retort is shown above, showing the tile used for forming gas channels through the crushed coal and silicon carbide sampling (Bureau of Mines Photo) Gadget Took 24 Of Thought, 30 Days For Construction An ingenious mine safety device to warn coal miners of impending slate falls has been invented by Frank Hill of St. Albans, former miner.

Hill aaid it took 24 years to conceive the device, but only 30 days New River fields continued last tubes. plant has been in operation for over a year. (2) Two experimental plants were built for studying the underground gasification of coal. These units gasified several tons of coal during each run and gave data that are now being applied successfully in the field-scale experiment at Gorgas, Alabama. Both experimental plants served their purpose, that is, gave the desired nformation and both have now seen disassembled to make room for other experiments.

Scale Plant has been heated to nearly 3600 degrees Fahrenheit for several months. This is an unprecedented high for superheated steam. Synthesis gas of excellent quality is being produced in these runs. (4) An experimental plant is being completed ior studying the purification of synthesis gas using organic solvents for sulfur removal from the sas. Extremely high standards of purity are required in the finished synthesis gas, and in order (degree of purity, (3) A large scale experimental must be developed for gas purifi- plant for gasifying pulverized coal cation.

to attain this new methods Coal Production In Beckley Area Shows Increase The upward climb of coal production for Winding Gulf and STRIKING COAL MINER REPORTS BEANS FORM GREATER PART OF MENU POINT MARION, Feb. 1 what the family 9l a striking coal miner exist on these days? "Mostly beans," sayi Joe Konicki who has spent 27 of his 42 years in the coal Joe is a coal loader for the Neiaaco- lin mine of Buckeye Coal Company, a yowifstown Sheet A Tube Company subsidiary. He has seven children, Frances, 16, Connie, 13, Joe 11, Marianne, 9 Albert, 7, Doris, Mae, 5 and Edward 2. "We haven't had meat for mouth" Joe said. "I have no more savings.

We buy at the independent store and they've been carrying me. The store bill is now. If they shut off my credit, Til have to go on relief." Mary Konicki, 39, did a lot of canning for her family last summer. She put up 150 cans of beans, 200 cans of tomatoes and 100 cans of peaches. "There's nothing left but a few cans of tomatoes," her husband said.

"That and three of my prize rabbits. I had five. We ate two of them for Sunday dinners." The Konicki children haven't seen cookies, cakes or candies for a long time. "They jet mostly coffee and bread for lunch," Joe said. "They ret a little marjarine onee a month." with high temperature steam and oxygen.

The primary purpose of (5) In addition to tha experimental plant for gas purification this plant is to study and improve there is also a gas treating and the operation of the process and 'testing laboratory on the campus equipment in order to reach con- where other processes are being elusions as to cost and design for studied, and analytical and re- commcrctal plants. Although much work is being carried out. to construct. The first idea developing such a device was inspired in April, 1916, when he saw a fellow worker crushed to death by a slate fail in a mine at Hamage. Hill said he has detected movement of the slate overhead a short time before it fell and warned his buddy, but his working partner hesitated aud was killed by the avalanche of slate that followed.

Knowing that his friend was the victim of a cpnuryon fatal accident in West Virginiavnines, Kill questioned himself as to the possibility of building something that would tell a man when death was near from such a mishap. He pondered the question frequently, and though sometimes his thoughts were barren, they occasionally bore fruit. At these more productive times, he jotted them down until he could record them in "the book" that would be used for his inventing such a device. It was in 1940 he produced what he believes would keep any man from getting killed by a slate fall "unless he wants to." He has named the device a "mine safe and warning post." It is largely constructed of white oak and a few strips of metal and stands four feet high. It can be used in working areas where slate is most likely to fall.

The 51-year-old inventor can speak with authority about West Virlginia mines, having been born and raised in Logan County and starting to work in the mines when about 10 years old. He re- mainsd a miner for 27 years before becoming a messenger for the State Senate, a position he has held for the past 14 years. The device, when fastened under a mine roof, will "sound off" and "light up" the instant that pressure is brought to bear upon it, thus giving miners a chance to escape in the event of a slate fall. A dry cell battery inside the hollow post, a loud buzzer, and green a and white lights are used as warn- pear before the annual of i ing signals. the West Virginia Health and Re the Armco Iron Man Hill said the lights could be seen More than iwo-thirds of the' QC presented each supervisor in even if a coal-cutting machine physical defects found among Safety Council gnup aff should drown the noise of the buz- ch.ldren examined last spring ciur- I ay 3 a xmmel Boone i supervisor of safetv, MiddletownJ ze ing the free pre-schoo! clinic Ho L.

F. vice-1 accomplishment has not miners' children at Kopperston' and F-rles alreaci accomplished on the University carr.pus en this project includes: (1) A small-scale experiments plant for gasifying 30 pounds of pulverized coal per hour. This already has complex pro been learned, many! Other miscellaneous blems remain to be mental units for studyi experi- tudying various solved that doubtless will require phases of production of a satis- radical changes in equipment, grade of synthesis gas are Over 200 pounds of pulverized in various stages of construction, coal per hour have been gasified still others are merely in successfully in this plant. Steam planning or design stage. UMW Safety Delegates To Appear At State TM EGFA Nurse Tells Results Of Care For Miners' Kids Health And Safety Group The mining division safety con- Will Hear Report On lest of Armco Steel Corporation Safety In Area was won by HerQ shaw mine, 'Montcoal tipple and maintenance Tour safety committeemen iT resenting local unions in District l' 0 TM 8 hen rep orte on 29, United Mine Workers, will ap- IosMlm 8CCldent the past week and reached the highest- peak since before Christmas, operators associations reported.

Miners in the 48 member mines of New River Operators Association brought 139,453 tons of coal to the surface, as compared with 132,536 tons for the previous week. New River mines, according to Executive Secretary Stanley Higgins, lost 113.797 tons of coal because of the three-day work week. A local strike at one of the mines resulted in the loss of another 1.150 tons. The 48 member mines operated 55 per cent of their normal capacity, compared to 49 per cent for the same week last year. The 34 Winding Gulf Operators mines reported production of 142421 tons last week, compared to 148,848 tons the previous week.

Executive Secretary Hal M. Scott said that Winding Gulf mines lost 1.100 tons because of bad weather and 146,377 tons because of the three-day The tonnage produced last week by the 34 mines represented about 63 per cent of their normal potential capacity as compared to 74 per cent for the same week last year. The term PBX when applied to telephone switchboard means private branch exchange. by comparing the fatality record during 1949 with that of 10 years ago," the agency explained. In 1939, there were 1,078 fatal-, which occurred at the rate 2.41 per million tons in the production of 447,977,000 tons.

Although more coal was mined, the number of deaths and the fatality rate in 1949 were only about half of the comparable totals for 1939. The year 1949 was the first calendar year since complete data is available in which no major disasters occurred. The last major disaster fell Nov. 4, 1943, in Maryland. Five men were suffocated by gases and smoke pulled underground from a burning fanhouse located on the surface.

This is the longest period in which the coal mining industry has operated without a major disaster. Heretofore the longest that the industry was disaster-free was for 12Vz months between July 1, 1938 and July 14, 1939. In all, 500 men lost their lives while at work in bituminous coal and lignite mines. This total is rr.uch lower than the previous record low of 795 fatalities in 1946. The fatality rate of 1.15 per million tons also a new safety record for the bituminous industry.

The rate was a sharp reduction of 21 per cent from the Beckley Native Quits Post With Pittsburgh Firm Earl C. Robertson, native of Beckley and a vice-president of Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company, has announced his resignation and has left Pittsburgh for a few weeks' vacation jn Florida and at his farm in Virginia. After his vacation he expects to return to the coal industry to accept a position with a large company outside of Pittsburgh. Mr. Robertson, who has been associated with the coal industry for 30 years, began in a sales capacity with the Raleigh Smokeless Fuel Company in Beckley, later working for them as western sales manager in Cincinnati from 1922 to 1926.

He joined Pittsburgh Coal Company in 1926 as assistant general sales manager and later became sales vice president, a position he held for eight years. Since the merger of Pittsburgh Coal Company and Consolidation Coal NAMED TO HEAD SAFETY STUDY C. E. Jones Attends Initial Session Of Committee C. E.

Jones, safety director of District 29 United Mine Workers, was selected recently as chairman of- the Committee on Engineering for the Governor's Conference on Industrial Safety. The initial meeting of the committee was held last Friday in Charleston, at which time it was formally organized and elected its officers. Jones was elected chairman; P. W. Wunmer, representing industry, was vice-chairman; and Joseph Bierer of the State Department of, Mines was named secretary.

On this committee 14 men--four representatives of labor, four from industry, four from state agencies, and two others in an advisory capacity. Charles Sailer, state commissioner of labor and conference director appeared at the first session and explained the scope of study for the committee. in the study will be the following: (1) Study of the effect of accidents on efficiency in operations and performance; (2) Establishment of techniques involved in the engineering approach to the control of accident hazards; (3) Problems involved in effecting hazard control in the design and manufacture of machinery and equipment; (4) Problems of integrating safety with production; (5) Adequacy of existing safety engineering standards and the procedure for producing such standards and their application and use. The next meeting of the Committee on Engineering will be held Friday, February 10, in Charleston. former low of 1.45 per million tons fcoal.

Of the total fatalities in the soft coal fields last year, 441 occurred in underground workings, 43 at surface works associated with deep mines and 16 ai stripping operations. Each year falls of roof and face cause the largest number of deaths. However, in 1949, control of this hazard was more effective and the number of fatal injuries was 201 less than 1948. Underground haulage accidents killed 104 men in. 1949 which likewise was a marked reduction from the 154 fatalities from this cause in 1948.

Fatal injuries in gas and dust explosions were reduced to an all- time low of three in 1949, compared with 44 in 1948. Marketing Agency Sees Boosted Prices For Coal Higher prices for coal are in- Company into the newly formed Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company in 1945. Mr. Robertson has been sales vice-president. He is a member of the marketing committee of the National Coal Association and on the sales advisory committee of Bituminous Coal Research, Inc.

'Teddy' Angered Over Coal Smoke WASHINGTON Phineas J. Walker, retiring after 44 years a stoker in government buildings, recalled the day President Theodore Roosevelt almost fired. The District of Columbia had I an anti-smoke ordinance even in those days. One day TR looked out of his White House office window and saw billows of smoke coming out of the Treasury Department chimney next door. He ordered his aides to tell the secretary of the treasury he would fire the man with- the shovel if the secre- couldn't stop him mak- 'ng smoke.

It turned out the Treasury Department was using soft instead of lard coal, contrary to regulations. It quickly shifted to hard coal, but Walker says he "could picture the President out on the White House lawn every day looking for Twenty-eight test and definitions of terms in their latest approved methods are contained in a publication entitled "ASTM Standards on Coal and Coke" issued recently by the American Society of Testing Materials. Included in the book are test methods and procedures on coal cover sampling, analysis for volatile matter in connection with drop shatter test, tumbler test, evitable, according to Appalachian screen analysis, size, sieve anal- Coals, world's largest coal marketing agency. ysis, cubic foot weight, index oi dustiness, and free-swelling. KStuffyKose Spoils Steep Put few Tlckg Va-tro-nol Drops in each, nostril.

Va-tro-nol fast right trouble is! It relieves stuffiness--invites lul sleep. Try it. SI DROPS C. E. Jones, district safety i president of Armco "Steel sone unnoticed The 1 Phv to ToaMeV su a JnT I dorsemenf'S in nW airf arH n- 5 rl on safety organization in i i niciiicai aici anu nursing 1 nn attervor.

District 29. The commilteemen I nVrseort frrt Arch Alexander i supervisor of the Home Nursing ick of Summerlee, Bern-ice Book- bervice of Eastern Gas and Fueljer of Glen Rogers, and Harrison Associates, under xvhose sponsor-! Young of Capels. ship the clinics were conducted. The clinics are held each spring Jones, who is a member of the program committee for the annual service, a part of meeting, attending a meeting of Department activities the group held last week in includes at which time a tent- camps for the chil- alive program was drawn up. dren of its mine employes a i wa also disclosed bv the year-around home nursing service; program committee that all coal in the communities where its companies having home-made workers livfc safety devices used in their mines A total of 314 children wass a invited to bring the device or person present who participated winning the contest honors.

Other honor guests present included Arch J. Alexander, chief of the State Department of Mines; T. W. Page of Middletown, and Alex Miller of the Bureau of Mines district office, Mt. Hope.

in COAL INSPECTOR NAMED A special inspector on coal de- Uveries has been appointed for New York State, according to State Director Clement A. Baker, Weights and Measures, Depart of Agriculture and Market, examined in the Kopperston and Eccles clinics last spring. Phys- Congress Told By Bureau Director 1949 'Good In Mining Safety J-fVV. n- ACLOt 4JJ i i i ical defects totaled 310, some chil- to explain how it works. dren having more than one defect.) Of these irregularities 224 have Conciliation been completely cured.

Doctors and nurses sre continuing the treatment of other children whose a photograph ol it to the confer- ng WASHINGTON, Despite con- i onions which made underground more hazardous, 1949 interruptions in production," he said in testimony made public to- in Disputes Since the establishment of the parents bring them for attention. Conciliation Board to settle dis- Some of the defects are of a na-jputes around the mines and to ture which will require treatment)make for better industrial reia- for a considerable period of time, jtions in anthracite fields, disaster during the year and the according to Miss Gaiiagner. more than 6.669 cases have been accident rate improved 19 per handled. Of this total, about 94! cent. i was "definitely a good year" in day.

I coal mine safety, Or, James -Such interruptions increase director of, the Bureau of Mines, underground Congress. Boyd said he realized, however, Testifying before a House Ap-jthat much remains to be done re- propriations subcommittee. garding mine safety because dur- Boyd said there wasn't a major i ing the "good year" of 1949 more When Ulysses Grant became President, he resigned from the 'Array. In March, 1885, by special legislation, Congress restored him to the rank of general and re- full pajr per cent was submitted by workers. The board was established 4S years ago and it is believed a figure shrank from 1.54 in without it many of the grievances 1948 to 1.24 in 1949.

might have resulted in Industry-i "This improvement has been than 500 men were killed and many thousands were injured. More than half of the accidents Expressed in fatalities on a caused by roof falls, he said, million tons mined, for this reason the depart- enfineers are working 'wide shutdowns. accomplished despite numerous (roof, or ceiling, of the mine area). menfs steadily on improved methods for roof support (making secure the Everybody in the family circle Prefers POSTED with "The Home Newspaper" of Southtm West Virginia The Post-Herald MIRRORING the daps events as they happen and tMs Preferred readership makes The Post Herald the ideal medium for advertisers to "drive home" their message and really GET RESULTS! -1951 Gclden Tew BECKLEY POST-HERALD.