Abstract
THE recent opening by the Duke of Kent of a new plant erected near Chesterfield by Messrs. Low Temperature Carbonisation Ltd. has once again directed public attention to the commercial possibilities of carbonizing coal at comparatively low temperatures (about 600° C). This method of treating coal has as its main product a smokeless fuel which can readily be burned in any open grate, and in consequence is a valuable contribution towards a solution of the important problem of reducing atmospheric pollution. In addition, the process yields as by-product a tar from part of which a fuel suitable for use in Diesel engines can be prepared and a motor spirit of high antiknock value. The tar is also amenable to treatment by hydrogenation for the production of further motor spirit if desired. In view of a possible national emergency, there is a tendency, particularly among those not acquainted with all the relevant details, to stress the value of low temperature carbonization as a source of home-produced motor spirit. It is, therefore, well to bear in mind that although any method of producing oil or spirit from coal is of national importance, the spirit is in this case only a by-product, and that even if all the tar were hydrogenated to produce additional motor spirit, the total yield would be extremely small when compared with the quantity now imported.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Low Temperature Carbonization Plant. Nature 139, 749 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/139749a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/139749a0