Coal dust bricks again

[SteveM]

seems to me that egg cartons would be reusable and cheaper.

Maybe ice cube trays?

Steve

[Fred_V]

good question. everyone has their own answer.

[pat1027]

The City Coal Yard found blacksmiths favored coal with lots of fines and live steam buyers didn't like fines. They used to screen their coal and bagged a product for both.

One of our club members tried a mix using cement as a binder. He had didn't have much success. Poor burning and lots of crud in the firebox. Coal dust bricks are widely used in China for cooking and home heating. This article talks about charcoal briquettes but it might be useful.

[Tim B Guenther]

I used to religiously screen my coal and separate the dust. At some point I got lazy and started to fire with everything mixed together. I did not notice any difference at all! (My firebox is approx. 12" x 4.5.")

[FRED DADDI]

I did work for a company named Covall the made pellets out of coal fines to put back into power plants. The used china clay extruders to make the pellets. All fun until one of machines in Utah caught fire...


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[Fender]

One of our club members tried a mix using cement as a binder. He had didn't have much success. Poor burning and lots of crud in the firebox. Coal dust bricks are widely used in China for cooking and home heating. This article talks about charcoal briquettes but it might be useful.

I can see why cement would be a problem. The idea with corn starch (or flour) is that the binder will burn up with the coal.

[Harold_V]

QUESTION: Considering the cost of coal and the finite limit on life, which is more important, pasting pieces of coal dust together or making something new and worthwhile in your shop? Only asking.

I think one's location and needs would determine the worthiness of reclaiming coal dust for use. While the folks on the east coast appear to have a ready supply, it is getting nearly impossible to buy in many areas, so a little effort to reclaim what, otherwise, might be discarded may be well worth the effort.

When I refined precious metals, I accumulated a serious amount of waste material, in which one would find silver, gold, platinum and palladium, along with copper and traces of other base metals. This material, for all practical purposes, looked like a light colored dirt. To chemically process these wastes would be less than productive, but if they could be processed in a furnace, where the base metals and silver would act as a collector for the values, they were well worth processing. To that end, I experimented with various flux combinations and was pleasantly surprised that when mixed with water, stirred, and allowed to set, the resulting mixture formed hard cakes, which was a definite advantage to the recovery process. That prevented losses of values by dusting in the furnace, and made handling the waste material much easier. I was well rewarded for my efforts, as these values were extracted and financed my early retirement.

I'm not trying to equate the coal with the values I extracted, but the principle is much the same, and there's always a good feeling of accomplishment when such projects are successful. I say go for it!

H

[neanderman]

I can see why cement would be a problem. The idea with corn starch (or flour) is that the binder will burn up with the coal.

Exactly!

[Fred_V]

QUESTION: Considering the cost of coal and the finite limit on life, which is more important, pasting pieces of coal dust together or making something new and worthwhile in your shop? Only asking.

I think one's location and needs would determine the worthiness of reclaiming coal dust for use. While the folks on the east coast appear to have a ready supply, it is getting nearly impossible to buy in many areas, so a little effort to reclaim what, otherwise, might be discarded may be well worth the effort.

When I refined precious metals, I accumulated a serious amount of waste material, in which one would find silver, gold, platinum and palladium, along with copper and traces of other base metals. This material, for all practical purposes, looked like a light colored dirt. To chemically process these wastes would be less than productive, but if they could be processed in a furnace, where the base metals and silver would act as a collector for the values, they were well worth processing. To that end, I experimented with various flux combinations and was pleasantly surprised that when mixed with water, stirred, and allowed to set, the resulting mixture formed hard cakes, which was a definite advantage to the recovery process. That prevented losses of values by dusting in the furnace, and made handling the waste material much easier. I was well rewarded for my efforts, as these values were extracted and financed my early retirement.

I'm not trying to equate the coal with the values I extracted, but the principle is much the same, and there's always a good feeling of accomplishment when such projects are successful. I say go for it!

H

Interesting story. Could you separate the different metals from each other too?

[Bill Shields]

I toss the dust in with the coal that heats my house and it burns in the furnace...

otherwise I am with B&O Bob....life is too short to find a use for coal dust...but then I live in an area where there is a ready supply of the stuff in practically every hardware store, Tractor Supply, Lowes, etc:

[Fender]

Out of curiosity though do coal dust bricks hold some shape as they burn or do they break up?

My experience is that the “coal briquettes” do break up as they burn. So does bituminous (soft) coal to varying degrees. Some soft coal pops apart as it catches fire, so even if big lumps are tossed in, they readily break apart on the grates. Anthracite doesn’t do this. It just burns away until it is ash.
Right now I am working off some soft coal I don’t much like, because it doesn’t break up in the fire and is more difficult to use. I’m having to smash it into pieces before it goes into the firedoor.

[Harold_V]

Interesting story. Could you separate the different metals from each other too?

Yes, which is precisely what a refiner does. The resulting metal (from the furnace process) was similar in appearance to pale yellow brass. It was comprised, primarily, of silver, as the waste material in question came from filters, and silver chloride is very much a part of the waste that is eliminated before the recovery of greater values. The values are separated (after being dissolved in acid) by selective precipitation.

I won't go in to details in regards to separating the various metals from one another, as I suspect most readers simply don't care. I have no secrets, however, so anyone wishing to know more is certainly free to ask.

H