Charcoal And Coke As Blast-Furnace Fuels.

THERE are SO many conditions affecting blast-furnace results that it is hard to get satisfactory comparative data on the working of two furnaces, and much more difficult to get comparable results from the use of two entirely different fuels. The several advantages of charcoal over coke as a blast-furnace fuel have doubtless been apparent to many managers; but probably the conditions for comparative tests of the two were never so favorable as during the year 1905, at the works of the Algoma Steel Co., Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, which comprise two modern blast-furnaces, well equipped, though of comparatively small capacity. For four consecutive months one of these furnaces was run with charcoal and the other with coke. Then the charcoal-furnace ran for a while with part charcoal and part coke; and, still later, with coke only. The ore-mixtures were about the same in the two furnaces, and, of course, all the climatic conditions were identical. The dimensions of the two furnaces, and their work with the different fuels, are given in Table I.