Mexborough and Swinton Times December 10, 1926

New Plants at Cadeby Colliery
Boilers Fired With Powdered Coal
The Latest in Fuel Economy

Important and costly additions have recently been made to the surface plant of the Denaby and Cadeby collieries. These include an entirely new boiler plant at the Cadeby Colliery, and new washeries at both Denaby and Cadeby. The new boiler plant is a most interesting development of modern mechanical engineering, and is attracting considerable attention because of its possibilities in the direction of fuel economy.

We are indebted to Mr E.T.Hardy, Chief Engineer of the Colliery’s, for the following particulars:

the plant especially designed for the the utilisation of a very low grade of fuel, which has hitherto been more or less a waste product, and it has been put down to replace an old installation of Lancashire boilers which were fired with slurry from the Coal washeries, and gave a low efficiency, besides necessitating a big staff of men.

The new boilers are of the water tube type, made by Messrs John Thomson and Co, of Wolverhampton, and will be capable of evaporating 30,000 lbs of water per hour with a normal load and 45,000 lbs of water an hour when on full load.

The most interesting feature of the plant is at the boilers are to be fired by pulverised coal. The fine coal is to be taken from the washer in its dry state by means of screw conveyors to a raw coal silo of 50 tons capacity. From thence it is taken to the pulverisers, and after being pulverised, to a powdered coal storage bin of 70 tons capacity. It is fed from here by means of worm screws into a distribution pipe system, and blown into the burners, which are at the top of the combustion chambers.

The whole plant will consist of three units of 30,000 lbs evaporation each, and only two of them will be working at any one time, one being kept in reserve. It is confidently anticipated that these two boilers, when working, will do the work of 10 of the old Lancashire boilers. The steam pressure of each boiler is 125 lbs to the square inch.

The pulverising system is a Holbeck central system. The whole plant is fitted with a complete system of instruments which will enable the performance of the plant to be accurately checked at various points. The plant is also fitted with John Thomson super heaters and Greens tri tube type of economiser. The plant is designed by Messrs Fraser and Chalmers, of Erith Kent who have also add charge of the whole erection and are the main contractors for the installation. The buildings and combustion chambers and other brickwork had been done by Messrs Taudevin and Gregson of Sheffield. The whole of the electrical side of the work is being supplied by the General Electric Company, and most of the instruments are supplied by the Cambridge Recorder Company.

It is expected that two thirds of the work will be completed this month, and two the boilers will then be ready for work. This

this will be one of the most modern boiler plants in the coal trade, and it is expected that it will reach and maintain an efficiency of just over 80%. The fact that the dry fine dust will be removed from the coal before it is washed will it is hoped, have an important bearing on the performance of the coal washer.

Other Additions to Plant

Other works which are at present in hand at Cadeby include a new coal washer made by Messrs Norton Tividale, Staffordshire, for up to 150 tons of coal an hour; a new mixed pressure turbo alternator of 1500 kW capacity, which had been installed by the British Thomson – Houston company. The whole of the electrical side is to be reorganised to bring it into line with modern practice.

A new water softener made by Messes Boby and Co, of 12,000 gallons an hour capacity, is being put into operation at the colliery this week. A plant of this description is necessary for the working of water tube boilers.

A larger modern coal washery of 150 tons an hour, together with wet and dry coal conveyors, is fast nearing completion at the Denaby Colliery, and it is hoped that it will be possible to operate it early in the New Year, while a new turbo air compressor of 6000 ft³ capacity, made by Daniel Adamson, of Manchester, has been ordered, and it is expected, will take all next year to complete.