Coalite

Coalite is a Brand of smokeless fuel invented by Thomas Parker in 1904. The title refers to the residue left behind when coal is carbonised at 640 degrees Celsius. In 1936 the Smoke Abatement Society awarded its inventor a posthumous gold medal.

The Proccess

According to the 2002 work Engineering for Profit from Waste, the "volatile matter" (which produces smoke) is "driven off by thermal decomposition and recovered as gas and oil". The raw material of coal is heated in furnaces, with the oil and tar by products given off by the proccess was then piped over the road to the chemical works section. There they are processed into various fractions and industrial chemicals. The Coalite (Coke) was then allowed to cool and stockpiled for distribution.

The Coalite Company

Coalite was manufactured by the Low Temperature Carbonisation Company, which established a manufacturing plant in Bolsover, Derbyshire in 1936. The company changed its name to the Coalite Chemical Company later to reflect the diversified nature of the busines. The ovens continued producing Coalite until the Coalite Chemical company went into receivership in 2004. The Group consistec of several companies in the 1950-60s, with a Francis L. Waring, F.Inst.F. as Managing Director of these group companies;

Coalite and Chemical Products Limited,
Doncaster Coalite Limited,
The Derbyshire Coalite Company Limited,
The British Diesel Oil & Petrol Co., Ltd. Director,
The South Wales Coalite Co., Ltd.,
London Coalite Ltd.

The company was taken over by Anglo United in the 1980s, and they floated off the Falkland Island Company subsidiary in 1997.

They tried to sell off the Coalite company at the same time.

This was partially due to falling demand for the product due to the decreasing use of open fires and solid fuel boilers, as consequence of rising numbers of homes switching to alternative fuel sources like natural gas and installing modern central heating.

By products of the process

The by products were turned into a whole range of chemicals.

Ammonia
Bitumen / Tar products
Coal gas
Diesel
Dyhdrol phenols
Petrol
Hydrocarbon based liqueur.

Contamination

The legacy of this process was industrial contamination of the site and the surrounding area. The company was fined £150,000 for Dioxin poisioning in 1996. The site is awaiting decontamination.

Applications

The use of "Smokeless" products for domestic and commercial applications was made mandatory in most areas of the UK following the introduction of laws banning the use of coal to reduce smoke and smog created by the burning of solid fuels Clean_Air_Act_1956. Several other brand were available.