Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 69, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 May 1907 — ASH FUEL SECRET OUT. [ARTICLE]

ASH FUEL SECRET OUT.

Chemists Discover Formula (or Burning Coal Ashes. The remarkable ash burning secret discovered by John Ellmore, an Altoona, Pa., cobbler, which has excited attention almost the world over, is common property. Several well-known chemists, immediately it was announced that Ellmore had solved the problem of obtaining heat from ashes, set to work to try to discover the formula. They were successful, and here it is:

Common salt, one pound; oxalic acid, two ounces; water, one gallon. Mix and moisten with it a mixture containing one part coal and three parts ashes, and a better fuel than pure coal is obtained. The ashes of anthracite coal burn as readily as do those of bituminous coal. This mixture will, upon being placed upon a burning fire, fuse into a cokelike mass and deposit but little residue. Ellmore, who discovered the secret and focused attention upon the possibilities that lurked in ashes, says his patent will protect him in his secret. While it is conceded that Ellmore has conferred a great boon upon humanity, it is feared that he will not derive any tangible benefits from his discovery.