LIQUID FUEL FROM COAL

Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 49, 26 February 1921, Page 14

LIQUID FUEL FROM COAL

PROSPECTS IN AUSTRALIA

SIB DOUGLAS MAWSON'S VIEW.

In view of the growing scarcifcy.of the world's supplies of liquid fuel for motors and internal-combustion engines generally, Australia,' like other, countries,, is faced with the necessity of treating her coal resources on proper, economic lines (says the Melbourne* Age). The common, century-old system of purning away coal under boilers represents a tremendous waste of wealth. Locked up in the coal, and easily extracted by modern scientific methods, are resources of -huge value to the country, but so far very little has been done to develop the coal by-product industry here. It has been estimated that under present conditions somo" 2,000,000 gallons of benzol, which could be used as motor fuel, are annually thrown away by the gas industries of the Commonwealth —the value of the commodiU' thus sacrificed beiiM; at least £250,000. While with/ a : growing coal industry as well, it is stated that at least 4,000,000 gallons of benzol could be produced here at the present moment, given proper plants for. treatment, in addition to various heavy oils, naphtha, and other valuable by-products. The development ■of the brown-coal resources of Victoria and elsewhere, of course, means opening up still another reservoir of liquid fuel 3 and oils. . :

Sir Douglas Mawson, the well-known Antarctic explorer and geologist, who is now visiting Australia in connection with the. scientific congress, is an enthusiast regarding the proper by-product treatment of coal. For three years during the war he was attached to "the staff of the British Ministry of Munitions, and came into' close contact* there with the great developments in- the treatment of coal resources that arose out of the need for munitions. Speaking oil the subject, he .. said that there , was no doubt at all that in most cases it paid to distil coal before it was .burned. The oil fuels of the world were growing more scarce, and yet there were all these by-nroducts of coal being burned away day after day. It was quite possible, in fact, that some day the price of ordinary liquid fuels would be so high that none would think of burning up coal without first distilling it for its by-products. During the war, he pointed out, big advances were made in Britain in the treatment of coal, benzol being produced at 2s 9d per. gallon. Most of ifc was used in the nroduction of picnic acid for munitions, but a good deal was also used for motor spirit. He added that there were several brown-coal deposits in South Australia, and in view of the many fuel difficulties in that State, big efforts were being made to develop them. Tests were now-being carried out there regarding the distillation _an-d mining possibilities, though the results of investigation were not .yet completed. "We have seen the remarkable results and the valuable products obtained in England," he added, "and we do not want to see Australia lag behind. I believe that Australia will probably find it more_ profitable to look to these sources of fiiel oils -than to go in, even for boring for oil." Sir., Douglas Mawson added that* the Broken Hill Proprietary, Co._ was erecting a Wg by-riroduct plant in connection with its coking plant .at.. Newcastle, ;-and • that ..it was expected that a large range of by-pro-ducts would bq produced there.