PETROL FROM COAL.

Grey River Argus, 3 November 1928, Page 3

PETROL FROM COAL.

New Developments. AT SCOTTISH PITS “The Hamilton /Advertiser” (Scet'and) on August 14 last has ::n mteisui.g a.tick* written by Mr A. F. Tomlinson tin the important subject oi obtaining petrol from coal pits 'n wiiicn he says:—Ev‘ ■ryonc knows that the extraction of fuel Iron: coil, has passed ouU of the realm of theory .tnd aspiration into tK’-f of a solid commercial fact, keguirly th re appear m 1 he press accounts ol the production of synth tic pctro'i in Germany, and these ar < often accompanied irot only by glowing reports of us success .but rnlsq by startling prophecies of its future development.., Exaggerated as some of these accounts may have been, thy had, nevertheless a fairly round basis of truth. The German Dye Trust, at its Lcura factory, is already m.inutactur nig large quantities of synthetic ben zine. Although these may be u(?gngible compared, with the world’s total output of on, and although the rum vt.r.id. flooding of Ihe maiiuds may be :i mere figment of the jiairmuistb •maginati-uii or, at beM, a pious nope of tue- consumers, y 4 it is luit.re possibil jtiios i‘allh-b than uo prescti i input that the wise man w... .v<ik. There is i.o denying th. p.;’. enlialitics <cf synthetic petrol. I uip.tiit.u; motor speed tria.ls in »J-erni.:ny h::Y l-c n run on this product Moreover t lie Dye Tr'ist, are already extending and enlarging their factory. It may be as well to examine how Britan; stands in th t matt|Cr and what the an vent of synthetic coal will mean Io hor. In the first place we m»y take it for granted that British chemists am. British engineers are not going to be ’oft behind. For it is understn. d Iha thfC rights for th new process—Known as the Bergins process af ‘ r its hi ventor—have been obtained for tin British Empire. Adoption miy de u- cessary, and while no partivuiar pr itscan be aecaiineil as ch fin..', i. is pioimble mat tb.ero wi” ' 'ii..n.i factoring plant in ipcration in the. irot very distant future. Accepting then that Britain wiii prove just as capable r.s any otluy countiy <.f producing fuel oil f. uni oal t n a commercial seat i we will d-> well to [Hinder and study what are the exact, implications of ibis v.\.iidoriui • hemical and engineering achieveThey are so vast that they defy the imaginat?en. They are best Mi.v.ye.: froinlwo viewpoints —the impdcaiums a tine ca.-'O uf war. and the implications in the times of peace. In th. • case of the outbreak of w.lithe possibility of a home supply -f fuel would assume a most immediate and urg ,nt importaifte. At present with abundant woffld supplies of natural oil, the question of th prie'e of the new synthetic product is a, primary one, blit if war would break out the question of price would take a s.coiid plac.. and the mere fact that wo could manufacture and produce petrol within our <wn shores would be an absolutely vital and critical asset.

The wars of the future —should the world discover no way of eradicating war—will be fought on petrol not only on land but in the air and at sea. The military mind is indisposed to change but. the introduction of the internal combustion engine has alicady revolutionised warf|a|ie. The cavalry type of mentality has had to bow b fore the engineer. Cavalry charges in European warfare at least have joined the .armoured knights and bows and arrows in the limbo of a glorious but definitely dead ]>ast. Even infantry charges are passing out ■if modern tactics and their place writ be taken by petrol driven tanks, supported by devastating barrages from the guns behind and fl’ucks of bombdropping aeroplanes above. Transport particular..y has been revolutionisc.l and even at the c.ose of the last war .foot slogging and forced march s, subject cf su much tense anathema had given way to journeys ii lie ts of motor omnibuses and lorr.e ;. The horse has yi> Ided first place 1,,- p trol both in the ligating line a.id an the.; lines of communication.

Not only has war been pctrol-revolu-lionised on land, but it has taken to itself wings and transferred its butcheries and its massacres to tl’.e air Those wings depend for their flight and encet ive. toss i.n petrol. In a mo l em countiy which could not coinns.ind ample supplies < f p.t .' d it would lai bombed out '.f the contest before ;t had s aited. In s a wni'.it.rr uilu th ever-growing one. oachineri i t.f 01driven vessels over st l am. the sa need for p trel abundance is demonsi rated. Obviously th n, in the case o!’ wa x some method of converting pari Oi era a country which couid not ecmnot only an advance but. salvatio i itself. Without it cur position might be so weak os to be absolutely untenable. Whatever the pr.ee oi ti.e n w process might be we would pay it and pay it gladly. Jn peace time the oi! from coal problem though not- suppressing, i. stili very vital. The tremendous growth of motoiT traffic., b'oth for private and m dustrial purposes has been the great feature of the last, d: cade, and as yet there seeing no bounds tn its furtlm’ expansion. It has been one of the great weaknesses of our national position that in this great dev lopment we have hitherto been dependent, ce foreign supplies for qur petrol. Al ready the petrol which America pres cuts to us every year is close on £■><■.- 000,000 and that item of the national balance sheets grows more and more swollen eyery year that passes. Obviously, if we could produce our ow.i supplies of petrol at home, it wmul I not only sccuro for us a happy independence. but would hav'e a highly favourable effect on the balance sheet.

The synthesis of oil from coal will create a new industry, and concurrently it will do much to relieve the crus ing burden of unemployment and depression under which the national coal industry is now struggling. Moreover, as the process depends upon high pressure technique, which is at present only in its infancy, there is no knowledge of what further and fruitful developments it might lead. More than one new industry might easi/.y be created.

Lastly the- new process is of im mense importance to the Empire because it ca'h utilise the pc’orer grades of coal which, abound in A”"t'"’i " India and. especially Albertha. Canada, for instance, has about sixteen per cent., of the available cool supplies of the W’orld and in the light of

the lat./st disco v ry th ;.e repr<;t .’it an enormous store \ f w.alth Such me but a few < f tut tremcn ■ ous implication* wine.! 1:.? |c.i"* from coal problem ha- f. r 8.-na n. Nut many years will h \ 1 passed be fore the majority of .it m l.a\e been realised. LOW TEMPERA TUK3 DISTILLATION RESULTS The same writer lias an article in reference to the Motor Fuel Pr.pri. ty 1-1(1., stating: The directors hi announcing the r - suits of some recent t -sts made at their commercial production plan* - at Slough before wjl known rxpeits. state that the plant is capable of treating ten lons a day of toal ami has borne out the r aim* which the company has made jp connec.ion with their hw temperature di ti.lat.on patents. In bri f these r suits have proved conclusively that this proves* is not only a highly satislar or v on 1 fr’oin the point of crude <il obtain d from coal but that it ran be op: cited on a very economic. basts. The capital cost of plant dur to th? simp irity of the process, is low a; are tin l pro duction costs. Th.- two ar.aysus (a) from Nottingham and (h) trom chan nel coal, show Low s-'t i.s’acK ( ry in quality is tdie r> suitant crude oil. Further refining yi'ehls petrol .nbucating, lamp and otl.’r oils in ira-<■ lent grades and qualities. Still an- ( tlr r feature is the sin ..keless fie 1 residue, which would prove a big demand not only in the domestic mark 4 and for ‘ordinary industrial purposes but also as pulverised fuel in marimand other boilers. (a) From coal produced in Noilieg ham:— COAL TREATED 7 TONS. 14 CWTS.

Crude oil produced —i2H g;il > u . SI gallons per ton. The directors are now, therein--, convinced that the time has com-* vJv n distillation of oil frm «oal a; low tempera: ur . following thm pro< :• ;s tan be operated commercially. They have, therefore, required an impone.nt s’<te in the Nottingham Id for the erection of plant and oil i- - finery. Or ’ <rs bnv- 1 a’ready been placed with Messrs ltiust:"i ami llornsbi" ' f Lincoln for the fi’s' rchj’.t of the new unit <f S«> r Negotiations have a.so tab.’n pl with a vi'v.- to certa'n lea bag oca - nvner . joinin '- 1■ 1 !’• - ’

Pons. Cwts. Qrs. Lbs. ('ent Crude Oil 0 1G 3 27 11.0 Residue 5 G 0 0 GS.S Water 1 9 0 2G 19.0 Gas and Loss 0 .1 3 3 1.2 7 14 0 0 100.0 Crude Oil Produced—2:u> gallons 01 30 gallons pc •r ton. (l») From Lancashire < ’annvl coal sent for t rea 1 men': — COAL THEA Tl-lP—.8 TONS. 17 CWTS. 1’ons. Cwts. Qrs. Lbs. Cent Crude Oil e 17, 0 10 U’.-l Residue 1 12 0 24 32 J Water () ]0 0 0 o.G Gas and Lo ss 0 19 2 22 1 1.2 8 17 0 0 100.0