PETROL PIONEER DEAD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20251, 10 May 1929, Page 8

PETROL PIONEER DEAD.

EXPERIENCE IN RUSSIA.

CAPTURE AND RELEASE.

By the death of Dr. Paul Dvorkovitz, at the age of 72 years, the petroleum industry loses one of its pioneers and scientific research a valued -worker. Dr. Dvorkovitz was educated in the Medical Academy of Petrograd, took his science degree at tha University of Moscow, where he became assistant to Professor Markonikoff, the greatest pef.roelum chemist of that time, while at Baku his researches, on behalf of the French Government resulted in the discovery of a tasteless oil, which is used in French vineyards. Liquid fuel was utilised for the first time under boilers at Dr. Dvorkovitz's instigation. He also introduced a method of using oil to enrich ordinary gas, and over 60,000,000 gallons of oil are used in this connection by the gas companies annually. For seven years he was adviser to the late Viscount Bearsted, and was associated with him in the foundation of the Shell Company. At the invitation of President Roosevelt he visited the United States in 1908, and caused a sensation by his prophecy that in a few years all transatlantic liners would be fired by oil. While Dr. Dvorkovitz was on a visit to Russia in 1917, the revolution broke out, and he was thrown into prison on account of his pro-British activities. _ In 1919, after frequent threats of execution, he was suddenly released, through the intervention of Maxim Gorky, conditional on his becoming chief adviser to the Central Mining Department. In 1921 be escaped and went to England, where, in spite of his age and the loss of his fortune, he devoted his energy to the low temperature carbonisation of coal, the possibilities of -which he had outlined in a lecture before the Society of Chemical Industry as early as 1893.