SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 February 1933, Page 6

SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

The statement published last week that the British Navy is to use coalite oil fuel in lieu of petroleum is of interest to New Zealand and to any other country where supplies of coal are ample. If the experiment now made by the navy is successful it will be proof that the extraction of fuel oil from coal has passed the experimental stage. The importance of this is two-fold. If oil production can be made commercially successful the resuscitation of the coal industry in Great Britain is far more likely than if dependence for this relied upon consumption of coal in old established forms. As in New Zealand, the coal industry in the United Kingdom has suffered from lack of oversea markets and from the limitation of the local markets by rival sources of power such as oil and electricity. Both countries suffer, too, from the difficulty of getting rid of the “slack” coal, the proportion of which has increased with the use of modem mining appliances and methods. .Formerly an asset, for use as steam coal, slack coal is now in many cases a charge upon the working expenses of a mine, and it is this material which can be used for the production of oil. Moreover, the distillation of oil is not the only use to which coal is applied during the process of extraction. Valuable by-products are also derived, and when these have been taken out there is still a portion of the material under treatment which makes excellent fuel. The history of coalite oil extraction is a record of the continuous appli-

cation of science to an industry which was nearly moribund. It has required great expenditure of capital and much organisation to bring the scientific experiments towards a commercial success. The order from the navy indicates that the success is within sight, and the value to Great Britain of a home supply of oil fuel is the second important characteristic of the new industry. New Zealand has its problems in regard to the coal industry and is a heavy importer of petroleum oils. The experience of Great Britain will no doubt be watched with much interest by the authorities in the Dominion.