ALCOHOL AS FUEL

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160737, 25 August 1920, Page 5

ALCOHOL AS FUEL

HOW IT CAN BE USED. ADVANTAGES OVER PETROL. Alcohol is a Spirit which is iner haustible for all time! The motorists of the Dominion owe a debt to Mr D. Jones, M.P.. for Kaiapoi, for bringing this fact into prominence in exerting his energies in the House of Represen tatives in the direction of securing an investigation of the possibilities of manufacturing alcohol from potatoes. In 1918, Dr J. S. Maclauxin (Dominion Analyst) said that one gallon of petrol is equal to, approximately, one gallon of absolute alcohol, when each is used in an engine designed for its own class of fuel. One ton of potatoes should produce approximately 27 gallons of alcohol, at a then cost of about 6d pel gallog for manufacture. Working ou that basis, Dr C. J. Reakes (DirectorGeneral of Agriculture) stated in a re Sort recently furnished to the Hon. W, iosworthy (Minister of Agriculture): “A ton of potatoes should therefore produce, at a cost of 20s 3d for manufacture (allowing 50 per cent, increase in cost over 1918), alcohol worth the price of 27 gallons of petrol, or, say, £4 19s, taking the retail price of petrol at 3s 8d per gallon. That is to say, alcohol from a ton of potatoes should give a net return of £3 18s 9d, less the cost of potatoes delivered at the factory, and less the cost of selling. This return would not, in my opinion, enable the grower to obtain a sufficient price for the potatoes on his farm to warrant his producing them for the purpose of being used as raw material for the manufacture of alcohol. The matterf is, however, of great importance, and I therefor© propose to go into it more fully, in the light of conditions now existing,” The Minister of Customs (the Hon. ■Sir WilHam Herries) has informed Mt Jones that his department will not place any obstacle in the way of manufacture of commercial ■ alcohol from potatoes. HARD PACTS. There are strong facts at the back of Mr Jones’ idea, which is not new, but which deserves all the “boosting” that the motorists of the country can put behind it. Mr Jones, as a motorist, knows the future worth of the project. Alcohol differs from other liquid fuels in that it is not obtained from deposits in the earth, but is produced by fermentation of vegetable matter, such as starch, cellulose, or even peat and sawdust. Some facts concerning commercial production prove that the manufacture of alcohol, on a basis which would make competition with petrol and benzol possible, is practicable. Tim Standard Alcohol Co. of America has produced the spirit at a cost of 10.5 cents per proof gallon. In another cass it is. authoritatively said to have been produced, from peat, at a coat of 3d per proof gallon, while in Switzerland an installation capable of dealing with 7500 to 10,000 tons per annum produced the spirit at a cost of Is per gallon of 95 per cent, alcohol, in spite of the fact that the necessary coal for the plant had to be imported at an exceed* mgiy high rate. It is possible to use a compression pressure of only 701b' to 901b per square inch in a petrol engine, without danger of spontaneous ignition. Tliis, it should be explained, is the pressure at which the mixture in the cylinder-head would explode without being; fired by an electric spark. The compression ratio possible with the alcohol, however, is in the neighbourhood of 2001b per square inch, since the temperature at which it spontaneously ignites is 595deg. centigrade, as compared with 270dsg. centigrade in the case of petrol. Alcohol is very suitable for internal combustion engine s, in that it requires a less quantity of air for its combustion. This naturally decreases the proportion of heat passing but to the exhaust, and increases the thermal efficiency of the engine. An engine of given capacity will generate more power ou alcohol than from petrol. A trial was recently made in New South Wales of an alcohol motor fuel, as against petrol. The result, both in power developed and in consumption of fuel, was decidedly in favour of the alcohol fuel, Natalite motor spirit, which it is proposed to manufacture in Australia shortly. On the first run on petrol, 2.2 miles were covered, and on the second 2.0, averaging 2.1 miles per quart. On the first run of Natalite 2.9 miles were covered, on the second 2.55, averaging 2.725 miles per quart. Thus the equivalent mileaveg. per gallon were; On Natalite 11,03 and on petrol 8.4. The difference in favour of the alcohol fuel was, therefore, 2.68 miles per gallon.