FROM COAL,

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18796, 18 November 1932, Page 3

FROM COAL,

MAKING EMPIRE’S PETROL. A BIG SCHEME. Cabled .reports that Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., the giant British organisation, will probably commence commercial production of petrol from coal caused no surprise among Sydney men who have been watching experimental developments. A London message states the big chemical firm is forming a subsidiary company, with £10,000,000 capital, to produoe petrol at the rate of 213,000 tons (63,900,000 gallons) from 850,000 tons of ooal. The problem of commercial production of petrol has, it is stated, been solved. “It has been well-known for some ■time that that organisation had perfected a process that would enable it to make petrol from ’coal at a price roughly equivalent to that of the imported spirit,” said Professor Eastaugh, of Sydney University. “The question seemed to be one of politics—whether the nation was prepared to lay out the huge oapltal expenditure necessary to erect the plant that would make Britain independent of foreign petrol.” The process, he said, would be one of hydrogenation. Coal contained hydrogen and oanbon in certain proportions. Petrol consisted of the same elements, with a greater proportion of hydrogen. . I'o convert coal into petrol, therefore, hydrogen had to be added. Thef Method. This could be done by pulverising the coal and mixing it with a catalyst —the latest catalyst discovered was the metal molybdenum—and subjecting the mixture to hydrogen under a very high pressure at suitable temperature. Hydrogen could be got cheaply from water. The weight of petrol produoed would be roughly one quarter that of the coal used. “Hydrogenation of shale has been tried in Australia,” added Professor Eastaugh, “but owing to the expense I do not think the experiment has been attempted with coal here.”