Fuels for Internal Combustion Engines.
Page 17
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A Special Committee of the Motor Union was appointed, on the 2/st September, t906, to enquire " into the recent alarming rise in the price of petrol, and to report what steps, if any, can be taken to protect the interests of the private consumer." No less than 28 sittings of the Cornmittee have been held, under the chairmanship of Dr. I-I. S. Hele-Shaw, F.R.S., and the Committee's report was unanimously adopted at the provincial meeting of the Union, at the Southport Town Hail, on Saturday last. The numerous appendices have yet to be completed.•
The Committeeappears to have been impressed by the imminence of a famine in petroleum spirit, which contingency it attributes to the fact that the demand is increasing at a rate much greater than the rate of increase of supply: It Specifically relieves the two controlling groups of financiers which inmort petroleum spirit from certain charges of wanton destruction with a view to the maintenance of price, and asserts that the Optimistic views as to an increasing production of crude oil, and hence of petroleum spirit, is unsupported by evidence. On the other hand, copious extracts are made from the writings of well-known authorities on petroleum and its products, in order to show that the oil-fields of the world are being exhausted at a rate which is much greaer than that of the replacement of supplies by fields which have been more recently developed.
We cannot find any reoord that the Committee took evidence as to the likely yield of spirit from a new process for the treatment of petroleum residues, the invention of a German chemist, which product is to be known as "Novatin," and the sole rights for which have been acquired by Sidney Straker and Squire, Limited. We have reason to believe that the much-desired outlet for the heavier hydrocarbons will be provided by this conversion process.
Cheap Alcohol.
Turning to possible alternatives, the Committee most strongly urges the basic claims of a substance, such as alcohol, that can be produced from vegetation, and discusses, at considerable length, the arguments for and against this fuel. It deals with the wide use of alcohol motors in Germany, and points out that there is no practical limit to the supply, whilst it concludes its references to this substance by a strong recommendation that it might most advantageously b-e mixed in certain proportions with coal-tar benzol, the relatively low carbon content of the alcohol being compensated by the high peecentage of carbon in the benzol. It is pointed out that the cost of denatured alcohol in England is at present prohibitive, amounting to no less than 25. a gallon, but it is pointed out that this price could be very materially reduced, as would be obviously necessary, if the Government could see its way to take a wider view of the question of alcohol for internal-combustion purposes. No direct reference is made to the difficulties which occur when it is sought to use alcohol in existing types of internalcombustion engines, and we must conclude that the Committee's view is that the adoption of alcohol would relieve the future situation, rather than that the fuel would be generally applicable to the ordinary internal-combustion engine as we know it, but it indicates the likelihood of official approval for more suitable denaturing substances than those which are at present in use, qua internal corrosion of the cylinders.
A Fair Attitude.
We are glad to note that the tone of the report is judicial throughout, and that no undue allegations against, or unfair attacks upon, the large petroleum companies are made. This is somewhat of a novelty, and probably quite unexpected by the companies in question, but it certainly adds weight to the report as a whole. The single fact that the ordinary market price of petroleum spirit to the trader has increased, during the two years ending December, pao6, from 7d. to /3d. per gallon, is emphasised, and it certainly is some justification of the Committee's labours. It is also made quite clear that the sudden demand for motorbuses, which additional requirement coincides with the period under notice, has been an important factor in the situation. We fully endorse this view, and it may not be known, even to the Fuels Committee of the Motor Union, that, had a single cargo of spirit been lost a year ago, as it was a few months ago, practically every motorbus and motorcar in this country would have been at a standstill for more than a week, so low had stocks fallen The full text of the Committee's recommendations are :— /. The Committee, being unanimously of opinion that of all the proposals before them which are likely to over. come the difficulties in the supply of fuel which have led to the formation of this Committee, the introduction of alcohol as a fuel in the future is by far the most hopeful, and they recommend : (a) That the Motor Union support any steps that may be. taken, and if necessary inaugurate a movement, with the object of bringing about a reduction in the resteictions now imposed on the production of commercial alcohol.
(b) That a prize be offered for the best essay on the subject of the manufacture and introductioe of cheap alcohol as a motor fuel.
(c) That the Royal Automobile Club be asked to organise and to conduct impartial and trustworthy; experiments on the comparative merits of alcohol, and petrol as a motor fuel, with a view to encouraging both users and manufacturers to turn their attention to this subject.
a. That the notice of members of the Motor Union be, specially directed to that portion of the report which deals with heavier spirit, the use of which •for various reasons given in the report is recommended by the Committee. 3. That the Committee are of opinion that modifications in some of the present regulations for the storage and. distribution of petrol might be made, which would tend to reduce the cost to the individual consumer, and that action be taken in this matter by the Motor Union in conjunction with the distributing firms and the motor trade. 4. That in consequence of the large number of paraffin carburetters that have been invented, and for which claims of high efficiency have been made, but of which, in spite of the demand for such an invention, a comparatively small number are in actual use, the Royal Automobile Club be asked to organise a competition for paraffin carburetters and vaporisers, and to offer awards for successful competitors in the same. 5. That the notice of members of the Motor Union be directed to the use of beneol, either alone or in combination with petrol as a motor fuel, since it can be used with complete success with the present type of engines and carburetters; moreover it is a home production, and more economical in use than petrol at the present time. 6. That a Standing Committee of the Motor Union be formed for the purpose of giving effect to these recommendations, and generally of recommending from time to time any line of practical policy in connection with fuel supply that may be desirable in the interests of users of motor vehicles.
We like the practical " ring" of these recommendations, and are pleased to see how strongly the Committee urges a general recognition of the fact that specific gravity is no safe guide to the quality of spirit, and that it recommends all motorists to use spirit as high as 0.760 specific gravity, provided the range of boiling points are not wider than 45 degrees and /so degrees Centigrade : these points should be noted by all our readers, for they are, as we have frequently insisted, of the utmost importance to all users of commercial motors, and they demand increasing recognition now that low-price contracts for lighter spirit are lapsing. Had the Committee's investigations and discussions been of a purely academic nature, it would not have recognised the important bearing which transit restrictions and local regulations have upon price, and would not have been so ready to recognise the admitted difficulties under which petroleum importers and distributors have to conduct their businesses. We are glad that a Standing Committee on this fuels question has been appointed, because nothing effectual will be accomplished without sustained effort, and that during a term of years, if not a full decade. The propositions for the future production, denaturing, and use of alcohol are the soundest from the physical standpoint, and we are obliged to confess our belief that kerosene will never be popular.