Running Ordinary Engines on Oil Fuel
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A T a time when so much attention is being directed to the oil engine the possibility of utilizing oil fuels in orthodox engines must not he overlooked. Such• an achievement would naturally, have many advantages, as compared with changing over to an entirely new type of power unit.
During the past year considerable progress has been made in France with a special kind of carburettervaporizer called the Catalex. This was shown at the recent Paris Salon, and has been applied to many thousands of agricultural tractors. and, to a lesser extent, to lorries. It is claimed that it enables an orthodox engine to run on oil fuel, at about one-third of the cost of petrol, without loss of power, roughness, dilution of the lubricant or other drawbacks. It is necessary to start on petrol, but in two or three minutes the change over to oil can be made. The apparatus, which costs about 3,000 francs in France (approximately £24), does not require any expert skill in fitting. The exhaust gases are used to heat a box into which is sprayed a very rich mixture or emulsion of oilfuel and warm, humidified air. This is drawn upwards past a series of baffles surfaced with a material which is Said to act as a catalyst, accelerating the chemical changes taking place between the molecules of oil, 'steam and oxygen. As a result, oxidization and cracking are said to take place. The hot and rich gas Which is thus produced is next mixed with a cool supply of air, in order to obtain the correct combustible proportions, and to increase the density and weight of the charge.
This device is shortly, to be• tested \ in England, and the address of the makers is Sociae Internationale du Catalex, Levallois-Perret, Seine, France.