Omaha daily bee., 1906-08-19
ALCOHOL As A POWER MAKER
An Ideal Liquid Fuel Easily Produced
from Variety of Materials.
HEAT UNITS AVAILABLE FOR POWER
Pipe Line Transportation ana Dts
tribution-A wide Field open for
Its AppIication--Future
Possibilities.

Its AppIicatian-Future
Possibilities.
The ideal fuel is liquid fuel Of a nature 10
be readily vaporized II the LIQUID be OF
a tmpid. nonviscous character, the difi-
ouIties found in pipe line transportation
with the thick fuel oils will not stand in
the way Of such transportation and dis-
| tribution. We have in ethyl alcohol an ideal
fuel-colorless limpid. of moderate boiling
point, about 80 degrees below that of water
nonfreezlng burning without smoke mix
ing with water in all proportions, and there
! fore its fame extinguished by water
cleanly drying on completely when spilled,
not attacking rubber caskets or paclings
and noncorrosive for metal tanks and hold
ers. Tho fact that the flame is blush or
so-called mountainous, means that the
flame is almost devoid of free carbon par
ticles, with their intense heat radiatiug
power, fact OF considerable Importance.
When gasoline or heavy oils are burning,
the flame loaded with free carbon or SCOT
radiates heat to such a degree that II is
not possible To approach near the conna-
grafton. and combustible surroundings are
readily fired by pure radiation OF heat.
The production of alcohol on a large scale
is very simple, and the raw materials al
ready exist in considerable variety All
sacchartne or starchy growths are avail
able. Saccharine wastes are now largely
used In Cuba for alcohol production. At
present II ls said that the low grades OF
molasses can be delivered at American coast
cities at about cents a gallon. About
three gallons Of this crude product will he
required to produce a gallon OF refined
SDtrit ~ 90 mt alcohol ma he
Of production may be estimated at from
to cents, mailing the cost of the alcohol a
gallon about IL cents. This alcohol will.
In properly organized engine, equal, vol
ume for volume. gasoline now sold at a
much higher price In producing power.
Even in the immediate future, then, Il Is
evident that alcohol has a large field of
usefulness. The farmer need not depend on
wood, coal or oil for his power. His sgri-
cultural wastes will furnish 1t. His fields
need only receive the sunshine and be given
sufficient water. and thence any crop yield
ing starch or sugar, however unmarketable
otherwise, may be made the source OF
power. light and heat.
Growth VIII He Gradual.
The use OF alcohol as a fuel and as a
source of power will grow gradually. 1t
would be idle to look for any sudden revo-
luton in methods. When we extend our
vision into the far future we can only speak
Of possibilities or probabilities. There is
always a possibility of new discoveries
modifying conditions to such an extent
that our best present Judgment may be in
error. but assuming that increasing scarcity
and cost of mineral fuels will gradually
stimulate the selection and use of substi-
tutes, 1t seems reasonable to predict that
the one substitute which possesses the most
desirable qualities is ethyl alcohol. The
amount that can be produced Is practically
unlimited.
very important fact distinguishing alco-
hol production by agriculture from the
production and shipment out of the land
of food products, meat, ETC., or even wood,
is that in the former the land is not i'm
poverished. as the mineral and nitro
genous matters can be returned to II,
while In the food and wood carried away
the richness of the land Is passing away,
too. Alcohol contains only carbon, hydro
gen and oxygen. all of which come from
the air itself. The transformation is be-
gun in the carbonic acid and water of the
air reaching the growing plant under the
influence of sunshine and completed In
the fermenting vat and the still under
human direction. Vigorous plant growth
is cooling process; solar energy is rem
ueTSu lAlSnt OE ~ WOulQ even
be impossible to calculate from the fuel
value Of any growth or crop the proper
ton of the solar energy SO stored up.
Fermentation renders the energy stored
more available. and distillation usually
yields a concentrated product
Development of Efficiency.
1t is not unreasonable to expect that In
large engines OF the internal combustion
type. when highly developed, we may at
tain efflciencies of 80 to 10 per cent This
means that the heat units potential in tho
fuel and liberated when II is burned with
the oxygen of the air about one-third may
be converted into available power. 1t may
even be that future invention will carry
this proportion to about one-half. With
alcohol at cost of 10 cents a gallon-a
price even now realized In Cuba-the cost
OF the fuel per kilowat hour would be
about X cents on an assumed efficiency
OF 80 per cent in the engine.
II Is not TO be imagined that where coal
or oil is TO be obtained at anything like
the present costs there is at present any
possibility of their replacement. Neither is
1t likely that water power, developed under
favorable conditions, can ever have as q
rival artinoially produced fuel.
But inasmuch as the fuel cost is only q
relatively small fraction OF the total cost
of operation of a great system Of distyi-
button, such as that of an electric lighting
plant or railway II is evident that, con-
slderins the great convenience and adap-
liability of the alcohol vapor internal COM
bustion engine. a wide field may open for
its application. as the cost Of the fuel
alone is a relatively uninportant item.
Certain II is that for isolated small powers
the alcohol motor can soon be used with
lowing the recent legislation. there remOv-
convenience and economy In America, fol-
ing the onerous tRx.-Cassier's Magazine.