The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-09-05
Alcohol AS a Fuel
From Cassie-'s Magazine.
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nature to be readily vaporized. II
the liquid be of limpid. non-viscous
character. the difficulties 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 fifty
degrees below that of water nom
freezing, burning without smoke,
mixing with water In all proportions.
and therefore its flame extinguished
by water, cleanly, drying off COM
pletely when spilled. not attacking
rubber gaskets or packings, and nom
corrosive for metal tanks and hold
ers. The fact that the flame is blu
ish, or so-called non-luminous, means
that the fame is almost devoid of
free carbon particles, with their in
tense heat radiating power. fact Of
considerable Importance. When gas
olene or heavy oils are burning. the
flame, loaded with free carbon or
SCOT, radiates heat to such a degree
that 1t is not possible to approach
near the conHagration, and combusti-
ple surroundings are readily fred by
pure radiation of heat
The production OF alcohol on a
large scale is very simple. and the
raw materials already exist in con-
siderable variety. All saccharine or
starchy growths are available. Sac
charlne wastes are now largely used
in Cuba for alcohol production At
present 1t is said that the low grades
of molasses can be delivered at
American coast cities at about
three cents gallon. About three
gallons of tEis crude product
will be required to produce a gallon
of refined spirit, or ninety per cent.
alcohol, and the cost of production
may be estimated at from three to
four cents, making the cost of the
alcohol a gallon about twelve cents.
"his alcohol will. in a properly or
ganized engine, equal, volume for
volume, gasolene now sold at a much
higher price in producing power.
Even in the immediate future, then it
is evident that alcohol has a large
field of usefulness. The farmer need
not depend on wood, coal or oil for
his power. His agricultural wastes
will furnish it. His fields need only
receive the sunshine and be given
sufficient water, and thence any crop
yielding starch or sugar, however un-
marketable otherwise. may be made
the source of power, light and heat
The use of alcohol as a fuel and
as source of power will grow grad
ually, 1t would be ii!e to look for
any sudden revolution in methods.
When we extend our vision into the
far future we can only speak of pos
sibilities or probabilities. There is
always a possibility of new discov-
cries modifying conditions to such
an extent shat our best present judg-
ment may be in error; but, assuming
that increasing scarcity and cost of
mineral fuels will gradually stimu-
late the selection and use of sub
stitutes, it seems reasonable to pre-
dict that the one substitute which
possesses the most desirable quail
ties is ethyl alcohol The amount
that can be produced is practically
unlimited.
A very important fact distinguish
ing alcohol production by agricul-
ture from the production anG ship
mont out of the land of food pro-
duets, meat, ETC., or even wood, is
that in the former the land is not
impoverished, as the mineral and
heterogeneous matters can be returned
TO it, while in the food and wood car
ried away the richness OF the land is
passing away too. Alcohol contains
only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen,
all of which come from the air it.
self The transformation is begun
in the carbonic acid and water of the
air reaching the growing plant under
the influence of sunshine. and COM
pleted in the fermenting vat and the
still under human direction. Vigor-
Gus plant growth is cooling process
solar energy is rendered latent or po-
tential. 1t would even be possible
to calculate from the fuel value of
any growth or crop the proportion of
the solar energy stored up. Fer
mentation renders the energy stored
more available, and dlstillation final
ly yields concentrated product
1t is not unreasonable to expect
that in large engines of the internal
combustion type, when highly de-
veloped, we may attain efilclencies of
thirty to forty per cent. This means
thai of the heat units potential in
the fuel and liberated when it 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 up to about one-half.
With alcohol at cost of ten cents q
gallon-a price even now realized in
Cuba--the cost of the fuel per kilo-
watt hour would be about one cen:
and q quarter on an assumed eff
cheney of thirty-three per cent. in the
engine.
1t is not 10 be imagined that where
coal or oil can be obtained at any
thing like the present costs there is
at present any possibility OF their re-
placement. Neither is 1t likely that
water power, developed under favor
able conditions. can ever have as a
rival artificially produced fuel.
But inasmuch as the fuel cost is
only q relatively small fraction of tho