Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-19
SAVES BIG EXPENSE
Mixture of Kerosene and
Gasoline Urged.
May USE ALCOHOL NEXT
Claimed It May Be Soon Manufac-
tured Cheaper Than
Other Fuels.
May USE ALCOHOL NEXT

The enormous increase in the selling
price of gasoline has apparently not been
given the consideration which it de-
serves by the manufacturers of automo-
biles. says E. s. Foljambe in a recent ar
ticle in the Automobile Trade Journal of
Philadelphia on the probable future auto
mobile fuel.
In this article il was pointed out that
the largest increase in production of gas
oline in one year has not been more than
per cent. while the production of auto
mobiles will in all probability represent
an increase this coming year of almost
100 per cent. Kerosene is necessarily pro-
duced with gasoline. both being products
OF crude petroleum. Unfortunately. the
demand is almost entirely for gasoline
and this demand is increasing by leaps
and bounds. while the demand for kero-
Sene. although growing, is so slight as
to be almost negligible. Yet of the vari
Gus products distilled from petroleum
per cent. while light and heavy kero-
sene is in the neighborhood of IS per cent.
Increasing the quantity of gasoline.
therefore. would necessitate an enormous
overproduction of kerosene.
Kerosene Carburetors Perfected.
To make it profitable to produce both
fuels in larger quantities Mr. Foljambe
advocates the use of both fuels in auto
mobiles at the present time. and urged
the makers to order kerosene carhuretOrs
from the carburetor makers and equip
their cars with them. From letters writ
ten to all the carburetOr makers 1t has
been found that several stand ready at
any time to supply what are claimed to
be successful kerosene carburetors just
soon the car makers will order in
5000 lots Kerosene and gasoline have
been successfully used with some carbu
retOrS without other change than supply
ing them with heated air, the proportions
being 30 per cent kerosene to 30 per cent
gasoline. the fuels being mixed in the
same tank.
The demand must come from the public
but the majority of motorists. although
very DESTROYS of cutting down their fuel
bills. do not know that the Kerosene
carburetor is already a possibility. yet
such is undoubtedly the case. A demand
on the part of the car makers for kero-
sene carburetors in quantity would al
most Immediately be supplied by the car
huretOr manufacturers, many of whom
have been working on this problem for
several years.
Difficulties in Using Kerosene.
The chief difficulty in using kerosene
IS the fact that it does not vaporize
readily enough to start cold engine.
Gasoline is therefore used until the en-
sine is warmed up. There are three gen
cral methods of handling kerosene; one.
which has not been applied to automo-
biles. is injection of the raw fuel into
heated chamber; another is to atomize
il SO thoroughly that il will form a Rood
enough mixture with the air so that 1t
will turn into vapor when this mixture
,t,,rt Of
motor and the third method which seems
To be more generally approved. is to use
vaporiZer or some device for heating
the fuel to the point where it vOlatiliZes.
this requiring a temperature with Ordi-
nary kerosene of about 81 degrees Fab
renheit, and then mixing the vapOr with
air.
The heat of the exhaust is now being
applied successfully for this purpose by Il
truck maker on the Pacific coast. and
this method In general seems to give bet
ter satisfaction and be more applicable
to automobiles than the other methods
mentioned There is tendency for the
kerosene to separate into its lower
products ard clog the vapOrizer. SO special
means of cleaning the vaporZer must be
supplied
Benzol and Alcohol Fuels.
BenZol, which is a distillate from coal
attendant upon the manufacture of gas.
when refined is colorless fluid very
much like gasoline, but containing some
what more heat units per pound. This
fuel is now worth in the United States
about % cents per gallon in fifty-gallon
lots, and is perfectly suitable for use IN
automobile engines and carburetors as
now designed. Benzol can be manufac-
tured in larger quantities II necessary,
and at a lower price. so that 1t may De
come a possible competitor of gasoline
If the price of gasoline goes much above
-, cents per gallon, as there is every in
oication of it's doing next summer. Ben
Zol is already used to some extent III
England. and a regular benZol industry
is springing up to supply the demand.
The use of this fuel is Steadying the price
of gasoline. and preventing II from gong
higher However, all of the fuels so Tar
mentioned are products Of crude OIL or
coal, both of which are limited. True.
the price of gasoline may be somewhat
higher on account of oil fields being held
back and certain wells capped and held
in reserve, yet the entire worlds supply
is not by any means unlimited. so that
the enormous demand, which is increasing
at a phenomenal rate each year. will
eventually necessitate the use or some
other fuel which can be manufactured
from products which are NOT limited.
Alcohol the Ultimate Fuel.
Alcohol is the fuel which answers these
requirements, but as 1t cannot be used to
advantage in the present motors. it will
probably not enter into the field FOR many
years 70 come. but when ii does. it is
claimed il can be produced in enormous
quantities from garbage and other waste
products and sold retail for as low as
10 or II cents per gallon. In motors de-
signed for its use with compressions of
$50 pounds to the square inch this fuel
gives weight for weight and size for size
of motor greater efficiency and almost
~ per cent more power than gasoline.
Its time will come.