The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1916-03-13
New Source Of Gasoline

In view of the ever-increasing de-
mand for gasoline and the increase
in price of crude oil, from which it
is obtained, it is important to know
that an almost inexhaustible supply
of oil may be obtained from the
shale of northwestern Colorado,
northeastern Utah, and southwestern
Wyoming. This shale contains mate
rails which, when heated, may be
eonverted into crude oil, gas, and
ammonia. The high cost of distill-
ing oil from shale as compared to the
cost of producing oil from wells has
thus far prevented the development
in this country of such an industry
and may continue to prevent it for
sometime, but sooner or later this
great source of supply will be utiliz-
ed to supplement the decreasing pro-
duction from the regular oil fields.
The oil derived from the shale is
similar to that which is being pro-
duced from wells in the United
States at the rate of more than $780,
100000 barrels year. When refin-
ed by ordinary methods the shale oil
yields an average of about 10 per
cent gasoline, 35 per cent kerosene,
and large amount of parafin. The
yield of gasoline from the shale may
probably be largely increased by the
use of refining methods especially de-
signed for that purpose. The gas,
which is a very good Illuminating
gas, will perhaps be sufficient to fur
nish all the heat required to distill
the crude oil from the shale.
The ammonia is a most valuable
by-product of the distillation and
may be utilized in the manufacture
of commercial fertilizer or other nj
trogen compounds, as the market de-
mands. The United States Geological
Survey has examined large areas of
the shale in Colorado, Utah, and
Wyoming and has made many distil-
lation tests. Some beds of shale that
are several feet thick will yield more
than a barrel of oil to the ton of
shale, and one bed inches thick will
yield more than two barrels of crude
oil to the ton of shale. One ton of
this shale should therefore yield
nearly 10 gallons of gasoline by the
present commercial methods of gaso-
line extraction, and larger yields may
be made possible by new methods.
Little attention has been paid to
this shale because the quantity of
petroleum produced from wells in
the United States has been sufficient
to satisfy all demands, but for more
than SO years the oil shale industry
of Scotland has been a very impor-
tant one. In recent year more
than 5000 men were employed in
the industry in that country, yet the
average yield of oil per ton of shale
was much less than that which ap-
pears possible from the shale of Colo
RADIO and Utah. 1t is estimated that
in Colorado alone there Is sufficient
shaIe, in beds feet or more thick
and richer than the shale being min
ed in Scotland, to yield twenty bill
lion barrels of crude oil, from which
at least two billion barrels of gaso-
line may be extracted by ordinary re-
fning processes.
AS was stated in the recent reply
of Secretary Lane to a Senate reso-
luton on the subject of gasoline:
1.-THE development of this enormous
reserve simply awaits the time when
the price of gasoline or the demand
for other distillation products war
rants the utilization of this substi-
tute source. This may happen in
the future. At all events these
shales are likely to be drawn upon
long before the exhaustion of the
petroleum fields"