The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1917-08-02
Dean Babcock Makes Gasoline
Substitute From N. D. Ignite

A rev scource of motor fuel. likely
port, has been discovered in the state
Of North Dakota. The new fuel is
volatile oil distilled from Ignite coal.
The discovery was made by D. }.
Babcock, dean of the school of mines
Of the University of North Dakota.
The new fuel is called motor
spirit" by Dean Babcock. 1t is not
exactly the same as gasoline but is
very similar to it both in chemical
composition and in its properties.
The discovery was made in connec-
tion with Dean Babcock's studies OF
methods of utilizing the full fuel value
of North Dakota Ignite, of which t
of North Dakota Ignite, of which there
are vast deposits in the western part
Of the state. 3
Discovery Was Accidental"
1t was "accidental' in the sense that
Dean Babcock, at the time he discov.
cred it, was not trying to find sub.
stitute for gasoline. He was merely
using new method of heat treatment
of Ignite to eXpel the gas, water and
VC1lCl W louuSlo 90 q ~ CAAAAAAoAy W
briquetting.
The new fuel can be distilled in
quantities to make it an important
factor in the gasoline market, especial.
ly so in view of the fact that the gov
eminent scientists and others have
been expressing great concern over
the fact that the nations stores Of
gasoline are being rapidly used up
without any satisfactory substitute
having been found.
By-Product Of Coal
One of the most important features
of the discovery by Dean Babcock is
that the new fuel is by-product to
the manufacture of Ignite coal into
briquettes of the. highest commercial
value and that in it's production the
fuel value Of the coal will be increased
rather than diminished.
DR.. Babcock exhibited a sample of
the new motor spirit to represen-
tative of The Courier-News who called
upon him at his Offices and laboratory
in the school of mines building at the
state university in Grand Forks on
Saturday
The sample was one which had been
prepared in the laboratory. 1t was
dark brown fluid, the color Professor
Babcock explained, being due to the
presence of impurities which could be
removed by refining The refined LIQUID
will be colorless and very similar to
gasoline. 1t has a slightly different
odor, however.
Gasoline" Professor Babcock ex-
planned, lis not a chemical unit. It
is mixture of several substances.
So is this motor spirit. 1t contains
some of the same combinations as gas.
oline and is very similar in it's prop
critics.
Match Brings Flash
To show the low temperature of
volatilization Professor Babcock held
a lighted match under the small mar
row-necked bottle in which the fluid
was contained. Then he thrust burn
ing match into the neck of the bottle.
There was an instant flash within the
bottle, which showed that the motor
spirit had vaporized into an infam-
mable gas just as gasoline does in the
oarburetor of the automobile.
DR.. Rabcock did not want to state
for publication what quantities of the
duid could be obtained from given
quantity of Ignite. He is working over
his experiments carefully preparatory
to issue bulletin telling the whole
story. This bulletin undoubtedly will
attract a tremendous amount Of at
tention all over the country.
IL. ~.nn~>n.;al N,iun
II can say, however," said PROBES.
sor Babcock, that enough of the fluid
can be obtained in the distillation of
ignite coal so that it will probably
have future commercial Importance"
The cost of the new fuel will de.
pend upon the comparative value OF
the products obtained by two different
methods of treatment of the Ignite.
One is the method of low temperature
distillation, by which Professor Bah
cock gets the motor spirit, together
with gas and the coal residue from
which coal briQuettes can be made.
Near-kerosene, TOO
The other method is by high temper
ature distillation, which produces a
heavier oil, very similar to kerosene
and probably salable as substitute
for kerosine. BY this method also gas
sort of paraftine and coal pitch, use
full as binder for briquetting the coal
are obtained
The quantity of Ignite coal, from
which these products are obtainable
is tremendous in the state of North
Dakota. The latest government sur
vey places the probable amount Of
Ignite underlying western North Da
kota as six hundred billion tons, near
ly thousand times the annual produc
ton of coal in the whole United
States. No other state in the unior
has as large reserve stock of coal.