The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-07-14
UPHOLDS FREE USE IF GASOLINE HERE Petroleum WarService Com- mittee Says Go to It FOR WARS NEEDS Inability to Ship Product Abroad and Lack of Storage Facilities Held
 to Justify Use in Un-
 stinted Quantities

After a meeting at Kansas City the following statement was authorized by the petroleum war service committee of which A. c. Bedford is chairman.
 "It is important that the American people understand fully the factors governing the supply Of petroleum products in this country. The chair man of the petroleum committee of the council of national defense some months ago pointed out The importance of conservation of gasoline The sit uation at present may be summarized as follows:
 "While there is sn increasing de- mand abroad for gasoline for use ny our own army and navy. as well as ny our allies, the limiting factor there is shipping tonnage All the gasoline is now being forwarded for which ships are available. Experience and in- quiry make it clear that the petroleum industry in America can and will sup ply all the increased demand for oil products for the war. provided Suf- ficient tanT steamers can be obtained. It is estimated that In 1917 not over g per cent of tbe gasoline produced in this country was exported. That fact should be reassuring to any ore who doubts this caun.rY's ability to supply the war requirements of oar own and cur al5ed governments for this important product.
 eoT'ne need of immediate importance is that there he no relaxation ia ;h~ production os fuel oil. This rater.ll. 1iquid fuel, as it is often called, is IL, ,.5. S.f I, nav1es. hy practically every indastrial plant engaged in the manufacture of munitions, shipgards, gas plants. and even by some of the railroads. The consumption of fuel oil is much great CT than the eonsumption of any other of the various products obtained from crude petroleum.
 NO WASTE
 ~Crude oil, as it comes from the ground. is mixture of light and heavy Hydrocarbons, which in the still va porize at different degrees of heat. The light hydrocarbons (those which distill at comparatively low tempera- tures) are known as gasoline. The heavier hydrocarbons (which remain after the disti1lation of the lighter factions) can all be utilized for fuel purposes. Most of the crude oils pro- duced in the United States are not sat- isfactory for fuel purposes until after the lighter fractions have Aeen re- moved
 "rhere are two reasons for this: (1) Crude oil has no flash-that is, one cannot specify the definite point at which it will always Ignite; it is dan gcrous to handle or burn in its nat ural state owing to the lighter hydro cartoons evaporating as gas at ordl- nary temperatures This is why Lloyd's and other authorities insist that fuel .y grees Fahrenheit, which means that at tempera lures below 150 degrees Fahrenheit no gas will be given off and the fluid will not ignite (2) Fuel oil Of 150 Fahrenheit flash test has a greater value than crude oil in it's natural state. owing to the presence in the crude of the lighter hydrocarbons
 From the foregoing it must be evil dent that the war requirements d. mand that the refining of crude must be based upon the principle of oh- taining the necessary quantity of fuel oil. Fuel oil is, therefore, the start ing point. The fuel oil requirements must be first supplied and it naturally follows that under ordinary circum- stances. in running increased quanti- ties of gasoline will be produced. Ky means of the cracking process or the breaking up of the heavier hydrocdr- hons, into lighter hydrocarbons. fu.l oil can b" further refined to yield ad- ditional gasoline.
 READY MARKET
 Tt is, indeed, most fortunate for the petroleum industry in this country that there is a ready market for both prod ucts, for if the demand for one was out of proportion to the demand for the other such a condition would mate- rially reduce the total quantity of crude which would be refined. It is, -se1 is possible to ship more gasoline than is now being forwarded to Europe, the broadest possible market can be af- forded for gasoline which is avail able for use in this country. Unfortu- nately gasoline cannot be stored in large quantities for lack of storage facilities which cannot now be built. IL is, however. important, as the chair man of the petroleum committee somc- time ago emphasized that there be no wasteful use of gasoline. In war time it is unnecessary to point out the ad- vantages/ that accrue to any nation from husbanding alI~ her resources. Conservation of food, fuel and all oth- CT like products is essential to the suc- cessful prosecution of the war.
 Gasoline is the only dervative of petroleum which is not today utilized so as to reduce waste to the minimum The oil lamp ~-the light of the rural ana farming communiti iet.--iS a neces- sity. not luxury The manufacturer who burns fuel oil and uses lubricst- : Ing oil to run bis machinery. naturally strives 70 economize and use the mini mum quantity required to produce the desired results. But with gasoline the situation is different. Gasoline Is n product which, while essential to the waging of the war. has been used not merely as necns>s;ty. but in part it least as medium of convenience or pleasure This refers particularly to the consumption of gasoline in pleas ure cars. If there should be material decline in the production of crude or 1T the increased demand for fuel ne cause of the war should make it nec- essary to divert to fuel oil that pa If of The crude which today is being cracked into gasoline then and only then would it be necessary to curta il the deliveries of gasoline'
 Corn Good for Dryino
 The Farm and Preside saws in an article on drying Of foods:
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