The Washington times., 1920-04-09
LAWN RAK|NGS FOR
AUTOFUEL ISPLAN
Govt. Experts to Get Motive
Power From Leaves and Grass.
Building Plant.

Owners Of automobiles who also
| possess a lawn, or even fs~ shhne
| trees. may operate their caEs virtually
without cost for fuel. N a stheme now
engaging the attention of the Bureau
/ OF Chemistry OF the Department OF
| Agriculture works out successfully
The Government experts plan 10
outdo Henry Ford. who proposes 10
operate Detroit trolley cars with
| fuel made from straw. They already
have produced a fuel gas from straw
cotton stalks, corn stalks. and even
dried leaves and grass. Only the
| nroblems OF a feasible container Tor
| ms use by automobiles and OF market
my Ii remain to be solved.
But Il Is not believed TO be far
fetched fancy that sees the automo-
bile owner OF the near future eager
TO ply the-fawn mower and rake the
leaves OF his own or his neishbor
premises while he chuckles at the
thought of the costless spins In his
fiyver. .. .. ....-
The main difficulty now. as usual
with all Inventions in the embryo, Is
to obtain funds for completing the
experiments. The small approprta-
ton made by Congress is inadequate,
according to II. f. Roethe. OF the Bu-
reau of Chemistry. and he Is snxiousiy
waiting to see II Congress VIII grant
the extra money needed.
Need money To F'inisA Plant
The money is needed to complete a
small plant now being built on lot
near Arlington National Cemetery.
| The principal feature or this plant Is
a large retort. into which. VIII 80 the
straw, stalks. leaves ana grass, ana
from which their fumes will emerge
| through a cleanser into huge con-
tainer for the fuid which. II is be-
| Iieved, will revolutiontze automotlve
traffc. The process Is known as de
structfve distillation." and the prod
uct resembles water gas
with this gas, according to Roothe,
Il would be possible to run motor
driven trolley cars. automobiles ana
stationary engines. Given such equip-
ment, the farmer could run his farm
machinery. NIL his water tanks, ana
| light his house and barn.
$50 far as making the gas Is con-
cerned," says Mr.. Roethe, "the prob
| lem has already been solved In the
| University of Saskatchewan. In Can
ada, where worked for some time.
Theme we made the gas from straw
and rugged UP large bag as con-
| tainer, with a capacity for about 1000
cubic feet of the gas. This bag We
attached to the roof OF an automooile'
and ran the gas directly into the car
buretor, which was one OF the ordi-
nary type used on. automobiles.
Car Ran without Treuble.
"The engine of the automobile also
was of the standard type. With this
! fuel we ran the automobile around the
| neighboring country without the
| slightest difficulty. 1t works on the
nrinrinla q RaqO-
| line, though in adjusting the car
| buretor 1t is necessary to shut on all
| air. This is due to the fact that the
gas as manufactured contains all the
oxygen 1t needs. for combustion. ana
the admission OF any air would sim
ply weaken the horsepower produced.
''whether the proposition is feasible
from a commercial standpoint how
ever, is a feature Of the problem that
we have just begun to attack. al
though the outlook Is promising.
And. of course, II we solve this end of
II. the uses for the gas are practically
| limitless. Once a plant for its manu-
| facture is set up--and the plant Itself
| Is a simple one-all that remains is
| the gathering of the straw. corn
stalks, leaves or other litter OF the
sort"
How Ford Plan Differs.
1t was pointed out at the bureau
that the difference between the de-
partment's proposition and the Ford
idea is that the latter. instead Of pro-
ducing gas from straw. undertakes to
make fuel alcohol, a problem to which
the Bureau of Standards addressed it.
self with considerable success several
years ago, under encouragement OF
| former Secretary of Commerce Will
liam c. Redfeld.