The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1920-04-23
CHEMISTS MAKE
GAS OF REFUSE
Department Of Agriculture
Develops Cheap Fuel
For Motors

Washington, April 17.-Henry
Fords proposal to run trolley car.
around the streets of large cities with
fuel made from straw soon may be
eclipsed by an achievement of the
Bureau of Chemistry of the Depart.
ment of Agriculture, provided Con.
gress helps out
On vacant lot near Arlington Ma
tional Cemetery experts of the de-
partment are busily engaged trying
to stretch out meager appropria-
ton to cover the building of small
plant, the principal features of which
are to be a large retort, a cleanser
and a large gas container. Into this
plant, when completed, provided the
appropriation holds out, experts will
dump straw, cotton stalks, corn stalks
and even dried leaves. Then will en-
sue a process known to the initiated
as destructive distillation," and
gradually the reservoir, or container
will be filled with a gas, resembling
water gas
With this gas it would be possible
to run motor-driven trolley cars, au-
tomobiles and stationary engines.
Given such equipment the farmer
could run his farm machinery, fill
his water tanks and light his house
and barn. According to H. E. Roethe,
of the Bureau of Chemistry, there is
no doubt that gas of these qualities
can be made from the materials
named.
Economy is Question.
The question to be solved is wheth-
er the gas can be made for these pur-
poses economically enough to make it
practicable, and whether the neces-
sary container for the gas can be
made compact enough to be carried
around on automobiles and trolley
cars and thus extend it's use to ordi-
nary transportation needs.
$50 far as making the gas is con-
cerned," said Mr.. Roethe this after
noon 1.-THE problem already has been
solved at the University of Saskatch-
evan, Canada, where l worked for
some time. There we made gas from
straw, and rugged up large bag as
a container, with a capacity for about
1000 cubic feet of the gas. This bag
we attached to the roof of an auto
mobile and ran the gas directly into
the carburetor, which was of the or
binary type used on automobiles. The
engine of the automobile was of the
standard type.
with this fuel we ran the auto
mobile around the neighboring coun-
try without the slightest difficulty
1t works on the same combustion
principle as gasoline, though in ad-
justing the carburetor it is necessary
to shut off all the air. This is due
to the fact that the gas as manu-
featured contains all the oxygen it |
needs for combustion, and the admis-
sion of any air would simply weaken
produced.
Whether the proposition is feast
BILE from a commercial standpoint.
however, is a feature of the problem
that We have just begun to attack
rhe outlook is promising. OF course.
# we solve this end of it, uses for the
gas are practically limitless. Once
4 plant for its manufacture is set up
and the plant itself is a simple one
all that remains is gathering of the
straw, corn-stalks, leaves or other
litter of the sort"
1t was pointed out at the Bureau
hat the difference between the De-
proposition and the Ford
dea is that the latter, instead of pro-
lucing gas from straw, undertakes to
make fuel alcohol, a problem to
which the Bureau of Standards adj
dressed itself with considerable sue
,ess several years ago, under the en-
of former Secretary of
Commerce William c. Redfield.
"Our main difficulty at present"
aid Mr.. ROethe," is as to whether the
small appropriation which Congress
vas willing to grant us, will be suf-
icient to enable us to complete our