Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-11-04
MAKE CAS- FROM
WASTE MATERIAL
Government Engineers Endeavor
to Perfect Method of Uti-
Iizing Straw.
may HAVE ECONOMIC Value
An Automobile Has Been Operated
With New combustibIe and It Has
Been Used for Illuminating Pur.
poses and for Cooking.

Westinghouse gas which is OBJ
tanned by the destructive dlstillation
of wheat, oat and rye straws Is now
being produced upon small scale at
the experimental farm of the United
States department Of agriculture at
Arlington, Va. Although an automo-
bile has been operated with the new
combustible, and 1t has been used for
Illuminating purposes as well as for
cooking, the possibilities Of straw gas
are not yet fully determined the de-
partment says. In order to determine
the exact commercial value Of the gas
David j. Price engineer in charge OF
the new Office of development work.
subdivision Of the bureau Of chem
istry designed to help commercial and
Industrial concerns to use new proc
esses and discoveries developed in the
bureau, has placed H. z. ROethe, Jr.,
in charge of a series of production
tests with the experimental apparatus
at Arlington,
May Have Economic Value.
The work can be carried on but
slowly owing to the limited funds
available at present, hut 1t Is planned
to do much that will determine the
quantity and nature of the gas that
may be obtained from wheat, Oat, bar
ley, rye and rice straws, and from
cornstalks, corncobs and other vege-
table matter usually burned as waste.
If the results of these tests warrant
further investigation the experiments
will be extended to the problem Of
plant equipment for producing the gas
on scale sufficient to allow the
farmer to supply light and heat for his
house, power for stationary engines
and possibly for his tractor, from a
small individual outfit. If suitable
unit can be constructed so that the
farmers initial cost will be small, 1t
seems likely that the straw gas may
have q certain economic value In the
sections Of the country where the raw
material from which the gas Is made
Is now considered as waste and burned
or left to rot on the fields. In some
sections Of the country the straw is
used as fertilizer. but In the West
and Northwest there is an unlimited
supply of the material available for
conversion into light and fuel for the
farmer.
While it has been possible to operate
an automobile with straw gas and 1t
is known that so pounds Of straw will
produce about 300 cubic feet Of gas
an amount sufficient to drive light
roadster Is miles-the problem Of re-
ducing the gas to liquid form or con-
densing it sufficiently to allow 1t to
be carried conveniently is an essential
one that must be solved before straw
gas can be considered as possible
motor fuel. This will be another Of
the tasks taken up by the engineers
In the development division.
Is Not New Thing.
Straw gas Is not new thing. The
present process was developed by
George Harrison, Canadian engineer
at Moosejaw, In 1914, who later CO.
operated on the project with Profess
sor MacLaurin of the University OF
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. The
university, in conjunction with the
United States department Of agricul-
ture, exhibited a straw gas equipment
at the exposition of chemical indus
tries in New York city during the fall
Of 1918. This equipment was later
purchased and improved by the de-
partment The Canadian Investigators
succeeded in operating an automobile
with the product. However, the fuel
supply was carried in large flexible
bag on the top Of the cara method
Of doubtful practicability.
Several valuable by-products are OBJ
tanned in the manufacture of the gas.
Carbon residue suitable for manufac-
turing lampblack Of exceptionally fine
quality Is one. This residue also con-
tains certain amounts Of potash, phos-
plate and heterogeneous compounds
which give 1t fertilizing value
The tar and ammoniacal liquids re-
sulting from the process, aside from
their value as dsinfectants and pre-
servatives, may prove useful In the
dye industry. If the engineers sue
coed in perfecting the present appara-
tus and in reducing the cost Of pro-
duction, there Is no doubt that straw
gas will have an important CONNER
clal future.