The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-08-05
Frederic Haskin's Letter
The Gasoline Shortage.

torted. There would be ahou, !,
700 pounds of this ash for sv...
barrel Of oil which is secured !,
the procurement of enough ~, !.
last our automobiles one day th.,.
would result a mountain Of sshs.
to be disposed of.
In Germany during the war ~.
chief fuel used in driving mot.
cars, and airplanes was ben,M
Benzol is a by-product of the mi.
oven. and is a powerful propellsr,
Last year the benzol produced 4,
the United States was about 2 NJ,
cent al great as the gasoline. n
all the benzol from all our cots,
ovens were recovered it could mn
possibly be hoped that this fus
would go further than supplying ID
per cent of the demand for fuel n,
motor-driven vehicles.
In its recent session conrres,
gave evidence of being very much
exercised over the possibilities 81
developing alcohol as a substitute
for gasoline. This possibility Ia,
been favorite theory for decades
and much has been made of h
from time to time. Ample prooi
has been given that alcohol can h.
economically made from waste M.
tatoes, apples. and such materials
that are thrown away about can.
ueries and sugar factories. When
the possibilities of this sort OF
utilization of waste are measured
against the great increase in motor
fuel demand it becomes apparen,
THAT little impression would be
made were all such waste utilized
Making Fuel Of Waste.
1t is true, however, that alcohol
can be made from almost any sort
of vegetable matter. Sawdust and
other wood waste from sawmills
would produce much alcohol. 1t is
believed that it would be economi.
cally profitable to establish an al.
cohol factory as an adjunct to every
sawmill. 1t might be a better
proposition to establish an alcohol
factory in every sawmill commun.
| ity and to discharge the sawdus,
from each mill into cars that would
convey it to the factory.
| Another possibility of alcohol
manufacture that is being given
prominence at present is that of es.
tablishing factories in the tropics
where jungle growth is very luxur.
liant, and where huge quantities Of
waste material might be economi.
cally harvested and sent through
the alcohol mill.
! The correct theory has long beer
advanced that alcohol may BE-
made from the leaves of the aut.
umn woods, but here again the
problem resolves itself into one Of
economy. Can the leaves be gath
cred. brought to the mill and con
verted into alcohol at cost tha
will make it possible to put tina
alcohol on the market at figur'
that will compete successfully witt
gasoline produced in the presen
way!
! The Bureau of Mines is inclined
to discount the possibilities of al
cohol. 1t believes that in the OF
resting beneath the surface of tn
earth lies the motor fuel Of the fu
ture. The Bureau of Mines spe
cializes in delving into the cart
and bringing forth its treasure TO
mans utilization. Possibly it doe
not credit alcohol with its full pos
sibilities.
| At any rate, Americans shout
be encouraged to fare afield a
over the world TO develop oil Mex
leo, largely under American infln
ence, has proven to be veritabl
oil tank. Vast quantities of crud
are coming out of Mexico, and tn
amount may be increased with tn
return Of normal conditions in tina
country. Although Mexican o
does not yield up its gasoline read
lily, it is believed that a way wi
be found of applying the crackn
processes to its refinement.
There are still great possibllitie
of finding new oil fields, and tn
!; increasing demand makes an II
, centive for producing the produc
in new ways. This accounts for III
J spirit of hopefulness about the Blu
! reau of Mines which has not e1is
ed for years.