Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-02-01
MOTOR FUEL.

Everybody either has an automobile o.. would
IKE to have one. Owning a car is one thing, keeping
lt running IS another. Barring reckless use and ac-
cldent, the chief item Of expense in the onerat;on
OF a car is the cost Of fuel. In this country we have
seen the price of gasoline advance from something
Ike 10 cents a gallon to the war price of 35 cents
Many OF US can remember the time when gasoline
could not be sold at any price, and when the great
refiner1es along the eastern seaboard, after distill-
ing from the kerosene enough of it's gasoline con-
tent to make the heavier oil reasonably safe to han
ole, loaded the excess gasoline on barges to be tow
ed out to sea and dumped. Today the demand for
gasoline is so great that not only is every drop of
1T used that can be obtained by former methods, but
new sources OF supply are constantly being sought,
and new processes and Cracking" the heavier oils
and obtaining still more gasoline from them arc be-
ing constantly brought into use. Yet the supply
does not keep pace with the demand, and unless new
strikes are made in territory now unknown the nrac-
tlcal exhaustion OF our supply is a matter of but a
few years. There are some who predict a. price of
SO cents for gasoline in the United States before the
end of the present year. Tx. =.
line production. or to the production of some other
tuel which may be used for similar purposes, is of
interest. In this connection the attention of chem
lists turns first to alcohol as a substitute. All who
are fam'l1ar with gas engines know that they can
be operated by means of alcohol. To secure desir-
able results different adjustments are necessary,
put these adjustments can be and arc made. In
france, where fuel costs arc much higher than here,
unnilScd alcohol has been used to some extent with
considerable success, and blended with gasoline it's
use is very common.
While alcohol can be produced from almost any
vegetable substance, and while nature itself is con-
stantly producing vast quantities of it in it's sponta-
'neous processes, its production in large quantities
and at a price which will make it commerciallv feas-
iblc is a problem which cannot be solved offhand.
Some Of the investigators believe that corn will
prove to be the main source of supply. In the south
ern sugar fields alcohol can be produced cheaply
from the refuse from the cane mills. Large quaint
ties of alcohol III one form or another have been
produced from potatoes, and there seems to be a
promising field for investigation in connection with
the northern potato industry.
Aside from its value for direct table use the po-
tato is valuable as a source of starch and as a source
of alcohol. In the potato industry it is necessary to
GULL the crop severely in order to meet market con
ditions and maintain the reputation of a locality. for
"a fine product. This leaves on the hands of the
grower a large quantity of potatoes of small size or
irregular shape which might be used advantage
!ously in the production Of either starch or alcohol.
It would mean a great deal to the grower ii. after
marketing his first grade potatoes in the usual way.
he could turn the rejected ones into a valuable by
product.