New Britain herald., 1927-11-26
WESLEYAN MAKING
 STUDY 0F FUELS
Chemical Laboratory DelYeS Into
 Motor Problems

MiddietoWn, Nov. 26 One Of the most interesting tea' ures of the Hall Laboratory Of Chemistry at Wes- leyan University is the equipment for the chemical and physical an alysis and testing of liquid fuels and lubriCatlng oils. Some of the inter esting pieces of apparatus, used ill rhis work are the latest type of single cylinder. variable compress ion gasoline engine for determining the anti-knock characteristics, pow CT production. and heating effects Of gasoline: electrically heated distil- lation apparatus; cOlorimeters: Va DOT pressure and corrosion testing devices: scoSimrters; flash point, refrigeration and carbon residue apparatus; and facilities for the complete chemical analysis Of oils and gasolines. The equipment as a whole is the equal of that in use in : the most modern oil refineries and ! research laboratories. The appar- atus will be used ill connection with researches being carried on in the synthensis and blending of new liquid fuels. Some work will be done in testing commercial gasoline for car owners and oil stations.
 From time to time various au- thorities have predicted the lmmi- nent exhaustion Of natural supplies 1 of gasoline, but the application of recent discoveries and improved methods Of utilizing known reserves motor car driver and manufacturer , from anxiety on this score. The production Of gasoline is more than keeping pace with the demand, al though gasoline engines now develop
 as much power as all other forms i Of power generation com hined. The
 chief problem confronting the mo- , toriSt is the best selection of fuel for his particular needs from the wide variety Of gaSolines available. The new type Of high compression engines Of improved power and fleXibility can not operate efficiently on all fuels. and older engine models run with improved smoothness on certain gaSolines.
 The simple test of gravity and color are no longer adequate guides 10 proper grades of fuel for differ teristics of antiknOck; absence of excessive amount of sulfur com . pounds; proper vapor pressures to provide easy starting but to avoid
 gas lock in fuel lines from the gaso-
 line tank to the carburetor; and crank case oil dilution are proper ties that must be known in order to properly evaluate a fuel. Practical ly all good gaSolines are now blends of several components, and the proper proportions of these con- ponents can be determined best by the use of such apparatus as has
 been installed in the Hall labora- tory.
 Some of the fallacies tha: scienti- iic testing is striving to overcome are-that all gasolines are equally good, therefore the cheapest is the best: that water white gasoline is the best; that high-test gasoline is the best for general use; that Ethyl gasoline is the only anti-knock fuel; i;
 that the same grade of gasoline will
 operate equally well in all cars at all seasons: that general claims of superiority made by refiners in one part of the country hold equally well in all parts; and, finally, that the price Of gasoline is too high, and political interference can cause it to become cheaper. In proportion to other commodities. gasoline is now low in price, less in this country than in any other, and few refiners or sales stations are making as much profit as is obtained in other industries.