Evening star., 1933-03-30
ALCOHOL GASOLINE
WONT HELP FARMS,
. CHEMIST DECLARES
Proposals to Put Grain
! Product in Auto Fuel
Held Unsound.
EXCESSIVE PRODUCTION
OF PETROLEUM CITED
Farmers Bill Would Be Increased,
DR.. Egloff Tells Scientific
Society.

farmer, DR.. Gustav Egloff, research oil
chemist of Chicago. declared before the
American Chemical Society today.
1T seems almost incredible that t-such
poor economics can be the solution OF
the farmers problem he said.
The Government and State proposals,
according to DR. Egloff, would make
mandatory a provision that all gasolines
contain at least 10 per cent by volume
of alcohol. If all the gasoline used in
the United States were alcoholized, he
pointed out, it would mean that ap-
proximately 1,800O 100000 gallons of al
cohol would have to be produced.
This enormous quantity" he de-
clared, would add to the motorists
gasoline bill approximately $50 100000 a
year. based on the farmer receiving 25
cents a buShel for corn. Should he re-
ceive so cents, the cost Of gasoline would
be about 35 cents a gallon, which would
increase the yearly cost to the motoriSt
to about Sl10,000O00.
Could Produce More.
"All production already is far in ex-
tess of economic demand. If the situ-
alton warranted the cracking process
would produce, through chemical re-
actions. more alcohol than the COM
bined output Of all the farms of the
United States and could produce over
night twice the amount of gasoline,
having more power output and more
miles per hour than alcohol gasoline
blends.
Take the State of Iowa, for example
The gasoline consumption for 1882 was
approximately 35OO0O,00O gallons, of
which it is estimated that about one
half was consumed by the farming
population To produce enough alcohol
for a 10 per cent alcohol-gasoline blend
would require 100000 bushels of corn,
for which. at IS cents a bushel, the
farmers would have netted about ST.
100000. The increased motor fuel bill for
the State would be about $4,000 900. of
which the farmers would pay S4,500,000.
Thus the farmers would lose about 81
100000 unless the increased price of
the balance Of the corn products would
overbalance this loss But, since the
amount of corn consumed for the pur-
pose Of producing alcohol in Iowa would
only represent per cent of the present
production of the State, it would appear
obvious that alcohol manufacture
would not materially increase the price
OF corn products.
Blending Agents Needed.
'There are number of difficulties
gasoline. based on the strong tendency
OF the alcohol to separate out. so that
it drops to the bottom of the tank
with the gasoline floating on top. A 10
per cent alcohol blend begins to sepa-
rate when the temperature reaches
about 80 degrees. To stabilize such a
mixture. blending agents must be USED,
such as benZol, acetone, ether or butyl
alcohol. These are SO expensive they
would add approximately cents gal
Ion to the cost Of gasoline, aside from
the increased cost due to the addition
OF the alcohol itself.
For low alcohol mixtures, there is
b decrease in miles per gallon of about
per cent. The average gasoline pro-
duced today is too good for the average
motor car. which operates. at too low
combustion pressure to utilize it to
the best advantage. The efficiency OF
gasoline is function of how high a
pressure the cylinders of the motor
operate under. Only the latest designs
of cars can obtain the more miles per
gallon that are present in gasoline.
Gasoline produced by the ref1ners in
the future will operate at higher and
higher speeds in motors, doubling the
speed of present cars. airplanes and
speed boats Alcohol blends cannot do
this because alcohol is chemical in
dividual that cannot be changed tn its
properties, whereas the quality of gaso-
line can be controlled by the cracking
process to operate satisfactorily in any
design of motor that may be produced
next year or 20 years hence
Harmful Acids Removed.
Traces of harmful acid in motor oils,
impossible to detect readily until now,
6icNI hy oil ioot oct
reported today by Prof. Victor K.
Lamer of Columbia University. Elimin-
alton of these acid traces, he said, will
tend to lower repair bills on engines of
all types and widen the laboratory
search for more efficient methods of re-
f1ning petroleum. Prof. Lamer already
has classified data on 16 acid base
systems
Digestive action reaches its height
after dinner and is at it's lowest ebb
before breakfast, according to a study
presented before the society by DR..
Florence Walker of the New Jersey
College for Women. Experiments were
carried on the compare under rigid!y
controlled conditions, the starch diges-
tive power of saliva secreted by diff
ferent individuals at different times of
the day. The results showed great
variation in the starch digestive powers
OF different persons on the same mixed
diet at the same time of day.
Saliva secreted a half hour after
meals" DR.. Walker said, "is decidedly
more active than that collected i'm
mediately before. This variation is
greatest in the case Of breakfast. The
average increase in activity after break
fast was found to be 78 per cent and
In some cases it was more than doubled
There is a slight decrease during the
forenoon. Saliva collected after lunch
had an increased potency of 81 per cent
over that collected before lunch. There
is a slight decline during the afternoon,
followed by an II per cent increase
after dinner. There is an enormous
decrease in activity during the night"
Man-Made Stone Produced.
Man-made stone, put together from
waste products of limestone quarries
and ordinary shale beds, is an improve
ment on nature and constitute build
reported by DR.. r. Norris Shreve OF
Purdue University. Synthetic stone,
he said, now is being made from finely
ground shale and pulverized limestone,
but the conversion process employed
can be adapted to marble, granite or
slate deposits.
The pulveriZed material is compressed
under a pressure Of $500 pounds to
the square inch and subjected to vari-
Gus chemical processes. requiring about
half a day Addition of small amounts
Of coloring mineral, Prof Shreve said
colors the entire mass and wide range
cf beautiful colors may be obtained
Ali the colored synthetic stones have