Evening star., 1941-06-08

uldleIldlIAe. AS HldlI6T OI ldCL. DOlH
President Roosevelt and his petroleum
co-ordinator for national defense" Sec
retary of the Interior Ickes. have men,
toned the possibility of such measures,
and deliveries OF fuel oil in the Wash
ington area already have been curtailed
to some extent. The development of the
new method does mean, however, that
the Government is armed with a potent
weapon to meet any petroleum emer-
gency that may result from the war
that no critical shortage need continue
any loneer than it takes American in
dustry to put the bureaus process into
large-scale operation.
This "hydrogenation process" as it is
called, is the result of extensive expert
ments which the bureau has been con-
Quoting in its Pittsburgh laboratory.
Thus far, the bureaus technicians have
tested 13 different kinds of coal, rang
ing from bituminous down to Ignite
and representing all sections of the
country. And these experiments have
shown, the scientists report that the
hlgh-volatile bituminous can produce an
average Of two tons of oil for each three
tons of coal mined, while even the low
grade Ignite will yield about a ton of
oil for each three tons of coal.
Transportation Needs.
The present problem of maintaining
petroleum supplies is one OF transporta-
ton, not of production, since American
wells now produce about go per cent of
the worlds oil. 1t has been explained
officially that the threat of a shortage
along the Atlantic seaboard is due to the
transfer to British service of one-ffth of
the coastwise tankers that formerly
brought petroleum to the East from the
reservoirs of the South and Southwest.
There would be no serious transporta-
ton problem, however if hydrogenation
plants were established in the Nations
coal regions, which are scattered through
about 80 States, including several in
the East.
AS part Of the Interior Department,
the Bureau of Mines is under the gen.
eral supervision of Secretary Ickes.
Its tests were begun, however, before
the cabinet member was given the job
OF solving the gasoline and oil prob
lens arising from the defense program.
Their purpose. as explained by DR.. R.
R. Sayers, director of the bureau, was
to determine the ability of coal ito
yield gasoline and other oil products
in anticipation of the day when Amer
ica's petroleum reserves are exhausted or
IN serious danger of depletion No one
knows when this will occur" DR.. Savers
adds, but the bureaus work is a val
liable preparedness measure"
Continue Efforts.
And this preparedness measure" will
be continued, statement from the
bureau declares, until the Government
has obtained knowledge that will en-
able it to determine the yields and
quality of liquid products obtainable
from all important American Goals, so
that when the commercial need arises,
American industry will be in a position
10 SeleCI the most suitable Goals and
make rapid progress in establishing this
new industry. Although the United
States has large deposits of both Pc
troleum and coal at present" the state
ment goes on, there is little doubt that
our petroleum reserves are much smaller
than our coal reserves, and that, at some
future date, the 'hydrogenation of coal
will be essential to our progress
When production costs permit, coal hy-
drogenation probably will serve as an
auxiliary source of gasoline, diesel oil,
tar acids and solvents. 1t is not neces-
sary to envision the exhaustion of pc
troleum before coal hydrogenation can
become economically feasible"
AS to the economic aspects of the new
method, the bureau has this to say:
"While definitely establishing the
process as feasible and, in certain cir
cumstances, advisable, the Government
technicians have not made exact esti-