SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
As regards mixtures of alcohol and benzol, it may be pointed out 
that the situation in England is very different from that in Australia. _ 
England is, of course, a highly industrialized country with a large 
population, and there are many gas-works from which benzol can be 
obtained as a by-product. In Australia, however, there can be for 
many years no prospect of producing benzol in quantities sufficiently 
large to enable it to be used extensively as a liquid fuel. 
POWER-ALCOHOL: DENATURANTS AND DENATURING. 
Alcohol used for power or industrial purposes must be denatured or 
methylated in order to render it unfit for use as a beverage or for 
medicinal or culinary purposes. In Australia, industrial spirits must be 
mixed with 2 per cent. of wood naphtha, 3 per cent. of pyridine liquid, 
and 4 per cent. of coal tar naphtha or shale naphtha. ‘The cost ofthe 
denaturants and of mixing, which amounts to nearly 3d. for each gallon 
of spirit, has, of course, to be added to the cost of the spirit. ‘These 
charges add from 10 to 15 per cent. to the price at which the spirit can 
be sold, and an addition of this nature may make all the difference in the 
practicability of producing power-alcohol on a profitable basis. 
The British Departmental Committee on Alcohol Motor Fuels points 
out that the use of alcohol as a fuel for power purposes in the United 
Kingdom has not been commercially practicable hitherto by reason 
of its high price compared with that of petrol. Since the denaturing 
process now in use increases the cost, the increase should be restricted 
as much as possible by reducing the proportion of the principal dena- 
turant, or wood naphtha. The Committee has recommended that in 
all cases of approved use for power or production purposes, where the 
user gives bond, the proportion of wood naphtha in the power-alcohol 
should be substantially diminished, the difference being made up wholly 
or partially by petrol, benzol, or other nauseous substance, supplemented 
by a small quantity of methyl-violet as colouring. The Committee 
emphasizes the point that a further deterrent can be provided by the 
imposition of much heavier penalties than those now sanctioned by law 
for evasion of the spirits duty in any case of illicit purification of power- 
alcohol to render it potable. 
The lowest attainable cost for denaturing power-alcohol should be 
officially recognised as an important consideration, in view of the neces- 
sity of securing a non-potable spirit and protecting the revenue against 
fraudulent practices. 
The British Committee has recommended that every effort should 
be made by research and practi¢al trial to provide a denaturant or 
alternative denaturants, e.g., formaldehyde, pyridine, and tobacco oil, 
the employment of which will be effective in the smallest possible quan- 
fities and at the lowest possible cost. The Committee considers it 
essential, moreover, that all restrictions concerning the manufacture, 
storage, transport and distribution of power-alcohol should be removed 
as far as possible consistent with safeguarding the revenue and prevent- 
ing improper use. aes SE aera ett ore F ' 
396" 
