LIQUID FUEL. 
for it can be distilled from any material containing sugar or starch. 
Aleohol can, therefore, always be made in the locality of the demand 
if crops are grown for the purpose, and consequently farmers could 
co-operate in the distillation of the raw material, and produce a cheap 
liquid fuel having many distinct advantages over petrol. While the 
price of petrol, in view of the ravenous demand for it, is almost certain 
to continue to increase, the cost of production of power-alcohol will 
show no such tendency. The principal objection to the use of the 
latter—the difficulty that may be experienced in starting the engine 
from cold—has already been removed, as the result of experiments 
carried out by the Institute. ; 
Another source of liquid fuel is coal. Great Britain, the United 
States of America, and Canada are now spending large sums of money 
upon the chemical investigation of their coal resources with a view 
to the more economic treatment of their rapidly diminishing supplies. 
It has been stated that Great Britain alone loses by-products from her 
coal to the value of £200,000,000 per annum, and that if the existing 
indiscriminate and wasteful methods were replaced by the most economic 
means of consumption, not only would she be able to manufacture 
sufficient benzol for her own use, but would also obtain large quantities 
of sulphate of ammonia and other chemicals, which form the basis of 
explosives, dyes, &c. This estimate is probably a scientific more than 
a practical one, but it indicates the tremendous waste that takes place 
owing to a complete disregard of economic principles. A great deal 
of successful experimentation has been done recently in Great Britain 
and the United States of America upon the recovery of the volatile 
by-products and the utilization of the carbonized products, which as 
fuel is, in many respects, far superior to coal. Some time ago the 
Institute of Science and Industry appointed a strong and influential 
committee to inquire into Australian conditions, but unfortunately little 
has been done, as no funds were available for the committee to carry 
on its work. ; 
If practically the whole of the New South Wales output of coal 
were carbonized in by-product coke ovens or retorts and the benzol 
were saved, we would expect to get at least 17,000,000 gallons of benzol 
from the 8,500,000 tons of coal. In addition, other valuable by-products 
in the form of sulphate of ammonia and tar would be recovered. ‘The 
value of the by-products now wasted per ton of coal is estimated at 
17s. 4d., which is considerably more than the value of the coal itself at 
the pit’s mouth. Sir Ross Smith has recently directed attention to the 
importance of Australia making herself independent of outside sources 
of supply of liquid fuel. From the defence point of view in connexion 
with aviation and motor transport, as well as from the stand-point of 
general industrial development, the importance of the matter can 
scarcely be over-estimatéd. oy 
E. N. R. 
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