DRIVING A CAR ON WASTE WOOD [Although we have no

first-hand knowledge of the subject hero dealt with, we think it well to publish this article as a contribution to the general problem, of finding new uses for coal. It may be that it would be better to turn all our available coal into oil than to use it in the form of gas-producing briquettes for internal-combustion engines. Or there may be room for both uses. Or we might get the oil as a by-product of the coal first and then use the coke as our contributor suggests at the end of his article. The great thing is to study new ways of using coal. We cannot go on using it in the old way. And it would be absurd to go on being dependent on imported petrol if we could produce most, if not all, of the liquid and solid motor fuel that we needed. Neither national safety nor national efficiency is to be found in that dependence.—En. Spec- tator.] THE French automobile engineer, like Judge Jarri- quez, " is a very ingenious man," and just as in its early stages he led the world in the construction of the internal-combustion engine, so now the French are the pioneers in the use of the suction gas-producer to supply the explosive agent in replacement of gas from motor spirit. The prime motive underlying this development is the compelling necessity of checking the ever-increasing quantities of petroleum products which must be imported from foreign countries. As one of the advertisements of a well-known make of gas-producer reads : " Why pay 100 francs to the American Oil King, instead of 20 francs to French charcoal-burners ? " And that such an economy can be effected is borne out by official figures checked by responsible and disinterested people.

Recently a Ford ton van, fitted with a gas-producer weighing 353 lbs., underwent an official test under the auspices of the Automobile Club of France, and some interesting figures were published. The weight of the vehicle, ready for the road, and with a load of 900 bricks, in addition to its driver and two passengers, was 4,724 lbs.

= 2.1 tons.

Hrs. Minutes.

9 7 a.m.

The timetable was as follows :—

Fire lighted.

9 8 „ Engine started on petrol.

9 12 „ Van moved off.

9 15 „ Switched over to charcoal gas.

11 20 „ Five minutes' halt to recharge with charcoal.

12 25 p.m. Stopped for luncheon.

2 11 „ Left for return journey on petrol.

2 15 „ Switched over to charcoal gas.

3 45 „ Five minutes' halt to recharge.

5 15 „ Arrived Paris.

The total distance covered was 100 miles. The actual running time was 6 hours 7 minutes, or an average of 161 miles per hour ; highest speed, 21 miles per hour ; consumption of petrol 3 pints ; consumption of charcoal, 871 lbs.

It will be noticed that ordinary wood charcoal was used in this test, but, as all users of this fuel for the production of water-gas are aware, charcoal has three very serious drawbacks. :-- (1) It is hydrophile ; i.e., it takes up moisture very readily, and should not be exposed to rain.

(2) It crumbles easily, making dust which renders the gas difficult to keep clean.

(3) It is very bulky for its weight.

It is stated that all these disadvantages have been eliminated, and an ideal producer fuel obtained, by the introduction of a briquette, in spherical form, made from charcoal dust. This fuel, called " Carbonite," is now being produced near Bayonne, in the south-west of France, close to the immense pine forest which covers the neigh- bouring department of the Landes. Some remarkable results have been obtained by its use in gas producers fitted to heavy lorries. Last year an open competition was held in France under the auspices of the Automobile. Clubs of France and Belgium, and among the competitors was a Panhard Levassor lorry, fitted with a gas-producer, and using Carbonite only. The lorry of 20 horse-power weighed, with its load, over 8 tons, and developed an average -of speed; over the whole course of 1,380 miles, of 18 miles an hour : the average consumption of fuel was about 1.3 lbs. per mile. The vehicle completed the entire distance without a mechanical stop, although the roads were in bad condition in parts, having been cut up during the War. At the end of the journey it was found that no clinkering had taken place.

Tractors are also being driven with charcoal gas in France. A timber merchant in Boulogne makes his own charcoal fuel from the wood waste of his saw mill, and with producer gas derived from this valueless material, his tractor may be seen daily hauling a 20-ton load through the streets of the town.

In Great Britain the problem of a cheap motor fuel wears a slightly different aspect, for, although there is an abundance of waste wood which could be carbonized, no extensive forests are available for constant supplies of timber, as is the case in France, and, to a much greater extent, in the British Dominions. On the other hand, England has an immense resource in her coal-fields, and a very pressing problem still lacking a solution is how to find a sustained demand for the product of the bituminous coal-mines. Fortunately, it has been recently shown that by blending, in certain proportions, coking and non- coking coals, and carbonizing briquettes made of the mixture at a suitable temperature, an ideal producer fuel is obtained, very similar in texture to charcoal fuel, but with a considerably higher calorific value. Peat and lignite coke can also be utilized very effectively.

It seems as though this cheap and safe fuel for internal- combustion engines would gradually replace petrol, except for luxury motor-cars and aeroplanes, thus con- ferring an inestimable boon upon those countries where wood is abundant and liquid fuel has to be imported.

- NED NATS.