Abstract
ALTHOUGH opinions differ concerning the extent of the world's petroleum reserves, it is generally agreed that if the consumption of petrol continues to increase at its present rate, available supplies will soon become inadequate. Thirty years ago, it is said, there were but four motor cars in the United States; to-day there are nearly twenty million, and the consumption of petrol in that country has risen to about 900 million gallons a month. The demand for aviation shows every sign of expanding, and when we consider that petroleum is very unequally distributed in the earth's crust, and that economic independence is still a watchword in international politics, we can readily understand the vigorous efforts that are being made to produce liquid fuels by artificial means.
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Power Alcohol and other Petrol Substitutes. Nature 118, 416–418 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/118416a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/118416a0