Abstract
IN Italy, automobiles have recently been operated on a gas fuel made in transit from charcoal and steam. It is recalled in a recent paragraph issued by Science Service, of Washington, D.C., that similar experiments were made in France and other European countries several years ago. The principle involved is the same as that used in the manufacture of some kinds of gas employed in operating stationary internal combustion engines. A carbon-containing material, usually coal, is heated, and then water in the form of steam is passed over it. Carbon monoxide and hydrogen are formed in this process and both these gases burn with high heat output. Mixtures of this sort are known as ‘water’ gas or ‘producer’ gas. This gas can be used as fuel in internal combustion engines. The drawback to using these gas engines in motor vehicles is the difficulty of carrying the fuel supply. In permanent locations they can be used very effectively for power generation. To a limited extent, vehicles that run on wood or charcoal and manufacture their own gaseous fuel as they go along are used commercially in France. Science Service points out that this type of self-propelled vehicle may become important in countries like France and Italy which have no petroleum supplies within their borders. In the United States, on the other hand, owing to the cheapness and availability of petroleum, there would be no need for this kind of vehicle. In those countries where imported oil supplies are likely to be interrupted in war time, automobiles using charcoal fuel would have advantages.
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Automobiles Run by Charcoal Fuel. Nature 133, 790 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/133790c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/133790c0