The Romance of Modern Chemistry

NATURES STORES OF FUEL mands. In recent years, however, great advances have been made in the utilisation of peat. Methods have been devised of squeezing out the water by mechanical means, and compressing the combustible fibres into briquettes; these are not only more compact than the air-dried peat, but have also a higher heating power. It is conceivable that in the distant future of the world’s history there may come a time when, apart from timber, the natural stores of fuel—coal, peat, petroleum, and natural gas—are completely or almost exhausted. What then ? Necessity is the mother of invention, and we may be sure that before things shall have come to such a pass, the ingenuity of man will discover a way out of the difficulty. As a matter of fact, there are already indica- tions that alcohol is to be the fuel of the future. In the form of methylated spirit it is used to a very small extent at the present day, but it looks as if it were to survive as a fuel when all others have gone. When every oil- well is dry, when a piece of coal can be seen only in a museum, and when the peat bogs are no more, then alcohol, if no better substance has been discovered in the meantime, will come to its own as a fuel. “ All very nice,” the reader may say, “ but how is the alcohol to be produced in the large quantities which will be necessary ? ” By the simple and time-honoured opera- tions of growing potatoes, wheat, rice, beetroot, and similar substances. From these alcohol may be obtained by fermentation, as will be shown in a future chapter. To those who doubt whether alcohol could be used as fuel, say in driving an engine, the best reply is that the thing has been done. Experiments have shown that alcohol can be employed with satisfactory results in place 140