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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 1973)
Page 4 College Station, Texas Wednesday, May 9, 1973 THE BATTALlOf I Possible Gasoline Substitute Found In Methyl Alcohol AUSl )uth T A motorist pulls , into his local service station and tells the at tendant to “fill 'er up.” The atten dant takes the hose from the pump and proceeds to fill the tank with methyl alcohol. Alcohol, you say? Alcohol ob tained from low-grade bitumin ous coal, produced at a cost of roughly 11 cents per gallon. It’s all possible, according to two Aggie chemical engineers. Dr. W. D. Harris and Dr. Rich ard R. Davison found the idea of using methyl alcohol as an auto mobile fuel intriguing. They con ducted a non-funded study of the possibilities and came up with some surprising conclusions. The researchers feel that con version of coal to methanol will be economically feasible, since the raw material at the starting point Prairie View, TAMU To Use Both Libraries A new and important develop ment is currently underway which will enable students and faculty members from Prairie View A. and M. College and Texas A&M University to share library facilities and materials from the Texas A&M University Library and from the W. R. Banks Li brary at Prairie View A. and M. College. Mr. Frank Francis, Jr., Libra rian, W. R. Banks Library, and Mr. John Smith, Director of Li braries at Texas A&M University, are currently working on a plan of developing library cards for use throughout the Texas A&M University System. Both libra rians have hailed this new devel opment as a step forward in maxi mizing the strengths of both uni versities. Faculty members and students who are interested in securing library cards or in learning more about the new inter-university li brary program should contact Mr. Frank Francis, W. R. Banks Li brary at Prairie View A. and M. College. They’re Here!! ALL THE , ^ ^ UNIQUE Mother’s Day GIFTS AT Happy Cottage 809 E. 29th — Bryan COLLEGE GIRL there is a Shop for you! THE CLOTHES HORSE 3801 E. 29th Just off University Dr. NEEDED USED BOOKS at UNIVERSITY BOOK STORE “At the North Gate” PAWN LOANS Money Loaned On Anything Of Value. Quick Cash For Any Emergency. See Us For Ready Cash Today. Texas State Credit Pawn Shop 1014 Texas Ave., Bryan Weingarten Center ALLEN Oldsmobile Cadillac SALES - SERVICE “Where satisfaction is standard equipment” 2401 Texas Ave. 823-8002 is considerably cheaper than with natural gas or oil. “Methanol,” Dr. Harris said, “has a high octane rating, higher than premium gasoline. It does not pollute anywhere near as much as petroleum products, and it will produce a marked increase in power in automobiles.” Dr. Harris pointed out that mo tor tests showed methanol pro duced as much as 90 per cent less carbon monoxide and hydrocar bons than did gasoline. He added that acceptable emission stan dards might be met with alcohol without any emission control equipment. “Compression ratios could be raised again,” he said, “delivering much more ‘punch’ to automobile engines. Methanol can also be mixed with water in certain amounts without lowering its ef ficiency or performance as a mo tor fuel.” As with any “good news” re search, there are some draw backs. One is the possibility of starting difficulty in cold weath er. The researchers feel that this can be overcome with manifold heating devices or perhaps addi tives in the fuel itself. A modification in the carbure tor would be required for existing automobiles in the form of changes in port size, but this again would not present an ex pensive problem. Mileage is, however, lower per gallon with methanol, but not nec essarily lower per dollar, the re searchers contend. Conversion facilities, they said, could be located near large coal beds. In this coal-rich country, an almost unlimited supply of coal, presently known to be in excess of 200 billion tons of coal and lig nite, would supply automobiles for many decades. The researchers believe that about 200 gallons of methanol can be produced from one ton of coal with proper technology. At $2 per ton, the cost-per-gallon for raw materials is far less than of gasoline. Economies of scale in large production efforts could possibly bring the “gate” price of the fuel down to about 8.5 cents per gallon. Many of the numbers given in their study are educated guesses, the researchers admit. They f«|, however, the economics of meli kicl to the anol vs. gasoline are too close ani sek th the issue too serious to be taka lightly. “The possibility of saving bik lions on pollution controls ani billions yearly in imports whik selling the consumer a good prod uct at low cost with a fair profit may seem too good to be true,’ Dr. Davison said. “But it is also too good to be ignored.” 'i SHOP SKAGGS ALBERTSONS FOR A WIDE SELECTION OF MOTHERS DAY CARDS DANA SOLID COLOGNES^ $ r ^ “TABU' f ' t LADY SCHICK TIME MACHINE $ <i\\ 'AMBUSH' CUTS DRYING TIME BY 34 PERCENT SUPER STRONG 1400 WATT SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE COMFORT VENT KEEPS FACE COOLER )► LARGEST BONNET FOR LARGEST ROLLERS FOLDS COMPACTLY FOR STORAGE OR TRAVEL SHOP SKAGGS ALBERTSONS FOR THE FRAGRANCE BOTIQUE FOUR WORLD FAMOUS FRAGRANCES INTIMATE" 'ULTIMA" 'MOON DROPS''^ REPLIQUE' j|g| || COLEMAN 2-BURNER STOVE s J To Mofhei with Love.! “MOTHERS DAY” BOXED CHOCOLATES' PANGBURNS-KINGS WHITMAN'S FRESH SHIPMENTS JUST arrived COOKS UKE 4 kitchen Range COLEMAN $ CAMP OVEN (n1 YOU CAN BANE 11 II B1SCUITS-T0ASTS CAKE-ROASTS HAMS-P\ES KODAK POCKET INSTAMATIC 20 CAMERA OUTFIT 1111 ■KcMim > v TIMEX ELECTRIC LADIES WATCHES ATTRACTIVE DESIGNS INSULATED THERMOS SERVER AND MUG SET 01(0 WILLIAM WEBSTER CHAR-BROIL LADY THOMPSON GOLF SET 1-3 WOODS 3-7 9 IRONS PUTTER *5 Vi..« 7 P . SET POLISHED ALUMINUM CONTINENTAL BY WEST BEND 1 QT. C0V. SAUCEPAN 2 QT. C0V. SAUCEPAN 5 QT. DUTCH 0VEM 10” SKILLET LLLLLLI 11 REMINGTON SUPER 600 HAND HELD DRYER * WITH STYLIHG 'ATTACHMENT KETTLE GRILL lllllllllllllllllllllllHllllllininiiyyimninnnnnn.n STURDY ALUMINUM CONSTRUCTION MELAMINE 45-PC. SET DINNERWARE m ,‘ v '’ UPPER AND LOWER DRAFT VENTS. 8 - DECORATED DINNER PLATES 8-CUPS 8 - SAUCERS 8-CEREAL DESSERT BOWLS 1 - VEG. BOWL 1 - OVAL PLATTER 8 - BREAD & BUT TER SALAD PLATES 1 - SUGAR WITH LID & CREAMER $ oio UNIVERSITY DRIVE AT COLLEGE AVE. SB