A LAMPFUL OF OIL.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 215, 30 October 1888, Page 3

A LAMPFUL OF OIL.

From Harper's Magazine. (Continued.) The completion within a few years of the Trans-Caucasian Railway from Baku to Batoum, on the Black Sea, a distance of 560 miles, lurnishes a European outlet for Russian petroleum. This railway has so far, however, not accomplished so much as was aiected of it, owing to single track, insufent ro'ling stock, and steep grade in crossing the Suram Pass, 3000 feet above sea level. It is said that transportation from Baku to Batoum costs about two cents per gallon for oil, and takes from four to fourteen days’ time. It has been proposed to construct a pipe line between these points to. economise the cost of shipment. And this must be done to give the Russian product a cheap and adequate outlet. The Austrian Lloyd’s and the Black Sea Navigation Company can convey the oil to Constantinople, and thence through the Mediterranean to all the ports of western Europe. Liverpool by water is 3110 mi'es from Batoum, and 3000 miles from New York ; Antwerp is 3185 miles from Batoum, and 3348 from New York ; Hamburg is 3452 miles from Batoum, and 3576 miles from New York. Thus it will be seen that with proper shipping facilities Baku will be at no disadvantage in respect to proximity to markets. Moreover, oil is introduced into Germany and Austro Hungary

directly across the border by rail from Tsaritzin as a distributing point. The relative quality of Russian and refined oil has been a subject of discussion. Mr Redwood s >ys that “ when the Russian oil was first introduced in Europe its high specific gravity led to the belief that it would not burn in ordinary mineral oil lamps. The fact, however, was overlooked that the crude oil yields SO small a percentage of kerosene that this product is necessarily very homogeneous.” It is not regarded as quite equal to the American article, but this is probably due to the superior care in refining it here. If American refined advances materially in price, it is likely to assist the Russian refiners in marketing their oil in Europe. At home they have an advantage over foreign Oil in a protective tariff equivalent to about Six cents a gallon on imported kerosene. The Russian oil, as all American oil men ramark in commenting upon it, yields only about 27 to 30 per centum of kerosene, against 75 to 73 per centum from Pennsylvania oil; but as an offset to this the Russians obtain 45 per centum of lubricating oil Which, according to the testimony of a promt ■ant Standard magnate, i« "flooding Europe,” and also about 11 per centum of liquid fuel. This brings us to the interesting question of the value of petroleum as a fuel, in which respect Russia has determined a problem which is not yet regarded as conc'usively solved in this country. In the Caspian region coal and wood are scarce, and the necessity of finding a substitn e, together with the cheapness of crude petroleum or i*» refuse, called astatki, accounts for the persistent and successful attempts to use petroleum as a fuel. To day nearly if not all the tteafliers on the Caspian and Volga, and the locomotives on the railways in that region, burn oil exclusively. In the apparatus etn ployed, a continuous, stream of oil passes through an aperture one-eighth of an inch in diameter, falling vertically, and meeting a jet of steam which forces the oil into the furnace in the form of exceedingly fine spray, making in its oombusti'-n an intense heat.

In thia country, with a few exceptions, the Only practical util sation of petroleum as a fuel is in kerosene stoves, and during the past few years their manufacture and use have greatly increased. In the ordinary oil stove the heat is obtained from three or four Wicks without chimu-ys. The great objection to all oil stoves (which also applies to gas stoves) is that they vitiate the air unless the apirtment be fully ventilated. It is estimated -hat a fonr burner store in a closed room would consume as much oxygen as fifty men. Oil stoves are very convenient for small families and for light meals, and are decidedly economical. Gasoline and naptha have been employed in stoves, but they are dangerous, and their use should he avoided. Notwithstanding the acknowledged success of petroleum as a fuel for locomotives and steamers in the Caspian region, it can hardly be said to have passed the experimental stage in this country. ,As early as 1862, in the refinery at Corry, Pennsylvania, previously referred to, its use as a fuel was undertaken by means of an apparatus similar to that now employed in Russia, but it does not appear to have impressed the refiners, perhaps because petroleum became more valu- - able in succeeding years. Those, however, who have tested the spraying injector concede that it is a complete mechanical success, but nearly all American authorities pronounce against its use in ocean vessels. The objection is that the heat of the engine-room might generate dangerous exp osive vapours, besides rendering the close quarters of the . vessels uncomfortable from its stench. No such comments are made on it in Russia ; on the contrary, it is highly commended there In 1867 the Bureau of Steam Engineering, in a r-port to the Secretary of the Navy, said : •• It appears that the use of petroleum as a fuel for steamers is hopeless ; convenience is against it, comfort is against it, health is against it, economy is against it.” At that time, however, petroleum was five or six times as dear as now, so that the last porti »n of the statement must be reversed. The economy of course depends on the relative cost of the two fuels, which is constantly varying. With crude oil at 75 cents a barrel and coal at $3 per ton, their value would be identical. The common scientific statement is that one pound of petroleum contains twice as many neat units as a pound of coal ; but experi? ments made und°r the direction of B. F. Isherwood, tbe distinguished Chief Engineer of the navy, with a regular marine boiler, show that one pound of petroleum evaporated two-thirds more water than a pound of anthracite. The apparatus by which he made this test was a simple Giffard injector, by which the petroleum is injected into the furnace in the form of minutely divided x spray by the agency of steam.

The point has been urged that one great advantage possesed by petroleum as a fuel lies in its smaller bulk ; and, while this is true in a measure, there has been considerable loose writing on the subject, which may be corrected by the exact facts. The facts are thtt the relative weights of anthracite and petroleum that can be carried on board a vessel in a given space depend largely upon the manner in which the latter Is stowed. American anthracite has a specific gravity of 1.50, and as stowed in vessels, sixty pounds can be placed in a cubic foot of space, taking large and small lumps mingled. The specific gravity/if petroleum at enginedoom temperature is but little dvp>- ouu-half that of anthracite, b” + pounds of it can be placed in * font space, provided it be cu.iea in compartments or tanks built into the vessel for the purpose. The compartments must be numerous and small, however, on account of the rolling and pitch ing of the vessel at sea, for the weight of a large quantity of petroleum could not b? allowed to shift position. Assuming that the petroleum is carried in tanks, and that it evaporates two-thirds more steam per pound than anthracite, we have for the relative steam-producing capabilities of the anthracite and petrolenm in equal space, (1x60), GO for the formerand (18x50) 83J for the latter, so that for equal space in the vessels occupied by fuel, petroleum would produce about 89 per cent, more steam. The relative weights of fuel to be carried, which is also very important in vessels, would be as 60 for the anthracite and 50 for the petroleum, or one-sixth less than the anthracite. If, however, the petroleum be stowed in barrels, the above ratios change materially. In this case only about 36 pounds of petro leum could be placed in a cubic foot o£ space, allowing for the bulk bf the materials of the barrels and for tbe interstitial spaces between them. Then the relative quantities of steam that could be obtained from equal spaces occupied would be (1x60) 60 for the anthracite and (18x36) 60 for the petroleum, or exactly the same. In either case the aggregate weights of fuel and containing vessels would not materially vary, for the weiglft of the barrels or of the partitions of the small compartments containing the petroleum is considerably greater than the weight of the bunkers containing the anthracite. The great economy in the use of petroleum fta large vessels may be illustrated by refergeM M the Etruria, the latest Cuharder,

Shipping men say that one reason such vessels are not more profitable is because of the email space left for freight after stowing the neces sary quota of coal. It burns on a passage of six days and a half 2275 tons of coal, but to be prepared for delays, it carries 3000 tons, leaving only 400 tons for freight. If 39 per cent, of spcce could be economised ou such a vessel as this, it would give space for 1170 tons more cargo of the same gravity as coal. Tne Hydrographic Office of the Navy Department recently requested mariners to report upon the value of oil in quelling boisterous and dangerous seas. The testimony is uniformly favorable to the use of animal and vegetable oils, ".on the troubled waters,” but petroleum is thinner, and lacks that oleaginous quality necessary to subdue the breaking of the waves. * Unless petroleum be found in much greater quantities than heretofore, it could not to any considerable degree furnish sufficient fuel to drive the wheels of our industries. Its enlarged use would doubtless increase its cost to an extent that would destroy the economy. In steel works at Worcester, Massachussetts, on steam ferry boats on the bay of San Francisco and elsewhere, isolated attempts have been made to use petroleum as a fuel. A naptha engine called the Holland patent ran for some time on the Frie, drawing a train of passenger cars, but nothing seems to have come from the expei iment. The Dickey furnace, which has a spraying apparatus, uses crude oil, and extended experiments were made with it. (TO BE CONTINUED).