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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0743.PDF
FLIGHT, JULY 22, 1932 THE INDUSTRY A TRIUMPH FOR BRITISH COAL VY/E made an announcement in our " last issue that the winner of the King's Cup Race flew on National Benzole. The National Benzole Co. have pointed out that this is not strictly accurate, but that this machine flew on National Benzole Mixture. This company also wishes to state the fuel used was their standard grade, and similar in every way to that which can be purchased through their pumps in all parts of the country. Many people connected with avia tion are still unaware of the difference between Benzole and petrol, so that perhaps a short article on the produc tion of this fuel would not be without interest to our readers. The company itself is a distributing organisation, owned and controlled by the producers of British Benzole, who are the coal, steel, iron and gas con cerns of this country. THE PRODUCTION OF BENZOLE Unlike petrol, which is separated by distillation from • crude petroleum, obtained by boring in geologically suit able areas, Benzole is produced from coal, and Britain was one of the pioneer countries in the production and development of this valuable coal by product. Coal is carbonised in coke ovens for the purpose of producing coke, which is normally required by the blast fur naces to reduce iron ore when making pig-iron. The coal gas, which is driven off during the carbonisation process, con tains vapours of motor benzole, tar, and other substances, and this gas is intimately mixed with creosote oil, which has the power of absorbing the benzole from the gas stream. The creosote oil is pumped to the Benzole plant, and is there super heated to a temperature of approxi mately 120 deg. C, after which it is allowed to travel down a still, which is itself heated and up which a current of steam is travelling against the flow of the oil. By this means the Benzole is " stripped " from the creosote oil, and we have what is known as crude Benzole. This has been obtained from the coal originally placed in the oven. In order to remove any unsuitable constituents, such as creosote oil, this crude Benzole is submitted to another distillation process, and is then agitated with strong acid, which opera tion removes any " gumming " con stituents which may have been left in the Benzole. Following a water wash, the Benzole is then agitated with caustic soda and with an excess of water, and after a final distillation it is ready for use as a " water-white " motor spirit, free from acidity or alkalinity. This description is merely an outline of the process, and it can vary widely in different plants. Owing to the fact that the process of gas manufacture is very similar to that of coke manufacture, a number of Mr. Samuel Henshaw, Chairman of the National Benzole Co., Ltd. the leading gas companies in this country extract the Benzole from their gas before sending it to the mains for power and illuminating purposes. CHARACTERISTICS OF BENZOLE Both petrol and Benzole are mix tures of what are known as hydro carbons, that is, compounds of hydro gen and carbon in varying propor tions, but whereas petrols mainly con sist of the '' paraffin '' group of hydro carbons with some " naphthenes " and some small percentage of " aroma tics," motor Benzole consists essentially of the aromatic series. The chief characteristic of the aromatic fuels is their power to sup press the phenomenon known as " knocking " in an internal-combus tion engine, and it is for this reason that motor Benzole is added to petrol to make a mixture which has anti knock qualities. As a fuel for aviation purposes, motor Benzole is becoming increas ingly popular, and for some time has been appreciated by the Air Ministry and has been used by the R.A.F. for many years. The steady growth of civil aviation is opening up yet another channel, down which many gallons of Benzole will flow, and to those who have the interests of our home-pro duced fuel at heart it will be gratify ing to know that motor Benzole is being so widely esteemed in this market, as well as on the road. Although it is apparent that the study of motor spirit embraces many technical explanations, the National Benzole Company has endeavoured in its literature to explain in an interest ing and non-technical manner the virtues of the product in which it is particularly interested. Any of our readers who are interested can obtain literature by application to the com pany's head office, which is Welling ton House, Buckingham Gate, London, S.W.I. AERODROME LIGHTING EQUIPMENT NEON BEACONS A PROPERLY - EQUIPPED aerial •^^ route comprises a chain of aero dromes and emergency landing grounds, and for night flying the mean distribution of the landing ground should be approximately one field at every 50 kilometres. To obtain an effective luminous signalisation it is necessary that the aerodromes and emergency grounds be indicated, the limits of the fields clearly defined, obstacles marked, the direction of the wind indicated as well as the possi bilities for landing, the landing zone illuminated, and, finally, the route marked by beacons. One of the best means for the necessary illumination is the Neon light. It possesses the im mense advantage of not being in the least dazzing, and its characteristic red- orange colour distinguishes it clearly from all other luminous objects. Owing to its abundant emission of red rays the Neon light is specially suitable for signalling at a great distance even in foggy weather. It is well-known that the greater the wave length the further the radiation carries. The light emitted by Neon is very rich in red rays and poor in rays of shorter wave-length. The electric energy at its disposal is, therefore, transformed almost entirely into red rays. It is evident that with a given amount of energy the carrying power obtained will be much greater than if the energy were transformed into rays of all lengths (white light), which are rapidly deadened by aqueous vapour (fog). The sun gives an example: when its disc has almost entirely disappeared below the horizon the red rays of the spectrum are the last to reach us. In diurnal fog only the red rays pass through the screen of aqueous vapour with which the atmosphere is charged, and the sun appears to us to be only a red disc, which one can look at without being dazzled. Neon signals keep their maximum efficiency day and night, and are speciallv suitable for Morse code sig nals, as the illumination and the The Mur-Ray, Neon Beacon at Evere Aero drome, Brussels. 695
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