Nipa Palm For Motor Fuel

BECAUSE British countries nowadays must Use so much of their overseas exchange for the purchase of war materials, they are not able to buy any thing like their normal consumption of petrol—in fact, petrol already is severely rationed in most British countries. As a result, all British countries are eagerly seeking local motor fuels, which may be suitable substitutes for petrol, oil, etc.

Australian scientists and engineers are giving much attention to the production of power alcohol —and, in that connec tion, the nipa palm of Papua is once more coming under close scrutiny. The nipa palm had a lot of attention in the past, as a generous giver of power alcohol —but interest in it waned in the last 15 or 20 years, as the world’s oil comnanies created distributing organisa tions which brought petrol to the motor owners at a price with which power al cohol could not .compete.

Miss Beatrice Grimshaw, in a lengthy article in “Sydney Morning Herald”, on August 23 gave all the known facts about the nipa palm, which may be summar ised as follows: there are countless mil lions of the palm fringing the endless waterways of Papua: the palm will pro duce industrial alcohol in large quan tities—so much so that it has been specially planted in the Philippines for this purpose; the nipa palm is only 20 to 30 feet high, and is in full bearing about four years after planting; natives, work ing from canoes, can collect the sap (the source of the power alcohol) and convey it to the distillery; the fact that the palm grows thickly along the edges of the waterways solves the transport problem; it is reckoned that each acre will grow 750 palms and that each palm will yield 43 litres of sap per annum; it is calculated that the sap produces 5.6 per cent, of alcohol; and that nipa alcohol is the cheapest that can be produced.

Miss Grimshaw quotes from the report

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of Mr. C. E. Lane Poole, on “The Forest Resources of Papua and New Guinea”, published in 1925, in which he says: “The nipa palm is a striking object in every waterway. In other lands it is a valuable source of alcohol. . . . The absence of a local supply of petrol would cripple Aus tralia were a war to cut her off from petroleum. The solution lies in the de velopment of another motor fuel. Alco hol is one which offers every promise.

Papua has in her nipa palm a very large source of this motor fuel.”

These were curiously prophetic words.

Sago Palm Also Suggested

It has also been suggested that large quantities of power alcohol, suitable as a motor fuel, can be obtained from the sago palms of New Guinea and Papua.

It is claimed that each ton of sago will yield 70 gallons of power alcohol, at a cost (at the distillery) of Bd. per gal lon. The plan is beinsr investigated.