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Excerpt from Fuel, Vol. 2: Solid, Liquid and Gaseous With the exception of natural oils, the origin of which still remains uncertain, all forms of fuel may be regarded as derived primarily from cellulose, often associated with materials of a gum or resin character. During the life of a plant the green colouring matter of the leaves has the power, under the inuence of sunlight, of causing combination between the carbon dioxide of the air and the water in the plant to produce ultimately the cellulose, which is the main con stituent of woody fibre, returning to the air the oxygen previously associated with the carbon dioxide. The wonderful mechanism by which these Vital changes are brought about is quite unknown, but the final result is threefold - the amount of carbon dioxide is pre vented from becoming excessive, which would be fatal to animal life, the renewal of the oxygen supplies is assured, and, what is of special importance since the change involves the absorption of radiant energy from the sun, available heat is stored up by the plant, which may be utilized afterwards by man for the thousand and one purposes for which he requires fuel. Cellulose, in the form of wood; peat, where the cellulose has under gone some slight metamorphosis lignite, brown coal, and finally, all the various kinds of coal, from highly bituminous to anthracite, certainly have derived their heat energy by this process, and whether we employ these cellulose derivatives in their natural form or convert them into forms more suitable than the original for special purposes, such as charcoal and coke, or employ them as liquids (tar) and gases, as is now such general practice, we are but recovering this energy stored up from the sun. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digital