WORKING AID #2 NON-LIQUID-FUELED VEHICLES IN THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79S01046A001100020001-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 44
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 11, 2003
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 13, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

04
!K111X7
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13 March 1953 25X1
Dissemination Authorized
Assistant Director
Office of Current Intelligence
WORKING AID #2
No. Pages - 9
Copy No,
Office of Research and Reports
NSA review completed
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
Summary
I. Introduction
II. Historical Background
III. Current Production
A. Vehicles
V. Problems of Conversion
Table I
Table II
VI. The Fuels
A. Hard Fuels
B. Gases
PAGE
4
5
21
25
26
VII. Future Prospects for Non-Liquid-Fueled 32
Vehicles
A. Economies of Efficiency and Scale
Table III
B. New Generators and Vehicles
C. Fuels
VIII. Conclusions 38
Appendix 40
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The purpose of this paper is to present a compre-
hensive survey of past and present utilization of non-liquid-
fueled vehicles in the USSR and of the future potential of
such use. It is believed that heretofore there has not been
sufficient appreciation of the potential ability of the Soviet
economy to effect substantial reductions of its POL require-
ments by the large-scale utilization of non-liquid-fueled
vehicles. This paper is designed as a working aid to assist
intelligence analysts engaged in assessing the capabilities
and vulnerabilities of the Soviet economy, rather than as a
finished intelligence report.
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Soviet use of non-liquid-fueled vehicles dates from the
middle thirties, when it was thought advisable, because of the liquid-
fuel shortage, to experiment with local fuels such as wood, charcoal,
and peat to power trucks and tractors. Despite the fact that by 1939
experience had forcibly demonstrated that capital and operating costg
for vehicles using-local fuels were much higher than those for liquid-
fueled vehicles, large-scale production began at the end of that year.
By the end of 1940, at least four percent of the tractor park (in horse-
power) was operating on local fuels; no estimate on the truck park is
available. Almost all of these trucks and tractors were of the gas
generator type, operating on wood briquettes or charcoal, and limited
to areas in which these fuels were available. The 1941 Plan provided
that gas generator trucks should constitute approximately 30 percent,
and tractors 50 percent, of total production. During the war substan-
tial numbers of trucks and tractors were converted to various local
fuels, and as a result large quantities of liquid fuel and the transport
facilities necessary to move them from refinery to consumer were
released for alternative uses. Consequently, it may be concluded that
the higher costs of non-liquid-fueled vehicles were more than offset
by a combination of three factors: 1) as a practical matter they worked;
2) they were durable--many are still in use; 3) they brought about
considerable savings in liquid fuels and transport costs.
Current use of gas generator vehicles is largely confined to
areas and economic organizations which would normally consume
large amounts of liquid fuel and which are far removed from the trans
portation network and from the centers of production of liquid fuel, e. g. ,
the timber industry throughout the USSR, agricultural enterprises in
Siberia and probably in the North of the RSFSR. Compressed gas ve-
hicles are used on an increasing but still rather small scale in natural
For the purposes of this paper the term "non-liquid fuel" or "local
fuel" refers to any hard fuel, compressed gas, or refinery by-products.
"Liquid fuel" is limited to gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, and ligroin.
Liquefied gas is to be considered a non-liquid or local fuel.
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gas-producing regions, and in the immediate vicinity of metallurgical
coke batteries and petroleum refineries throughout the USSR. The
current production rate of all types of non-liquid-fueled vehicles is
not great; production of trucks does not exceed 15, 000 trucks per year
while not more than 10, 000 gas generator tractors were produced
during the Fourth Five-Year Plan. This rate of production is commen-
surate with the extent of their employment.
Owing to their employment in remote areas, however, non-
liquid-fueled trucks and tractors possess an importance to the econ-
omy out of all proportion to their numbers. More efficient experi-
mental models of gas generator installations and non-liquid-fueled
vehicles have been developed, which may lead to a greatly increased
use of local fuels under normal conditions. In addition, the experimen-
tal gas generator installations would significantly reduce the cost of
conversion in an emergency, i. e. , about 650 lbs. of steel are used as
compared with about 1, 000 lbs. for the older models, and loss in per-
formance would be reduced to a minimum. Mass conversion can be
made at a relatively low cost in materials, in a fairly short time,, and
by utilizing labor and facilities on.the local level, e. g. , garages, ?MTS
repair shops, and the like. Conversion would not only release large
quantities of liquid fuel and rolling stock for alternative uses, but would
also, in conjunction with the reserves program, make local areas semi-
independent of liquid-fuel supplies for a considerable length of time.
This potential of effecting a substantial reduction in the degree of its
depending on liquid fuels (POL) represents an important and seldom
considered factor in assessing the capabilities and vulnerability of the
Soviet economy.
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using non-liquid-fueled vehicles the Soviets act upon the following
considerations: First, there is the high cost of transport (primarily
rail) of liquid fuels over the vast area of the Soviet Union. In the late"
thirties, for example, the average length of haul of liquid fuels was,
according to one Soviet writer, 1700 to 1800 kilometers, and occasion-
al cargoes traveled more than 10, 000 kilometers to their destination.
Consequently, the cost of rail transport alone sometimes exceeded
the f.o.b. cost of the fuel by two or three times. 1 This transportation
problem was aggravated .further by the necessity to haul the fuel from
the railhead to the actual point of use, a haul which in lumbering camps
often reached 100 to 150 kilometers, requiring the use of 20 to 30 per--
cent oo the vehicle pool merely to keep the remainder supplied with
POL. Secondly, there is the "necessity for the maximum economy of .
gasoline, the most strategic /fuel / product. "3 Thirdly, there is the
need to increase greatly the utilization of local fuels, the development
of which often lags for lack of consumers.4 There is one other factor
which is not explicitly stated by Soviet writers, although it might be
argued that it is implicit in the statement on the need to conserve gas-
oline as a "strategic" commodity, and that is that the Soviets are by
no means oblivious of the savings in gasoline which might be achieved-
by use of other fuels under war-time conditions when ordinary economic
costs count for much less. Nor are they oblivious of the fact that,
through the use of other types of fuel, local areas could maintain nearly
1. Konson, A.S., '':'Ekon.omicheskie VoprosyProektirovaniya Mashin"
(Economic Questions of Designing Machinery). Moscow, 1950, p. 46.
2. Ibid.
3. BRONSHTEIN, L.A. . & NAIDENOV, B. F, , "Tekhniko-Ekonomicheskie
Osnovy Premeneniya Mestnykh Vidov Toplivov na Avtotransporte''
Economic Bases of the Application of Local Fuels in Autotransport.
Technico-Moscow, 1950, p. 153
4. Ibid.
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normal levels of activity even though transportation arteries were
disrupted for a considerable length of time.
Given this general frame of reference, the widespread.use
of non-liquid-fueled vehicles poses some interesting problems con-
cerning both the economic significance of this phenomenon and its
effect upon the economic and military capabilities of the USSR. Thus
it is proper to inquire not only into the present scale of use and geo-
graphical distribution of non-liquid-fueled vehicles, but also into the
future possibilities of substituting various local fuels for liquid fuel,
what the cost of such substitution would be in terms of the materials
and labor necessary for equipping and maintaining a considerable part
of the Soviet auto and tractor park with various non-liquid fuel instal-
lations, and the effect such conversion would have on the capability
and general efficiency of the vehicles. Given the answers to these
questions, one might proceed to postulate certain general proposi-
tions on the effect of the use of local fuels on the strategic capabilities
and vulnerabilities of the USSR.
Consequently, it shall be the purpose of this paper to give the
best possible answers to the.following problems:
a) the politico-economic rationale for substitution of non-liquid-
fueled vehicles in USSR;
b) the economic problems of non-liquid-fueled vehicles;
1. the vehicle--operating costs, capital investment,
maintenance, efficiency;
2. the fuel--technical qualities (weight, caloric content,
effect on the engine, necessary equipment for use)-
and availability (location, volume of production,
transportation, alternative uses);
c) significance of non-liquid-fueled vehicles in USSR, and the
cost and. feasibility of large-scale application and/or conversion.
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Pre-1945. The utilization of gas generator and gas
cylinder vehicles in the Soviet Union began several years
before World War II, and the fuel shortages experienced
during the course of the war hastened and increased the site
of the program.
Gas cylinder vehicles began to be developed during
the years 1936-1939. In the latter year the first natural
gas compressor station was built in the city of Melitopol,
followed during the next two years by the establishment in
the Donbas region of similar stations which handled coke
gas. A compressor station built in Moscow during the same
period processed illuminating gas, while other stations in
Moscow, Gorkij, Baku, Grozny, and Rostov handled various
industrial gases.
Another step in the development of gaseous fuel use
was made in the form of a Party Resolution in 1938 by which
the foundation was laid for an increased output of gas genera-
tor tractors and trucks.
In February 1939 a Party Resolution ca le for a
minimum of 80 thousand gas generator tractors and trucks
during the course of the following three years. 5 In Novem-
ber of the same year another decree dealt with improving the
operation of the timber industry, where the introduction of
gas generators was admittedly the most important task in the
field of mechanized timber procurement. The Peoples Com-
missariat of Timber Industry was ordered to convert 2, 300
5. Khranal', A. A. Gazogenerator Na Severe (Gasgenerator
in the North, Moscow, 1943, p. 3)
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ChTZ-60 tractors and 1, 000 trucks to gas generator operation;
Glavlesvlazhprom, 200 tractors and 400 trucks; and the Peoples'
Commissariat of Railways, 120 tractors and 400 trucks. 6
The wider use of gas generators in the USSR was also given
special attention at the eighteenth session of the Communist Party.
A resolution dealing with the Third Five Year Plan read as follows:
"Special attention will be given to the production of loco-
mobiles and diesels... and also engines operating on gas.
All the vehicles in the timber procurement industry will
be converted to gas generator operation, and also a sig-
nificant part of the tractor park of the agricultural econ-
omy and also of the motor transport park. "7
The extent to which this ambitious program was implemented is not .
precisely known but the following planned .and actual achievements may
be cited:
1) In 1939 the GAZ and ZIS factories were to produce 20, 000
gas generator trucks; the Kharkov and Chelyabinsk Tractor
Plants were to produce 10, 000 gas generator tractors;8
2) Of the 131, 000 vehicles provided for by the 1941 plan,
40, 000 were to be gas generators; of 28, 000 tractors,
10, 500 were to be gas-generator-powered.
3) According to one source, about 5 percent of the Soviet truck
park was composed of gas generators before the war; 9
another Soviet writer lists gas generator tractors as com-
prising 4 percent of the agricultural tractor park of 1940;10
many liquid-fuel trucks and tractors were converted to gas
6.
Gazogenerator Na Severe, pp. 3-4.
7.
Resolution of the XVIII Party Congress, (b),
1939, p. 15.
8.
Sovetskaya Arktika.(Soviet Arctic) Feb. 1939,
p. 49.
9.
Gazogenerator . Na Severe, p. 49.
10.
Venzher, V. P. , "Osnovy Voprosy Proizvodstvennoj Deyatel'nosti
MTS!' (Basic Questions of Productive Activity in MTS) Moscow,
1949, p. 46.
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generators during the war. 11
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By 1941 actual experience and the tests run by various scien-
tific institutes had proved the optimism on.the extensive use of local
fuels, which is so apparent in the Party, Resolutions, to be quite un-
founded in terms of comparative costs of operation and production.
11. An example of the situation during World War II is contained in the
Soviet Union Military-Economic Report Translated from the German
Report dated 25 Se tember 1943 25X1
I I This report by t e German Signal Intelligence
Control enter on the military-economic developments of the Soviet
Union :(primarily the Caucasus area) in the first half of 1943 and based
on. Russian domestic radio traffic noted as follows:
"As a.result of the German advance in the Caucasus, oil
supply ceased and all oil-burning ships were ordered tied
up; the crises in the oil situation. rising from September
1942 had the result that two basic measures were under-
taken to improve the fuel picture. First, conservation
measures and.a storage system were ordered, and secondly
an extensive conversion to other methods of firing was
initiated.
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The conversion of trucks and ships was to take into
consideration the oil which could be obtained on the spot.
There resulted an extensive introduction of gas generators
and a changeover to wood firing in plants, shipyards and
power stations. Extensive conversion to wood firing was
also undertaken in the shipping industry. Trucks and
tractors were widely converted to fueling by wood gas. 25X1
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veryone was urge to make available to
all others by interchange of information the technical ex-
perience gained in this conversion. For this purpose a
conference was called in Moscow in January which was to
consider the subject of wood firing aboard ships."
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Nevertheless, the 1941 plan provided for a large number of gas gen-
erator trucks (approximately 30 percent of total truck production),
and tractors (50 percent of total tractor production), a fact which
should attest not only to their workability, but also to the importance
attached to them as a means of releasing both liquid fuel and trans-
portation facilities for military use.
Postwar. The Fourth Five Year Plan (1946-1950) called for
"guaranteeing a wide application of gas generator and gas cylinder
trucks in transport, operating on local forms of fuel, " and provided
further that 70 percent of the trucks and tractors in the Timber In-
dustry should be of the gas generator type. Gas generators and gas
cylinder trucks have not,however, become widely used outside the
Timber Industry and Agriculture in the Far East. Furthermore, pro-
duction of both non-liquid-fueled trucks and tractors has not been large
in the postwar period.
I frhere has been some extension
of the use of compressed gas vehicles in the postwar period. In 1946
the entire automobile park of the Drogobych Oblast Automobile Trust:
in the Ukraine was refitted to operate on gas cylinder fuel, and later
the parks of many other automobile trusts of the Ministry of Motor
Transport of the Ukrainian SSSR were similarly refitted. Our infor-
mation on.this area is limited, but the following quotation is thought
to be fairly indicative of the extent of the program:
In the Ukraine, vehicles powered by gas flasks are
currently operating not only on liquefied gas /.butane
and propane mixtures/ but also on natural compressed,
industrial coke, and enriched coke, / synthesized / gases.
Since the beginning of 1950, hundreds of gas-flask ZIS-156
and GAZ-51-B trucks have been operating on compressed
gas in many cities of the Ukraine. The Gorlovka, Make
yevka, Priazovskoye, and Stalino No. 1 stations, which
were destroyed during the war, were rebuilt with a view
to increasing their original capacity. Everywhere, ex-
cept at Azo.vskoye, an additional compressor was installed.
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Types of these vehicles currently in operation and/or production
are as follows:
Trucks
ZIS-21 - modified version of the ZIS-5 truck; the ZIS-21 is rated at
2 1/2 tons capacity, burns principally wood briquettes or
charcoal, and is the only gas generator truck now in pro-
duction. It is manufactured at the URAL ZIS plant at Miass,
near Chelyabinsk.
GAZ-42 converted version of the GAZ-MM: 1. 2 tons capacity, no
longer produced.
GAZ-51B-slightly modified version of the 2 1/2 ton GAZ-51 produced
at the Gorki Plant - powered by compressed or liquefied
gases.
ZIS-156 - compressed gas model of ZIS-150.
KhTZT 2G - modified version of the 52 hp. kerosene tractor KHTZ-NATI;
produced at the Kharkov Tractor Plant before World War II.
KT-12 - caterpillar type tractor produced for the Timber Industry;
powered by ZIS-21 engine; presently being produced at the
Minsk Tractor Plant of the Automobile and Tractor Industry.
SG-65 - converted version of the 65 hp. diesel tractor S-65 produced
at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant before World War II and
for a very short time thereafter.
The manufacture of gas generator vehicles of which only two
types are presently in production has been concentrated in recent years
in two factories in the USSR, the Ural Automobile Plant i/n Stalin at
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Miass, near Chelyabinsk, which produces the ZIS-2 1, and
the Minsk Tractor Plant which took over the responsibility
for production of the KT-12 timber-skidding tractor from
the Kirov Plant in Leningrad about mid-1951. Neither the
SG-65 nor the KhTZ-T2G has been produced in the last five
years. Some ZIS-150 and GAZ-51 trucks (3 1/2 and 2 1/2
tons respectively) have been converted to compressed gas
in addition to a compressed gas truck, the ZIS-156 which
is produced at the Moscow ZIS plant.
The volume of production of non-liquid-fueled vehi-
cles is not great. Study of the traffic on the Miass plant
indicates a probable rate of production of about 10, 000 ZIS-21
trucks per year. The fourth Five Year Plan provided for
delivery of 7, 500 KT- 12 tractors to the Timber Industry,
which probably does not include allocations to enterprises
subordinate to other Ministries such as Railroad Transpor-
tation. However, when we remember that the 1950 annual
rate of production envisaged in the Plan was 428, 000 trucks
and 112, 000 tractors, it is apparent that production of gas
generator vehicles not only is, but was planned to be, a
very small part of the total. As has been noted, however,
the conditions peculiar to their primary area of employment
increase their significance far beyond their numbers. As
for the compressed and liquefied gas vehicles, all evidence
indicates that, until very recently at least, they have been
produced on a minuscule scale.
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V. PROBLEMS OF CONVERSION
Conversion of an engine to non-liquid fuels may be accomplished
either very simply, if a considerable loss of efficiency can be tolerated;
or by extensive modification. The conversion of an engine from liquid
fuel to generator gas, without applying special measures, results in a
30-40 percent decrease of power. 13 In order to decrease power losses'
in the construction of a gas engine, a series of modifications are car-
ried out. The working capacity of the cylinders and the number of
revolutions of the crank shaft are increased; the degree of compression,
is increased, since gas has a higher self-ignition temperature and is
less inclined to knock; the pre -heating of gas-air mixtures is eliminated;
the dimensions of the intake and exhaust valves are increased in the head
of the block; and the period of combustion is shortened by using two spark
plugs. 14 If the compression is increased when a diesel or kerosene engine
13. This is explained by the fact that (1) calorific content of gas-air mix-
tures (550-600 kal/m3) is noticeably lower than, for example, that of
kerosene-air mixtures (800-820 kal/m3); (2) the volume of gas admitted
into the cylinders of the engine is decreased since there is compara-
tively greater resistance to the suction of gas air mixtures through
all the elements of the gas generator unit; (3) the combustion of gas
eous fuels is slower than the combustion of liquid fuels.
14. In.the DZG kerosene engine of the KhTZ-TZG tractor, for instance,
the intake and exhaust pipes are placed far enough apart so that there
is a minimum pre-heating; furthermore the over-all cross-section
of the intake pipe is increased; the compression. ratio is increased
to 8. 5 (as against 4. 0 in a kerosene engine).
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is converted to compressed or liquefied gas, the loss of power is avoided;
indeed the engine may deliver more hp. than before conversion. 15 With
a gasoline engine, however, a lose of power of about 10 percent is inevi-
table.
Conversion of any ordinary engine to hard fuels, compressed or
liquefied gas, is a relatively simple job which can be accomplished by
any local machine shop. If the cylinder head is replaced by one giving
higher compression, the loss of power is much less, especially if the
engine is being converted to compressed or liquefied gas. Reconversion
to gasoline is also simple unless.the compression ratio has been sub-
stantially increased in order to fully utilize the high-octane rating of
compressed and liquefied gases.
The following are among the deleterious effects on the perfor-
mance of a vehicle when non-liquid fuels are used:
As a result of power loss the vehicle must reduce speed
to haul the same load; load capacity may be decreased by
20 percent and the ability of the vehicle to carry a full load
up inclines is greatly impaired, 16
For vehicles operating on hard fuels, wear on the engine
15. Korobov, B. A. Tra,Avtomobili i Sel'skokhozyajstvennye Dvi-
ateli (Tractor,. Automobile, and Agricultural Engines). Moscow
1950, p. 120.
16. For example, the comparative drawbar power, in kilograms, of
the ligroin-fueled S-65 and the gas-generator SG-65 operating in
freshly plowed ground is as follows:
Speed
~
S-65
SO 65
I
4340
45
II
2940
1470
III
IV
1640
788
Korobov, B.
A. P Ib
id p. 391.
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is considerably increased 17 and the vehicle must undergo
capital repairs more often. 18 The increased wear is attri-
butable both to the corrosive impurities in the generator gas
and to the higher operating speed of an engine converted to
hard fueli; compressed or liquefied gas, on the contrary, in-
creases length of service up to one and one-half. times, as
compared with gasoline. 19
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The use of gas generators severely limits the distance traveled
before refueling: thus a ZIS-5 truck operating on wood briquettes can
travel only about 70 kilometers before refueling; many hard fuels will
run the vehicle up to about 120 kilometers before refueling, but this is
about the limit. Refueling stations are thus necessary every 60 to 80
kilometers along the route and in the USSR, that is quite a problem.
The range for vehicles operating on compressed gas is about 120 to
150 kilometers depending upon the number of flasks carried; for lique-
fied gas it is about the same as for gasoline.20
Although oil and grease consumption are listed as being identical
for both types, actual practice has proved otherwise. Whether operated
17. An index to the extent of this wear is furnished by the following
figures concerning the amortization allowance per 1000 kilometers
for gasoline and gas generl V :r trucks:
Type Fuel Ruble s
GAZ-MM gasoline 92
GAZ-14 & 42 gas generator 138
ZIS-5 gasoline 97
ZIS-13 & 21 gas generator 147
Bronshtein, L. A. et al, Avtotransportn~rl' Spravochnik, (Auto
Transport Handbook). Moscow 1950, p. 533.
18. This may be illustrated by a comparison of the norms for distance
traveled before capital repair:
Type
GAZ-MM
GAZ-42
ZIS-5
ZIS-21
Bronshtein, L. A.
Kilometers (in thousands)
gasoline 60
gas generator 40
gasoline 70
gas generator 50
et al Ibid,. p. 153.
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on a gas generator or on.compressed or liquefied as the engine
will use 25 to 30 percent more oil on the average. ~1 There have
been reports in the Soviet Press that a ZIS-21 engine, unless
modified, consumed up to twice the norm of lubricating oil. 22
Modification to alleviate this problem is, however, quite simple.
The f.o.b. cost of the gas generator ZIS-21 is approxi-
mately 25 percent higher than its counterpart, the ZIS-5. The
comparative costs cf tractors are not known. Another cost factor
worthy of note is that drivers of vehicles operating on non-liquid
fuel receive bonus pay of approximately 30 percent of the base. 23
Thus it is evident that a vehicle can be converted to non-
liquid fuels easily but not so cheaply. Operational costs are
considerably higher for vehicles operating on hard fuels than
for liquid-fueled vehicles; more metal, more labor and more
lubricants are required although less work is done. Compressed
or liquefied gases also increase operating cost principally by
reducing the load capacity.
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TABLE 125
Type of Fuel
(in kopecks)
GAZ
ZIS
Gasoline
90.4
57.6
77. 2
98. 5
Liquefied Gas
1 04.6
62. 3
83.2.
106. 6
Natural Gas
132.5
74.5
83.5
105.5
Coke Gas
147.2
84.0
92.1
118.7
Wood Briquettes
156.6
89.0
107.5
M. 0
Charcoal
132.2
89.4
105.2
127.7
Charcoal Briquettes
137.0
93. 7
109.0
133.9
Peat Coke
1 54.3
85. 3
105.0
121.3
Peat Briquettes
161.7
90.3
110.0
123.6
Lignite
153.3
84.0
104.3
119.5
Anthracite
151.8
80. 1
108.1
123.4
25. Bronshtein, Technico-Economic Questions, pp. 156-157.
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Type of Fuel GAZ ZIS
Gasoline 100.0 100.0
Wood Briquette 173.5 155.0
Charcoal 146.6 155.2
Charcoal Briquettes 151.8 163.2
Peat Coke 179.0 148.0
Lignite 170.0 146.0
Bituminous Semi-Coke 158.8 133. 7
Anthracite 168.8 139.5
Liquefied Gas 1 16.0 108.5
Natural Gas 147.0 129.6
Coke Gas 160.0 146.0
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Table I represents the comparative cost in rubles of GAZ and
ZIS trucks operating on various fuels. Included in the Soviet concept
of cost are the following factors: wages, fuel - including gasoline
used in starting, lubricants, servicing and medium repair, amorti-
zation and capital repair, and overhead. The numerator represents
the cost in ton-kilometers (the cost of moving one ton a distance of
one kilometer), denominator the cost in machine kilometers (the cost
of moving the vehicle one kilometer). This table does not, however,
allow for the higher initial cost of the non-liquid-fueled vehicle, nor
does it allow for the loss in ton kilometers carried per year due to the
lower speed and smaller capacity. If these are allowed we get the
calculation of "netcost" (sebestoimest') per ton kilometer (gasoline
equals 100) as set forth in Table II.
As thus indicated by Table II the gas generator vehicles pre-
sently being manufactured are considerably more expensive to operate
than their gasoline -fueled.counterparts; vehicles operating on natural
or liquefied gas are only slightly more expensive. It must be noted
however that the fuel prices used in this calculation .are "average
prices" and the methods employed by the Soviets in arriving at these
prices are unknown. Consequently, while they are probably roughly
accurate they cannot safely be used as a basis for further detailed
analysis. Presumably the price quoted for gasoline, 75 kopecks per
liter, contains an "average" freight charge, but the prices for wood
briquettes and charcoal, for instance, probably do not include such a
charge for the reason that these fuels are simply too costly to trans-
port any distance. While fuel constitutes only about 20 percent of
operating costs, it is possible that for a remote logging operation in
the Far East, or for a kolkhoz far removed from a railhead, total oper-
ating costs - in monetary terms - may actually be cheaper when using a
local fuel than when using liquid.fuel shipped in.from a long distance by
rail and then transshipped by truck to the ultimate consumer. Further-
more, use of local fuels not only may save kopecks but also releases
rolling stock and trucks for alternate uses.
Consequently, it may be concluded that under present circum-
stances, viz., the quality of the fuels available and the technological
level of the generators and vehicles presently being manufactured, the
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substitution of hard for liquid fuels is not on purely economic considera-
tions justifiable over most of the USSR. There are large areas, however,
of the USSR far removed both from the centers of petroleum production
and from railheads where such substitution is desirable.
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For compressed and liquefied gases the real cost of operation
is only a little more than for liquid fuel; consequently, the use of these
fuels may increase in order to release liquid fuels for other uses. In
fact, any marked increase in the use of these fuels may provide an index
to the intensity of the desire, for whatever ultimate reason, to conserve
liquid fuel .
Any hard fuel which is to be used on a large scale in gas genera-
tor vehicles must meet the following specifications: 26
1) it must have a considerable range of geographic
distribution;
2) it must cost no more than standard gasoline and
preferably considerably less;
3) it must have a high "reaction quality"; 27
4) it must have a high calorie content for maximum
range of operation;
26. Bronshtein., p. 13.
27. This is a very important factor meaning, in effect, that the amount
of air fed into the combustion.chamber of the generator must be small
enough so that when the engine must be used at full power, e. g.
starting, climbing a steep grade, a considerable increase in the
amount of air to speed up the gassification process is possible with-
out simultaneously producing a large amount of inert gases.
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it must be characterized by low moisture, acid,
sulphur, and ash content;
6) weight by volume must be high, and it must be
amenable to-production in uniform size and
quality.
Appendix A contains a detailed discussion of the characteristics of the
various hard fuels. Only a general survey will be covered in this portion
of the text.
The best hard fuels for gas generators are: wood briquettes,
charcoal and charcoal briquettes, lignite and lignite briquettes and
coke and semi-coke from lignite and peat, if the ash content of the latter
is low.
Wood briquettes, cut to standard size and dried, comprise the
standard wood fuel used in gas generators in the USSR and are the most
widely used substitute for liquid fuel at the present time. The distri-
bution and quality of Soviet forests make wood a practical gas generator
fuel in the following areas: Siberia and the Far East, the Urals, the
northern oblasts of the RSFSR, and the Karelo-Finnish SSR. In other
areas either forestation is too sparse or the wood is unsuitable for large
scale use. 28 Although reliable price data are not available, the evidence
at hand leads to the conclusion that wood briquettes can be produced
easily and cheaply in the forested areas of the USSR noted above.
Charcoal is probably the second most widely used gas generator
fuel in the Soviet Union and is produced widely in the USSR, both by
primitive "pile" burning and by special furnaces. A large quantity is
produced for and used in the metallurgical industry, and is of necessity--
of quite high quality, The most advantageous areas for charcoal-fueled
vehicles would seem to be in the vicinity of large metallurgical consumers.
The amount of charcoal that could be diverted to use in vehicles is pro-
blematical and would depend upon the availability of coke as a substitute
in the steel furnaces. If modern equipment is used, however, a consider-
able quantity of relatively high-quality charcoal can be produced at local
levels at low cost. 29
28. Bronshtein, p. 13, 14.
29. Bronshtein, p. 39, 46.
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In one form or another lignite (and lignite coke and semi-coke)
may offer considerable possibilities as a substitute for liquid fuel.
Large deposits of suitable -quality lignite exist in .all major industrial
areas. Utilization of these local fuels for industry and power genera-
tion has been a major goal of the Soviets in the past, and there is evi-
dence that such is still the case. Development for these purposes
creates favorable conditions for more widespread uses as a gas genera-
tor fuel.
The Soviets.have long held out great hopes for the utilization of
the USSR's extensive peat deposits for various purposes, but their
accomplishments are still far from their grandiose dreams. Very few
Soviet peats have a sufficiently low ash content to qualify as an efficient
fuel for gas generators. The best peat deposits coincide with the forested
areas of the USSR and peat cannot as yet compete with wood briquettes
and charcoal. 30 Peat derivatives are also handicapped in that, like
bituminous coal and anthracite, they cause a great deal of engine wear.
Bituminous and anthracite coals and cokes present serious obstacles to
widespread use: serious engine wear, high.ash content, heavy and ex-
tensive generator apparatus. Simply increasing the quality of the fuel
would, however, change the picture considerably. 31 From the point of
view of distribution and production, almost all these fuels offer many
possibilities for the more widespread use of gas generator vehicles. 32
In considering the possible range of distribution of non-liquid-fueled
vehicles, it can hardly be overemphasized that at least 70 percent of
the truck park of the USSR is physically juxtaposed to the centers of
production and/or consumption of hard.fuels, while the Agricultural
truck and trac tor park is often far removed from a railhead but with a
source of local fuel immediately at hand.
30. Bronshtein, pp. 62-63.
31. See the section on briquetting in Appendix A for the possibilities of
better quality hard fuels for gas generator vehicles.
32. Bronshtein, pp. 125-131.
MNNI VV=U I 1 RCICQJC LV VJ/V.7/LV VIM-
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Various kinds of gases are excellent substitutes for liquid fuel.
The following is a list of those most suited to this purpose:33 natural
gas, petroleum gas, coke gas, sewage gas and cooking gas. These
may be categorized as either compressed gases such as natural or coke
gas, which are compressed at very high pressures, or as so-called
"liquefied" gases which are a blend of by-product gases from petroleum
refining and which liquefy at a pressure of 2 to 3 atmospheres.
Two of the chief limiting factors in the use of compressed gases
are the weight of the flasks and the special compressor stations which
must be erected. If compressed gas vehicles were to be introduced on
a large scale, a considerable investment would be required to construct
the compressor stations. 34 Since liquefied gases are under much lower
pressure - from 13 to 14 atmospheres - neither the weight of the con-
tainer nor the compressor installations present such a serious problem.-
A railway tank car to transport liquefied gas is considerably heavier
than one carrying ordinary gasoline, but by no means prohibitively so.
From a supply point of view the possibilities for compressed and
liquefied refinery gases are very good. Natural gas exists or is piped
into the major industrial areas in the Ukraine and the Donbas, the central
region around Moscow, the Baku area, and other areas. Liquefied gas
has greater transportation costs than gasoline, but it is an excellent sub-
stitute. Since the release of transportation facilities is one of the prime
objects of substituting non-liquid fuels, it may be presumed that liquefied
gas will be used in the immediate area of the refineries, thus providing
more gasoline for transport elsewhere. The really great possibilities
in the substitution of gases lie in increasing the supply and efficiency
of utilization of coke, cooking, and natural gases - especially the former-
which is produced in the centers of vehicle concentration. The develop-
ment of gas-producing plants using lignite in the Urals and Central Asia
will greatly facilitate widespread use of compressed gases in those areas.
33. Bronshtein, p. 135.
34. Details are given at p.47, Appendix.
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VII. FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR NON-LIQUID-FUELED VEHICLES
Although non-liquid-fueled vehicles are quite economical under
the special conditions previously described there can be no 25X1
question that the present production models are far too expensive to
produce, maintain, and operate over most of the USSR. This is due as
noted previously 0 to a variety of factors, such as increased
wear, loss of capacity, lower performance, increased wages, and the
like. On the other hand, even though there is a considerable range in
the quality of various local fuels, their abundance and wide geographic
distribution in the USSR provide several substitutes for liquid fuels in
all of the major industrial centers as well as over considerable portions
of the agricultural regions. Consequently, the chief economic limiting
factor in the large-scale utilization of local fuels is the technological
efficiency of the vehicle. While this is strictly true only: under the con-
ditions referred to as the peacetime economy of the USSR, technical -.
efficiency would be quite important if conversion were carried out during
war-time, since it is a determinant of the performance, versatility, and
operating costs of the vehicle. A comparison of the comparative oper-
ating costs set forth in Table II which appears on page 26 with those which
appear in Table III, p. 33,will illustrate graphically the economies re-
sulting from a moderate increase in the efficiency of a gas generator
truck. It behooves us for two reasons, therefore, to take note of the
Soviet experiments on the problem of increasing efficiency: first, they
provide some basis for anticipating and evaluating future developments;
secondly, the extensive and continuous research program is an index of
the importance attached to the ,application of non-liquid fuels.
A. Economies of Efficiency and Scale
As has been noted, the economic calculus presented in Table Ii,
p. 26, is based upon now obsolescent trucks, and the same would be true
for tractors, designed some 15 years ago, The development of genera-
tors and engines which would use non-liquid fuels more efficiently, with
less wear, and which would be much lighter, would radically change the
situation. For instance, if a non-liquid-fueled truck were developed with
the same speed and load-carrying capacity as its liquid-fueled counter-
part, the following comparative ton - kilometer costs (in kopecks) would
be achieved:
- 32 -
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GAZ ZIS
Gasoline 100.0 100.0
Wood Briquettes 137.0 129. 2
Charcoal Briquettes 140.2 135. 3
Peat 131.5 120.8
Lignite 1 3 0. 6 118.8
Semi-coke 130.6 113.9
Anthracite 135. 7 122. 7
Natural Gas 107.0 108. 5
Coke Gas 1 15.0 118.5
Liquefied Gas 109.0 109.0
When compared with Table II the reduction in cost is quite im-
pressive, and it should be noted that in all these calculations the models
based on the ZIS-5 truck are considerably cheaper to operate than those
built around the smaller older GAZ-MM or GAZ-AA. Presumably,
therefore, the more modern and larger ZIS-150 and GAZ-51 models
would further reduce the cost gap between liquid and non-liquid fuels,
It is important to note that in the table of comparative ton. - kilometer
operating costs given above, the money cost of operating the ZIS truck
on many non-liquid fuels is a little less than the cost of operating the
GAZ-MM on gasoline. Although the available evidence is too scanty for
a final conclusion, it is very likely that the ton. - kilometer cost of oper-
ating a ZIS-150 on some non-liquid fuels is less than for operating the
ZIS-5 on gasoline.
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The ZIS-352, 35 a much improved version of the ZIS-21 truck
(gas generator), was tested in the winter of 1949-50 and produced very
interesting results. The weight of the gas generator has been reduced
and the horsepower increased so that performance is nearly equal to
the ZIS-5 on gasoline; engine wear is only slightly less than normal due
to a better filter which remov3e6s the impurities. Another new type truck
developed was the GAZ-51-B, a model designed for operation on cone-
pressed gas. Performance of this model is actually superior to the
gasoline model.
Three recent developments in gas generator tractors are of con-
siderable interest. One is a new gas generator for the KT-12 tractor
which has proved quite successful in operation. The chief advantages
of this generator are: it uses green firewood which releases one laborer
35. Compared with the previous type, the new unit has the following
advantages. (1) less weight (355 kg. to 518 kg. ); (2) ability to operate
on green firewood (this increases fuel consumption about 80 percent
with no further loss of hp. ; furthermore, green firewood costs only
about 25 percent as much as wood briquettes with 20 percent moisture
content); (3) a special adjustment for starting under winter conditions;
(4) a more durable gasification chamber that is easier to repair; (5)
better dust filter, generally simplified design.
36. The most important features of this new truck are: (1) an improved
flask of lighter weight which contains enough fuel to run 235 kilo-
meters, consequently, only one or two instead of six.flasks need be
mounted; (2) an increase of compression from 6. 2 to 8. 6, as a con-
sequence, the engine develops 76 hp. on compressed gas compared to
70-72 hp. for the standard engine operating on gasoline, and the 55-60
hp. for the standard engine converted to compressed gas. As a re-
sult of these improvements this model can operate as efficiently on
natural and, even more important, on enriched coke, 'cooking, or
sewage gas, as the standard truck operates on gasoline. Repair
costs will doubtless be considerably less; the onl higher cost items
are the cost of the flask and the driver?s bonus. r -1
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per tractor day as compared with the old model which required dried
briquettes; as much work is accomplished and the new generator lasts
longer. 37 The second new development is a gas generator model of
the caterpillar diesel tractor S-80, denominated the SGD-80. Judging
from the meager reports so far available the new tractor has a,"gas
engine" which means a higher compression ratio and possibly other
changes which permit more efficient use of generator gas. Accordiig
to press reports, this model has undergone successful field tests.
The single most important development in experimental non-
liquid-fueled vehicles is a gas generator model of the 54-hp agricul-
tural diesel caterpillar tractor (the DT-54) - the basic agricultural
tractor of the 'USSR. There are two variations of'this model (GB-58
and GT-58) with slightly different types of gas generators depending
upon the type of fuel to be burned. These models will burn a variety of
fuels including wood briquettes, charcoal, anthracite, lignite, peat, coke
and semi-cokes. 39 There is no power loss with these generators, while
a much improved filter virtually eliminates the excess engine wear usually
attendant upon the use of most of these fuels. Performance (i.e. , field
work done in a given period) is substantially the same as for the diesel
model. 40
37.
38.
Lesnaya. Promyshlennost', 29 May 1952.
Lesnaya Promyshlennost', February 1952; Leninskge Znamya, 29
September 1951.
39. Velichkin, L. M. , Iudyshkin, V. G. , Artamnov, M.R., "Gas Generator
Tractors GB and GT-58, " Avtomobil':nayaPr..omyshlennost? No. 7, 1951
40. By increasing the compression ratio to 8. 5 and the revolutions of the
crankshaft from 1300 to 1400 per minute there has been no loss in
engine horsepower; depending upon the type of fuel, engine horsepower
ranges from 50 to 57 as compared to 54 for the diesel model. To comm
pensate for the lower "reactive quality". of these fuels the gear ration
in the final drive has been increased from 2. 56 to 2.93 comparable
drawbar power (in kilograms) on stubble is as follows-
Gear
DT-54
& G T
1st
2919
2810
2nd
2 160
2070
3rd
1783
1700
4th
1 486
1395
5th
Ibid.
1 003
920
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This is the first time that the Soviets have had a really practical
gas generator which would burn most of these fuels. 41 One serious de-
ficiency remains, however, which detracts from their usefulness, namely
the tractor must be refueled every 1 to 1.,5 hours when operating on wood
briquettes, (every 2. 5 hours on semi-coke, and every 3 hours when using
peat briquettes). 42 Consequently there is not only a considerable amount
of effort involved in keeping the tractors in the field supplied with fuel, but
also a significant loss of working time during the refueling stops. Under
Soviet conditions where plowing and harvesting must be done in a relatively
short time, this can be a serious matter. On the other hand, fuel costs
are quite low; for example, the cost of charcoal burned in plowing one
hectare of grain stubble is only 4. 65 rubles. 43
In.addition to these vehicles, the Soviets have produced experi-
mental models of a steam tractor and a steam truck. While detailed
information on these vehicles is still a little scarce, the Soviets claim
that both the truck and the tractor are more efficient than the gas gener-
ator models, and indeed approach liquid fueled vehicles in operating
costs; the original cost, however, is quite high. 44 One of the great
advantages of steam vehicles is that they are not limited by the chemical
qualities of the fuel; the only limitations are the calorie value per kilogram,
and the weight by volume, both of which radically affect the range of the
vehicle with one load of fuel. Obviously, steam-powered vehicles would
offer great possibilities if operated on coal, lignite, peat, and other low-
cost local fuels with chemical properties that seriously inhibit their use
in gas generators.
Some developments in fuels also are interesting. As has been
noted, the Soviets have been devoting a good deal of attention to briquetting
various hard fuels. The Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Local
Fuels has produced a briquette from anthracite waste which contains only
small amounts of sulphuric acids and volatile substances. Furthermore,
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according to press reports the Soviets plan to build a very large number
of gas -producing plants using peat and brown coal. Should this program
be carried out, the possibilities for use of compressed gas vehicles
would greatly increase.
The importance of these developments is quite evident both in
terms of substitution under "normal" conditions for more purely eco-
nomic reasons, and in terms of the impact of conversion under war-
time conditions. In the first place, the greater technological efficiency
of the vehicle increases the geographical area in which non-liquid-fueled
vehicles can "compete" with liquid-fueled vehicles on the basis of opera-
ting costs. However, the Soviets may use criteria other than comparative
costs in making a decision of the "profitable" scale of substitution, namely,
they may well take into account the secondary effects on capital investment.
Thus, if current truck production would add 1, 000, 000 tons to the yearly
gasoline requirements of the USSR, the amount of capital necessary to
increase the production of lignite or wood briquettes by 3, 860, 000 tons
(the equivalent of 1, 000, 000 tons of gasoline for the older model genera-
tors) and steel by 75, 000 tons might be much less than the amount of capital
necessary to produce and transport the additional gasoline. Under Soviet
conditions this 'would make the substitution desirable. Furthermore, a
similar type of substitution has taken place in the USSR since 1937. One
of the primary reasons for the switch to caterpillar tractors, despite the
greatly increased cost in steel, labor and capital equipment, was to save
fuel. Finally the Soviets changed to the heavier diesel tractor in the begin-
ning of 1950 for the same reason: 30 percent less fuel for the same amount
of work as compared to the kerosene model.
Secondly, technological efficiency is extremely important in
assessing the impact of the substitution of local fuels in wartime. Since
what occurs is the substitution of one group of scarce commodities and
factors, local fuel, metal, labor, for a scarcer group, petroleum products,
transport facilities, labor, anything that reduces the real cost of substitution
is of great value to the economy. Some notion of this real cost may be
gained from the following example. Let us assume that the Soviets wish
to save 1, 000, 000 tons of diesel fuel, and the transport facilities necessary
to move it.
metal (mostly medium grade steel) 20 to 25, 000 tons
labor n. a.
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Operating Costs
fuel 2, 200, 000 tons of charcoal
3, 000, 000 " " wood briquettes or
lignite
labor increase of about 25 percent
(physical indices not available)
spare parts increase of about 15 percent
(physical indices not available)
Finally, in any estimated future use of non-liquid fuels it must
be remembered that the yearly increment to consumption as -a result of
current production of trucks and tractors alone is in excess of 1, 500, 000
tons of gasoline for the former, and at least 1, 000, 000 tons of diesel
fuel for the latter. A very rapid increase in petroleum production which
was envisaged in the fifth Five Year Plan is therefore a necessity. How-
ever, local fuels could serve as a very substantial cushion should not
this rapid increase be achieved.
In summary, recent experimental models have greatly enhanced
the prospects for further utilization of local fuels under "normal" con-
ditions, and have reduced the real cost of large-scale conversion in
regard to both materials and performance. Owing to secondary invest-
ment effects, and probably to eventually increased production costs of
liquid fuels, large-scale utilization of local fuels for internal combustion
engines may in the future become increasingly desirable, and even neces-
sary, in the USSR.
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
The influence of non-liquid-fueled vehicles upon the strategic
capabilities of the USSR may be stated in the following terms
(1) Although the present non-liquid fuel truck and tractor park
of the USSR is not large, and although present rate of produc-
tion is not high, these vehicles are employed in areas far re-
moved from the principal transportation nets and/or from
major production centers or liquid fuels. Consequently their
importance to the economy is far out of proportion to their
actual numbers.
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(2) Local fuels can be used as an alternative if a continuation
of the current high level of truck and tractor production
places an undue burden upon the petroleum industry;
(3) Recent technical advances give rise to the possibility that,
when due allowance is made for the secondary effects on
capital investment, local fuels may become more economical
than liquid.fuels over a much greater geographical area than
at present, thus contributing to the efficiency of the economy
as a whole;
(4) Under wartime conditions the large-scale substitution of non-
liquid fuels is quite practical and would
(a) release large quantities of fuel for military use with-
out seriously inhibiting a high .level of industrial and
agricultural. production;
(b) ease the burden on transportation facilities, especially
the railroads;
(c) increase the self-sufficiency of local area's and add
greatly to the efficiency of the already large reserve
program in enabling a region such as the Far East to
operate at a high level of economic and military acti-
vity even if normal communications facilities were
seriously disrupted.
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APPENDIX
1. Wood Briquettes
Some advantages of wood briquettes are: (a) low cinder content,
(b) low sulphur content, (c) ease of manufacture and consequent low
production cost if the drying problem can be conveniently solved. 45
Some of the disadvantages are: (a) moisture content of green wood is
at least 50 percent and must be reduced to 20 percent for efficient use;
drying can be done in open air or in sheds south of the 57th parallel,
but north of that line some mechanical aid is needed; 46 when: stored,
briquettes will re-absorb a considerable amount of moisture under cer-
tain weather conditions; (b) wood has a high ash.content requiring frequent
cleaning of the generator installation and consequent loss of time, and is
very bulky to transport, considering that kilogram for kilogram it gives
only 20 percent as much power as gasoline; (c) the power of the engine
is reduced from 20 to 40 percent depending upon the quality of the bri-
quettes and the adjustment of the engine. Oak and bi4~h are the most
suitable kinds for use in gas generator installations.
The Soviets have quite a variety of installations of varying size
and degree of mechanization for producing briquettes. In general it can
be said wood briquettes can be fairly easily produced by small saws and
"choppers" at low cost; this is especially true in the timber industry, but
briquettes can also be produced along with firewood, which is still an im-
portant fuel in the Soviet economy. 4 The machinery itself can be produced
and repaired locally, and can even be powered by locomobiles operating
on wood briquettes or other local fuels.
Some of its advantages are: (a) relatively high caloric content,
45.. BRONSHTEIN,. p. 17.
46. BRONSHTEIN,, pp. 17-29.
47. BRONSHTEIN, p. 17.
48. BRONSHTEIN, pp. 22-29.
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(b) high reactive quality, (c) low ash and cinder content, (d) low mois-
ture content, 49 and the fact that the generator installation weighs only
about 40 percent as much as for wood briquettes. 50 Furthermore,
charcoal will drive a vehicle almost twice as far as the same weight of
wood .briquettes. The content of. volatile matter is also low. 51 On the
other hand, charcoal is so brittle that transportation and storage losses
are very high, up to about 15 percent by volume, and thus it is unecono-
mical to transport over long distances. This brittleness also entails
losses in the gas generator and sharply reduces charcoal's relative
advantage in the range of the vehicle. Lastly, charcoal absorbs moisture
very rapidly when stored. 52
Although peat has many suitable qualities as a fuel for gas gener-
ator engines, it has one extremely serious deficiency: the gas derived
from burning peat has a very high content of sulphur, tars, dust, and
volatile substances which both dirty and corrode the engine. Peat also
has a very high moisture content. Much experimentation has been carried
out, but so far the Soviets do not have a satisfactory filter to remove the
objectionable impurities from the gas. 53 If such a filter can be developed
the possibilities of utilizing peat for gas-generator driven vehicles seem
to be very good, as substantial deposits of good-quality peat are found in
the following regions: Archangel, Vologod, Tyumen, Omsk, Ivanov,
Moscow, Smolensk, Gorki, and Yaroslavl'. Numerous other rajons
have large deposits of peat with only a slightly lower quality. 54
As a gas generator fuel anthracite has some very considerable
advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages are: (a) low content
of volatile substances which permits the use of a very small filter, if the
49.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
32.
50.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
48.
51.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
47.
52.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
32, 48.
53.
BRONSHTEIN,
pp.
50-56.
54.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
62.
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anthracite is of low sulphur content and if it has been washed; (b) low
moisture content and no tendency to absorb it when in storage; (c) very
high calorie content by weight, 55 and (d) very heavy by volume. The
disadvantages, however, are quite serious. First of all, anthracite
burns at very high temperatures, necessitating a heavy and expensive
ceramic liner in the combustion chamber of the gas generator. Secondly,
its tendency to clinker not only damages the ceramic liner but makes it
difficult to start the generator after stopping. Maximum efficiency de-
mands an admixture of steam; .3 to . 4 kilogram of water should be expended
for each kilogram of fuel, which consequently increases the over-all weight
of the installation greatly. 56 Thus, at the present level of technology, the
use of anthracite as a vehicular fuel is possible only under conditions of
meticulous maintenance and a supply of anthracite of very high and uniform
quality.
Should it become technologically possible to use it efficiently, the
supply and distribution of anthracite in the USSR would make it an excellent
local fuel substitute for petrol. 1950 production is estimated at some
35, 000, 000 tons and, although production is concentrated in the Donbas,
there are significant deposits in the Urals, the Kuznetsk Basin, and even
in Primorskij Kraj.
Soft coal can be used as a gas generator fuel but has only a few
desirable qualities: (a) high weight by volume, (b) low moisture content,
and (c) high calorie content. On the debit side of the ledger, soft coal has
several serious disadvantages: only two types of Soviet soft coal have an
ash content low enough to make them practical, and these coals have a
limited distribution. Soft coal tends to clinker and cake, damaging the
ceramic liner. It has a low'reactive quality' and a high sulphur and tar
content. Finally the content of volatile substances varies but is usually
too high. 59 Consequently, the prospects for using bituminous coal as a
gas generator fuel are not too bright.
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The suitable types of soft coal are mined only in the Kuznetsk
Basin, the Central Asiatic deposits, the Suchan and Bukarchichen de-
posits in the Primorskij area, and the Cheremkhov deposits near Lake
Baikal Thus, soft coal is in effect rather limited in geographic distri-
bution. 60 However, since soft coal and anthracite are transported .long
distances for other uses, the transport of additional quantities for use
as vehicular fuel might not necessarily be limited by the transportation
problem as are many other hard fuels. On the other hand, the usual
industrial demands for both these fuels are probably so heavy that the
diversion of large amounts would not be practical, unless there is a
drastic technological improvement in gas generators.
6 Lignite
It is very widely distributed, is produced at a.very low cost, is
fairly heavy by volume, and has a caloric content. In these respects it
is much superior to wood briquettes. Its disadvanta es are- high moisture,
ash, tar, and sulphur contents; and fragility of fuel. 91 If the impurities
were filtered out of the gas, lignite would make a good fuel. Some success
in filtering has been achieved.
One of the great advantages of lignite as a substitute fuel is its
wide distribution, and the fact that the Soviets have spent, or are spending,
considerable time and effort to develop and encourage the use of lignite
in industry and power generation. Since lignite is a marginal or subsi-
dized substitute for other coals this greatly increases the supply which
could be made available for vehicles.
7. Cokes and Semi-Coke
Peat coke possesses numerous qualities favorable for the purposes
in question: high 'reactive quality', good weight by volume, reasonably
high calorie content, and low ash and clinker content, 63 On the debit side,
we have the fact that peat coke which is to be used in vehicle gas generators
must have an ash content not in excess of 8-10 percent, which . eliminates
60.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
72.
61.
BRONSHTEIN,
pp.
65-66.
62.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
67.
63.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
81.
-43 -
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most Soviet peats since it means that the ash content of the raw peat
must not exceed 2-3 percent. Peat coke is very brittle and cannot be
transported profitably over long distances. In general, its application
is not feasible except in connection with the large-scale development
of the peat coke and chemistry industry, in which case the coke would
almost be a by-product. bb
Local production of good quality peat coke can be carried on
by small furnaces, and apparently at fairly low cost. One typeof furnace
will produce about 10 tons of peat coke from 32 tons of peat in.16 hours.
However, a considerable amount of fuel is required to fire the furnace
itself. 65 Alternative uses are neither so varied nor so crucial as to in-
hibit allocation of a large part of production .as vehicular fuel.
8. Semi-Coke from Bituminous Coal and Lignite
This fuel has high 'reactive quality', does not absorb moisture-in
storage, is heavy by volume with good caloric content, giving a range of
200-250 kilometers for each filling. However, the gas has a consider-
able ash, dust, and deleterious chemical content. As in the case of other
coals and cokes, a ceramic lining must be installed in the generator, and
an admixture of steam to the generator is necessary. 66 Experiments with
its use by various scientific institutes have given favorable results. One
of the most important factors is insuring that the semi-coke is of very
high and uniform quality; any slight deviation from the specifications will
not oniv cause the vehicle to work badly but will also greatly increase
wear.
9. Metallurgical Coke
The "gazovoj" coke from the lignite gas-producing installations
which were to have been constructed in the large industrial centers and
in Central. Asia during the fourth Five Year Plan might be of the necessary
quality, but experiments along this line are still lacking. Research is
to be carried out to discover methods for producing both amore efficient
generator and better coke. 68
64.
BRONSHTEIIN,
pp.
80,
82.
65.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
80.
66.
BRONSHTEIN,
pp.
83-84.
67,
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
87.
68.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
90.
In general, the Soviets have conducted no ex-
haustive experiments on .utilization of coke on gas generators since
before the war.
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10. Chaff and Agricultural Wastes
When discussing the possibility of using this fuel in automobiles
and tractors, Soviet writers display overtones of complete frustration.
According to Soviet calculations there are about 102 million tons of chaff
and other organic waste available each year, which, if it could be used,
would greatly alleviate the fuel and transport problems of kolkhozes and
Machine Tractor Stations which are far removed from a railhead: Bri-
quetted chaff is an.excellent fuel in every respect but two: first, at about
9500 C the ash decomposes into a soggy mess which puts out the fire;
secondly, the gas contains a great deal of dust which is deposited in the
engine and in one test increased the wear on an SG-65 tractor by about
18 to 20 percent. 69 So far no satisfactory solution to these difficulties
has been discovered, but at least three scientific institutes are wQrking
on the problem. 70
11. Briquettes
Briquetting is one solution for hard fuels which are not quite
satisfactory in their normal state, and has other advantages as well.
Briquettes are a much more concentrated fuel with both a very high
density and a very high caloric content. Undersized lumps and dust of
various coals can be briquetted instead of wasted, blends which improve
the final product can be produced, and the binder can also improve the
quality of the fuel. Briquettes are more profitable to transport, there
is much less waste, and they burn evenly in the gas generator. However,
briquettes of various coals tend to contain too much ash for uaQ in gas
generators unless the coal is well washed before briquetting.
Bituminous coal and dust from all the major producing basins
can be briquetted. Suitable lignite deposits occur in Central Asia, -the
Ukraine and the Far East. The anthracite deposits of the Urals and
Poltava are satisfactory as are both peat coke and semi-coke. Waste
charcoal, which amounted to 250, 000 tons per year in the Urals before
the war, is especially suitable for briquetting. 7
69.
BRONSHTEIN, pp. 113-115.
70.
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
114.
71,
BRONSHTEIN,
pp.
93-94.
72,
BRONSHTEIN,
p.
93.
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Charcoal itself is one of the best briquetted.fuels it can be briquetted
with a variety of binders and thus becomes a highly transportable,' con-
centrated, and stable fuel. Moisture absorption is greatly reduced as
compared with lump charcoal. 73 Both peat coke and semi-coke make
excellent briquettes if the ash content of the original peat is low enough. 74
Sawdust and wood wastes. can be briquetted. Perhaps more important,
these materials can be used to produce charcoal in small, cheap fur-
naces. Very large quantities of these waste products are available. 75
There seems to be little or no evidence of extensive production
of briquettes from these various fuels, with the exception of peat and
coal. For these fuels the situation is somewhat different. Peat bri-
quetting is believed to have proved much less economical than was
hoped. and is far behind plan. Coal briquetting, however, has proved
eminently successful, is receiving more and more emphasis, and its
volume is now probably much greater than was envisaged in the fourth
Five Year Plan.
Granted better-quality fuel and a modicum of technological im-
provement in the generators themselves, briquetting coal, various cokes,
and wood wastes should make possible the substitution of hard fuels for
gasoline and diesel fuel on a .very large scale.
12. Gases
Various kinds of gases are excellent substitutes for petrol fuel.
The following is a list of those most suited to this purpose:76.
Natural extracted from natural gas fields, or concomitantly
with oil at rate of 50 to 100 cubic meters per ton.
Petroleum a) by-product of distillation refining; up to 50
percent of basic gasoline production of re=
fineries depending upon, and increasing with,
the octane rating of the gasoline.
73.
BRONSHTEIN,
pp.
103.
74.
BRONSHITEIN,
pp.
98-102.
75.
BRONSHTEIN,
pp.
110-113.
76.
BRONShITEIN,
p.
135.
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b) by-product of cracking, up to 10 percent of
basic output;
c) by-product of pyrolitic cracking (cracking of
low-grade by-products of distillation refining),
up to 20 percent of basic production;
d) by-product of hydrogenation of coal, up to 20
percent of basic gas production.
Coke Gas by-product of soft coal coke batteries, produced at
rate of about 350 cubic meters per ton,
Sewage Gas extracted from sewage by the canalization process;
a,city of 100, 000 will produce 3, 000 cubic meters
per day, or enough for 60 to 70 trucks. 77
Cooking Gas produced from coals and lignite for cooking purposes.
These gases are divided into two groups according to the physical
state in which they are used. All of the refining by-product gases are
easily converted into liquid state when under pressure of from two to,
three atmospheres. Natural gas, coke gas, and the like are compressed
in bottles at pressure of 200 to 350 atmospheres. Natural gases and
those which occur with oil have a very high calorie content; one cubic
meter of the lowest quality (from the Dashava Field) is equal to one liter
of gasoline. For coking gas, sewage gas, and cooking gas the ratio is
a little less than two cubic meters to one liter of gas. 7~' The octane rating
of these gases is extremely high, 100 for coke gas, 110 for cooking gas,
and 120 or more for natural gas. 79 Consequently, while these gases. can
be burned in an ordinary engine with only a different type of carburetor with
a loss of hp. of not more than 20 percent, in a higher-compression engine
they will outperform gasoline. Liquefied refinery gas has about the same
caloric content and octane rating as natural gas. Coke gas must be cleaned
of certain impurities as must also gas extracted in conjunction with crude
77. SAMOL?, G. 1. and GOLDBLAT, 1. 1., "Gazoballonnye Avtomobili"
(Gas Balloon Automobiles), Moscow 1951, p. 19.
78. BRONSHTEIN, pp. 144-146.
79. Ibid.
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oil, but once this is done the wear on the engine is less than with gas-
oline. Furthermore, the addition of a small amount of natural gas with
a high methane content will produce a much richer gas,- almost to the
point where one cubic meter equals one liter of gasoline.
The principal drawback to the use of these compressed gases
is the weight of the metal flask. Thus the ZIS-5 truck, normally rated
at 3 tons capacity, is reduced to 2. 5 tons capacity when fitted for oper-
ation on compressed gas while the 1 1/2 ton GAZ-44 is reduced to 1. 1
ton capacity. Refinery by-product gases are liquefied under such low
pressure (2 or 3 atmospheres) that the weight of the container is not a
serious detriment. This gas can also be transported in bulk in tank
cars and trucks.
The possibilities for the utilization of compressed and liquefied
gases as vehicular fuel seem to be very good. Exploited natural gas
fields exist at Dashava near Kiev, at Saratov near Kuibyshev, in Dagestan,
and in the Groznyi-Baku area. Furthermore, the Saratov-Moscow pipe-
line makes possible the use of natural gas to enrich locally produced
cooking, coke, and sewage gases. As has been noted in the Introduction,
a good start toward large-scale use of natural gas has been made in the
Ukraine.
Two of the chief limiting factors in the use of compressed gases
are the weight of the flasks and the special compressor stations which
must be erected. Not only do the flasks reduce the load capacity of the
vehicle, but they must be made of either high-grade steel or a special
aluminum alloy with steel reinforcing. Since each vehicle must have at
least two sets, a considerable amount of high-grade steel and/or alumi-
num alloy is' required. However, the use of these alloys would only
reduce the load capacity by 250 to 300 kilograms instead of about 500
with the older-type bottles. 80
A considerable investment is required to construct compressor
stations. A "typical" compressor station working two shifts, 300 days
a year, will compress about 1, 700, 000 cubic meters of gas. If this
were natural gas it would be the equivalent of 1300 tons of gasoline, if
80. BRONSHTEIN, pp. 150-151.
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coke gas the equivalent of about 650 tons, or enough for 80 or 40 trucks
respectively. 81 Such a station is powered by two 100-hp. electric motors. 82
Expressed in rubles, the equivalent of 1 liter of gasoline in compressed
natural gas is 35 kopecks, in coke gas 70 kopecks; gasoline is listed at 75
kopecks per liter. 8
81. SAMOL, pp. 161-162.
82. SAMOL, pp. 177-178.
83. SAMOL, pp. 161-162.
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