PAPER NO. 1122.

THE MANUFACTURE OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS By Dr. F. C. ROBINSON

Chief Chemist of the Atlantic Refining Co.

Read December 21, 1912

It is a real privilege to address you, a body of engineers, on the present subject-The Manufacture of Petroleum Products-because all of these products are or might be used in some engineering operation. I have frequently had occasion to inform my friends that the oil refinery does not manufacture dyes, acetanilid and allied products, nor perfumes. We do not make perfumes.

The first group of products from petroleum is made up of Gasol nes and Naphthas. There is some confusion among the various names, benzine, gasoline, naphtha, etc., but the best practice is to use the word gasoline for any mixture of light hydrocarbons intended for use in any kind of vaporizer, i. e., to be gasified in a gas machine, gasoline torch, gasoline stove or automobile carbureter. Also to confine the word naphtha to mixtures of hydrocarbons intended for some purpose that requires a very good odor, such as the naphtha used by cleaners, varnish makers, soap makers, etc. In this scheme, the word benzine finds no place. Gasolines and Naphthas vary in average boiling point according to the use for which they are intended, but all lay between 125° F. and 280° F. In all cases it is essential that they be free from all heavy hydrocarbons that do not evaporate from the hand.

The next group consists of several grades of Lamp Oil. Lamp Oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons whose average boiling point is about 450° F., entirely freed on the one hand from gasoline or naphtha and on the other hand from the heavy hydrocarbons that belong to Gas Oil and Lubricating Oil and that would make the oil act badly in the lamp.

The next class is gas oil. While oils of all degrees of volatility have been used, the most economical for the gas maker consists of

a mixture of heavy hydro-carbons with an average boiling point of 600° to 650° F. It must be practically free from Gasoline and Lamp Oil on the one hand and from the heavy lubricating Oils and Asphalt on the other.

The next group is Fuel Oil. This oil occupies a peculiar position. It must be oil and must not contain gasoline and must be of such a consistency that it can be pumped through pipes and burners, but except for these restrictions one oil is practically as good as another for fuel. The light oils have a slightly higher heat of combustion per pound, but the heavier oils have a slightly higher heat of combustion per gallon. For some purposes, such as oil engines, special oils are required, but, in general, Fuel Oil is made up of oils that cannot be used for any better purpose.

The next group is that of Spindle Oils-Neutral and Paraffin Oils. This important group includes hundreds of light lubricating oils designed for use on thousands of different light machines, including Gas Engines. They must be free from gasoline and lamp oil in order that their flash test shall be high enough to prevent loss by evaporation. The important point to that is that they shall have the proper viscosity for the use intended.

The next group is that of Steam Cylinder Oils, which consist of the heaviest hydrocarbons contained in certain crude oils. In this case also the flash must be such that the oils will not evaporate in a steam cylinder and must have the proper viscosity for the use intended at the temperature of the cylinder.

The next group-Paraffin Wax-consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons of the Paraffin series about C23 H48 to C35 H72. The commercial article is rated according to the melting point, which varies from 100° to 135° F.

The next group-Vaseline or Petrolatum-consists of the higher members of the Paraffin series which settle from crude oil mixed and inseparable from some of the oily constituents of the crude. It is marketed as the light colored material used in medicine and for toilet purposes or as the dark colored sticky material used in large quantities by the makers of oiled paper

The next group-The Dust Laying Oils-consists of Petroleum Asphalt in solution in oils similar to gas oil. The basic idea in their manufacture is that the solvent will slowly evaporate, leaving the dust particles covered wih a sticky adherent film. These oils have proven successful as a cheap means of laying dust.

The next group-The Road Binders-consists of petroleum asphalt properly fluxed with heavy Petroleum Oils that will not evaporate and of such qualities that they will bind the road materials together both in summer and winter.

The next group-Coke contains but one member. This material being almost entirely free from ash, is used very extensively by makers of Electric Carbons.

1. These are the desired products. Now let us look at the Crude Oils from which they are obtained.

2. There are about as many varieties of crude oil as there are oil fields, but the refiner recognizes three distinct types, because each type must be handled by different methods. Viz. (1) The paraffin base crude similar to that found in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and being essentially light colored crudes containing paraffin. (2) Asphalt Base Crudes similar to those found in Texas and California and being essentially black and containing no paraffin. (3) Mixed Base Crudes similar to those found from Ohio to Oklahoma and being essentially mixtures of paraffin and Asphalt Base Crudes.

3. In order to obtain some idea of the chemical and physical nature of the crude oil let us imagine a sample of Mixed Base Crude brought into the laboratory for a thorough examination. The Chemist would probably distill the sample in a vacuum or in some similar manner in order to avoid destructive distillation and would save the various fractions separate. He would not distill off more than 90% because the heaviest 10% cannot be distilled without breaking it down into simpler molecules. He will then start to examine the various fractions and will keep a record similar to the middle chart. The horizontal lines indicate the 10 fractions. The first fraction will be a light mobile mixture of hydrocarbons whose average boiling point is about 227° F. The second is a slightly darker and slightly less mobile mixture of hydrocarbons whose average boiling point is about 295° F. The third cut again darker, heavier and less mobile, boiling point 369° F. The fourth cut still heavier and 460° F. boiling point. The fifth cut is about 530° F. boiling point. The remaining cuts are increasingly heavier, more viscous and darker in color and the residue in the still is a soft pitch. The chemist now asks what these ten fractions are chemically and he recognizes four groups of compounds in each fraction that the refiner may have to isolate or remove. First the coloring matter indicated in the diagram by the black area.