The San Francisco call., 1899-12-11

o%-NS-<-4->@ %
istlcs and are complex in composition
| From the "crude OIL which comes from
the earth come series of products, as dis
! tillation is carried on at varying tempera-
| lures and by varied processes. From all
such oils naphthas. benZines, etc, are
| first recovered by distllation. These are
the most volatile elements. They are
produced in California oil refineries.
Oil fit for Illuminating uses Is sort
OF midway product. How much illumin-
ating oil can be distilled from certain
chemical composition Of the crude oil.
After the illuminating oil has been dis
titled at the requisite temperature there
remain various kinds and grades or oil
useful for lubricants. In recent years
mineral oils have largely superseded ami
NAL and vegetable oils for this purpose.
product IS refined. The great bulk Of
the product is burned up under steam
boilers. and the demand for this purpose
exceeds the supply, as II Is cheaper than
steam coal at the present high rates OF
81 n barrel and inward. At the refinerfes
across the bay and In Southern Califor-
quietly on. yielding number OF by
products. including Illuminating oils,
iubricating oils, vaseline, paratIine, as
phalt, naphtha, gasoline, etc
This is one of the great industrial Sc
crets OF the State. California oil was not
put in the ground by the Almighty TO BE-
burned in ordinary "coal-oil lamps as
the refineries Of 1899 are able to monkey
with It. Nobody can burn distilled Cali
fornia oil in lamp without being driven
out of the house by the odor and having
a lamp chimney TO clean in short time.
II smokes and smells. Up 10 date IL Is
better used in furnace.
But some people do not think so and
this will be news to many Californians.
The Standard OIL Company controls the
Illuminating oil market out here as else
where There is no war between II and
the Union or any other California oil COM
pany The average householder knows
that the corner grocery sells oil at vari-
Gus prices Good oil that neither smokes
nor stinks costs so much. Cheaper oil
smokes and stinks in either a lamp or n
coal oil stove. That cheap oil is a mix
ture of California and Eastern oil. Hun
dreds of thousands Of barrels of this mix
ture are sold on this coast yearly Men |
who know the business say that Califor- T,
MIA burns on an average lower grade of
illuminating oil than any part of the civ !
iliZed world. The best Eastern oil Is in !
the market. but the cheaper oils described |
are largely supplied and bought.
The reason why California petroleum |
does not afford a good Illuminating oil lies |
in it's chemical composition. Petroleum. |
which scientifically includes natural gas. |
mineral oils and solid asphalt, paraffine, |
etc, is a hydrocarbon. Carbon and hy- |
drogen enter in greatly varying proper |
tions into the composition OF the hydro |
carbons. The Pennsylvania Illuminating |
oil, constituting about 50 per cent. of the |
crude product. has won the world because 1
the proportions Of carbon and hydrogen /
gave a comparatively perfect combustion. |
When distillation, as now known. does its |
best with California oil the illuminating !
oil produced burns with an ill-smeling, !
sooty flame because there IS n greater pro- |
portion OF carbon, and hence not enough |
hydrogen TO maintain complete combus- |
tlon. That is the reason why the cheap |
oil OF the corner grocery smells.
Mr.. Cooper has been wrestling with this
problem for some years, and his labora-
tory experiments have been legion. His
aim has been to invent q process by
which a high-grade OF illuminating oil
can be made out OF California petroleum.
Success in this effort would be one of the
greatest scientific, Industrial and inyen-
tive triumphs which California has given
TO the world 1t would exceed in value
the discovery of the coaching process
made accidentally a generation ago by a
negligent attendant on a petroleum still.
which has increased so much the percent
age OF illuminating oil obtainable from
crude OIL II the chemical constituents OF
California oil can be changed by an in
vented process so az TO produce a good
quality of Illuminating oil the process
will not only largely revolutionize the
California oil industry, but will naturally
affect the industry all over the world.
The State Mineraloglst is not ready TO
Sit tiIt VI Ills process. as aDDii- /
cations Tor patents are pending. and ne
is still conducting experiments I'm his
well-equipped private laboratory across |
the bay. All he was willing to say was
this:
II am fully satisfied that from California
petroleum twenty-five or n higher D-r
cent of illuminating oil equal to the best I
In the world can be produced the psr-
centage varying with the specific pravitv
OF the oil. When this is Accommodated as
II is safe to say II will be, California me- |
troleum Will not be simply in competition |
with coal but with illuminants as we'll |
and It's relative price should be enhanced |
This will not be done by mixing with !
other oils. but by a process of treating
the oil itself" s
Thomas A. Edison says his plant m |
the Ortiz grant. in New Mexico. will com
mence by taking out $4,000 day Fieur-
ing from his estimate Of $500 900 900 in tho |
district. 1t Will require 219 years and 15O
days, including Sundays and HOLIDAYS 10
extract the gold.-Exchange
William Nichols Jr., proprietor of tho
Polar Star hydraulic mine al Dutch EIot
informs the Colfax Sentinel that he viii
turn on water at the mine December .
TWO monitors were used last Season ard
two more have been added for usc ~ ,hTa
winters run The mine EMPLOYS q Iargo
force of men. Two thousand inches 50
water are used under pressure of sevaroi
hundred feet. The gravel is coarse ai
large quantities of powder are needed - |
dislodge IL from the bank ~
Rev. Mr.. Weber. the evangelist is .