Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-27
GASOLINE MAKING
REQUIRES SCIENCE
HIGH TEST FLUID COMES FROM
FIRST DISTILLATI0N
Suphuric Acid, AkaIi and Air Play
an important Part in Puri-
ficatlon of the
Product

How many Of those who, thanks to
gasoline, are enabled to enjoy the
pleasures of -automobiling, know how
that, to them, absolutely essential fluid
is made? Stripped of all technical
phraseology and in plain English the
ordinary method of producing gasoline
is something like this:
Beneath a large cylindrical tank con-
tanning from 500 to 1000 barrels of pc
troeum a large fire is built. Petrole-
UNI, or crude oil while cold retains all
its gases and vapors in a liquid state.
When, however they are heated, as in
the case in point, the gases rise and
enter a large funnel shaped hood at
the top of the tank From the small
end of this funnel runs a coil of piping
which is surrounded by water. The
first Vapor given off by the heated oil
is the highest test gasoline-the kind
you always pay for, but seldom get.
This Vapor, when it reaches the coil
kept cold by the water around it, is at
once condensed, changes from a Vapor
to a liquid and flows on to a second
tank, technically known as mixer
At this stage the newly-made gaso-
line is full of impurities 10 remove
ltltSc anu " PAL tiIllAAIleltt AliC
carbon with which it is heavily laden,
it is necessary to give the gasoline a
bath. This is done in the mixer, the
lower end of which is funnel shaped.
A pipe filled with small holes is
brought up through the bottom of the
mixer and through the pipe cold air at
high pressure is forced. A second pipe
is brought into the mixer from the top;
through this pipe stream of sulphuric
al fr, Lot In, TO, r,1f fv, oil
of a bath. The acid being very much
heavier than the oil, promptly pro-
ceeds to the bottom of the tank; here it
encounters the inrushing air and is
forthwith sent back to the surface of
the tank. This is repeated until the
acid and the gasoline are thoroughly
mixed. The result is that every parti-
Gle of carbon and other impurities is
separated from the gasoline and alb
sorbed by the acid When this has
been accomplished the incoming air is
shut off, whereupon the dirt-laden acid
at once falls to the bottom of the tank
and is drawn off.
The next move is to rinse the mix
ture and to remove what sulphuric
acid remains. An alkali mixture is
now poured into the tank of gasoline
and the air once more sent rushing
through the mixture The alkali is
thereupon washed back and forth until
every remaining portion of the sui.
phuric acid has been gathered up.
When this has been accomplished, the
air is once more shut off and the al
kali sinks to- the bottom of the tank
just as the acid did, and is run off,
leaving only pure gasoline in the tank
From the bottom of the tank leads
another pipe equipped with a number
of stopcocks. An expert opens valve
and allows the gasoline to flow through
the pipe. As 1t passes out the gasoline
is tested and the various grades of it
76 degrees, "A degrees. 6S degrees, etc.
are all separated and conducted to the
respective tanks where each is stored.
Briefly this is how gasoline is made,
but the bare facts as | have partly
told them really convey far from an
adequate idea of what an exact sci
ence the great manufacturing of petro-
leum products really is.