The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1915-04-30
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neering work, both in chemical ana
mechanical lines.
In the fall of 1912 he came to Co
| lumbia university to do the WORK
which got for him, in June, 1914, the
degree of doctor of philosophy Inc
research work for this degree was car
ried out in the industrial laboratories
of Havemeyer hall, Columbia, under
the direction of Prof. M. c. Whitaker.
The results of these Investigations
we're published in the May and june
1914. numbers of the Journal OF Indus
trial and Engineering Chemistry, and
were upon the subject "Thermo-Reac'
tions in Carbureting Water Gas In
this research work was laid the foun'
dation for the work which led to his
discoveries. This piece OF research
was so much praised that he was
asked to take a position with the Unit
ed States bureau of mines at Pitts
burgh as chemical engineer. After
accepting this position he continued
to study the problem of obtaining
larger yields of gasoline in the distil-
lation of crude oil.
He found that at the laboratories
in Pittsburgh there was not the kind
of apparatus that was required for
the work which he had in mind. The
work which he had done in studying
the thermal reactions in the carburet-
ing of water gas required a special
piece Of apparatus, and this had been
designed and built in the laboratories
in Havemeyer hall, so that it was de-
sirable that in the continuance of his
researches he be able to use this ap-
paratus. Through the courtesy of the
university authorities he was able to
take up his investigation for the bu-
reau OF mines in one of the private
laboratories OF the department of
chemistry, where he could make use
of the apparatus which he had for
merly used as a graduate student.
While his experimental distillation
apparatus is not large enough to be
called factory size, it is much larger
than the ordinary laboratory size, and
he was enabled to get results which
gave indications that the process was
feasible on a commercial scale.
Doctor Rittman is modest in his
claims and desires to have time to
perfect his processes in larger size
units before making any statements
as to the cost of the production.
The apparatus which has been used
in all of the experimental work is prac-
tically the same as that used in the
research which won for him his PHI D.
from Columbia university last June.
The oil, which may be a crude oil, and
which by the ordinary process of dis
tillation might yield no gasoline at all.
is introduced into the apparatus by a
feeding device which controls the rate
at which it is led into the furnace
Besides crude oil 1t is possible to use
residues which remain from former
Installations by the old process. and
even the oils from the California oil
fields, which yield practically no gaso-
line AS the oil enters the top of the
furnace it comes in contact with a
mass of hot steel balls which vapor-
ICES the OIL The furnace itself. into
which the oil vapor next passes, is
simply piece of iron pipe heated by
an electric current which passes
through a coil of resistance wire sur.
rounding the pipe but separated from
it by asbestos.
What actually takes place in the
distillation process is no doubt a
breaking down of the larger and more
complex molecules of the oil used, into
the gasoline molecule or the benzol
molecule as the case may be. This
process is technically known as crack.
ing" the oil.
The foreign patents which Doctor
Rittman is taking out will, of course,
be his own personal property. The
entire rights of the American patents
wiz be vested in the public. however,
and he will receive no compensation
except his salary.