The Ordway new era., 1915-04-23

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coveries of epoch-makiny
Importance. One. 1t was
- announced. will greatly in.
crease the production of gasoline; the
announcement stated that the other
VIII make the United States indepen.
cent OF the rest OF the world in the
production OF materials necessary for
tne aye industry and the manufacture
OF nigh explosives. These discoveries
nave the double Importance of being
OF the highest interest scientifically
and probably of the highest value COM
mercially. ~.
The old method OF refining petro-
ieum was to heat up the material In q
stu and condense the vapors coming
on. Gasoline is all of the yapor
which passes on up to $50 degrees cen.
tisrade. This was a simple distilla-
ton process. The experimental work
OF Doctor Rittman has been done at
various ranges VI pressure rom up to
nearly 500 pounds per square inch
down to partial vacuum ana at ranges
OF temperature from 1000 degrees cen.
tigrade down to the lowest tempera-
ture at which the apparatus could be
worked.
In his laboratory at Havemeyer hall
at Columbia university he has an ex-
pertmental apparatus which occupies
one end Of small room and in which
he can make experiments upon any oil
under any conditions he chooses. The
results are carefully tabulated and the
products produced are analyzed. Be-
fore carrying out these actual expert
ments. however. the problem was at
tackled from the purely theoretical
side.
Working from theoretical stand
point. the expected results were
mapped out and then the experiments
were tried under the chosen condl-
tions In order to either verify or dis
prove the prognostications. Using this
general method Of procedure. the re.
search was carried on and the discov-
cry made Of the conditions necessary
to produce larger yields of gasoline
from petroleum. Later were found the
conditions necessary for the produc-
tion Of toluol and benzol from petro-
leum.
The consumption of gasoline by au.
tomobiles, motor cycles. aeroplanes.
motor boats, and the various types Of
internal combustion engines used for
power has Increased enormously in the
last few years. The increase In the
number OF motor vehicles shows this.
for, according to the best estimates,
there were. in 1910. $4,000 such We
hicles; in 1912 there were $4,000.
while at the present time the number
has reached 100000. Upon the as.
sumption that each motor vehicle uses
ten barrels of gasoline per year, the
demand from this source alone would
be $4,000, 900 barrels of AZ gallons each.
The gasoline exported and that used
for other purposes makes our annual
consumption reach total OF about
q, 5,0OO.O gallons. which is the pres
ent production.
The supply has not been increasing
a. fast as the demand. however. and
even now it would be inadequate were
| It not for the fact that in the last three
years many new processes have been
patented for increasing most OF the
production. These have had no COM
| mercial value, however. except one.
the Burton process. which Is con-
trolled by the Standard Oil company.
The situation which developed when
this process was brought out three
years ago was an Interesting one. The
supply of gasoline was SO nearly ex-
ceeded by the demand that the situa.
ton was very critical and the price
was high. There was a real gasoline
problem" 1t seemed impossible to
meet the increasing demand with an
adequate supply.
Benzol was also put forward as a
substitute. ]. was found possible to
use this material for motor vehicles
in Europe to a certain extent by en-
ploying special carburetors. although
II was not entirely satisfactory.
After all. nothing was really able to
take the place of gasoline in being en-.
tirely satisfactory. nor was there an
adequate supply of any other material.
1t was at this time that the Standard
| Oil company solved the gasoline
problem" by utilizing the Burton proc
ess, which gave prospect OF an abun-
dance of gasoline for some years at
least. d,
However. the independent refn-
| ers, who were prevented by the
| patents from using this superior meth
| cd Of distilling their crude oil. could
not materially increase their output
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