Evening journal., 1916-10-27
CAUTION IN GASOLINE LEGISLATION.

CAUTION IN GASOLINE LEGISLATION.
~ ELAwARE Automobiles. motorcyclists and
- CINE owners in common with those Of other States.
have an acute interest the quality of the gasoline
which they purchase and
The National Bureau Of Standards of the United
States Department of Commerce has issued a state
ment in which only advises caution in gasoline
legislation but also urges cooperation OF national.
State and municipal governments
There are approximately 5000 Automobiles in Del
aware OF which about 5000 are in Wilmington. We
also have in our State motorcycles motorboats sta
tionary engines portable engines and gasoline stoves
which in number up into the thousands. In the
course Of a year they millions Of gallons Of
gasoline Whether consumers receive, in return for
their money good gasoline bad gasoline is
ceedngly important matter
The statement issued by the National Bureau of
Standards says that in view OF the fact that state
ments have appeared in the press to the effect that
the Bureau Standards will formulate a test which
may be applied by any purchasers to detect at
an product it becomes necessary to correct
any false impression that may have aroused and
to add a brief summary OF the situation.
In the first place. no such simple test is known in
the present state OF the science of petroleum tech
nology In the early days of the petroleum industry,
when all gasolines kerOsenes, fuel oils and lubr
eating oils we're derived from one source viz, Penn
sylvania crude petroleum, simple measurement Of
the specific gravity, what amounts to the same
thing the Baume number, by means of hydrometer,
served fairly reliable indication of the qualities Of
products. Today, however the specific gravity
test is practically worthless check on the suita
bnity OF a gasoline. for example, for given motor
equipment
The reason why this is is that many oil
fields have been opened up years that yield
petroleums Of very different physical and chemical
properties and methods of manufacture have been
introduced yield products having very different
properties way related to the specific GRANTEES
The problem is extremely complicated one, ana
presupposes a definition Of gasoline It is highly prob
able that the specification definition Of standard
gasoline and the tests that will be necessary to de-
termine whether the gasoline complies with the speci
hcatons will be quite complicated and will require
the services OF trained chemist to make them
II seems most probable that the definition Of gaso-
line will be based the percentage that dis
ills over between specified temperatures, when the
dstillation is carried out under specified conditions.
This distation test speaking in non-technical terms,
is measure of the freedom with which the gasoline
will vaporize. The gasoline must not vaporize too
freely reasons that it would not be safe,
and secondly its loss in storage by vaporization,
would be too great Hence the specification may have
to contain limitations Of the percentage disng over
below certain percentage, coupled, perhaps, with
provso that certain percentages shall dist over be-
low other fixed temperatures, in order that requisite
amounts OF ow-boling constituents shall be present
to insure easy starting OF an engine LlkeWlse the
specification must contain provision that all must
distn over below certain maximum temperature, in
order TO exclude from the gasoline the heavier pero
leum distillates such kerosene
Complicated as such specification has been
briefly outlined above may to the laymen, It is
not at all improbable that other tests must be de-
vised to limit the percentage of socalled aromatic
and unsaturated hydrocarbons that may be permitted
in a good motor gasoline.
The ouestion still arises whether or not il may be
necessary TO define two grades Of motor gaso
line
Enough has been said to show that no simple tests