El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-07-28

, IS let in and the oil rests upon a bed
Iof water as base. The tanks are
iroofed with boards which are fitted as
closely together as those which form
the deck of a ship, being calked with
GA KUN 10 make them more tight The
roof Is covered also with tar and tar
paper and is upheld by tfmbers inside
the tank.
In the reffueries the oil and its
{ products are kept I'm steel tanks only.
land the tanks vary i'm size. ranging
from 1900 10 5000 barrels. Each tank
I is set in its pit TO keep the fire from
spreading should an explosion occur
and the tanks are painted two diff
ferent coiors. according as their con-
tents are crude or refined. Crude Pc
TO be exploded by any heat from the
sun. and the same Is true of fuel oil
and other coarse grades. Therefore
such tanks may be painted black
attracts the suns rays. Tt is different
with the tanks containing the lighter
oils. They are all painted white. for
white does Just the reverse. Gasoline
i'm a black tank void easily explode
and great fire might be the result
Refinery Covers $50 Acres.
During my stay here 7 have gone
through the Magnolia oil refinery. In
GLIDING its tanks il covers about $50
acres and the most Of 1t is made up Of
great buildings filled with the finest
of modern machinery The refinery Is
now using about 10000 barrels OF
crude petroleum day, much OF which
is brought here IN pipes from oil fields
as far away as the distance between
New York and PittsburE. tt is making
vast quantities Of lubricating oil. fuel
oil, kerosene and gasoline, in addition
TO other by products from paraffin 10
coke tt is now producing 10000 bar
rels Of gasoline a day and turns out
enough Of that fluid every Is days ~
run one Of the cheaper motor cars
from the earth to the sun.
This estimate is made on the basis
Of Is miles TO the gallon and TO show
that it is correct 7 will give YOU the
figures. Multiply 10000 barrels by Is,
the number Of days, and you have
the barrel product Tt Is 10000. Now,
each barrel contains ~ gallons. so
that the whole equals $500. 900 gal
Ions. which. multiplied by IS. the num-
Der of miles TO the gallon, gives YOU
the enormous distance Of 94,500. 0D0
miles or enough to take your flivver
clear to the sun. with almost 100000
miles to spare. That is what this one
refinery is doing every two weeks
We have other refineries whose prod
uct is equally large. so that you can
see something of the value OF such
works to our country in this time Of
war.
I despair OF being able to give you
an adequate conception OF the ma
chinery OF the oil refineries. The pro-
many OF their machines are as intri-
cate as that Of a watch, although the
scale is gigantic Other processes are
triumphs Of chemistry and others OF
almost every branch OF engineering
known 10 production In brief the
process Of refining oil IS largely one
Of distilling- The crude oil as il comes
from the earth is reduced TO vapor-
It is then sent through coil after coil
Of pipes. ranging In diameter from the
to eight inches These coils are en-
Deuded in large watts OF cold water
which condense the vapor and turn II
back into oil The process is just like
that Of distilling water or the making
OF whisky, except that the oil IS
poured in by the thousands Of barrels
where the water and whisky go in in
small quantities.
OIL Washed with soap and Water.
During these processes the oil Is
washed with soap and water again
and again Its Impurities are precipi-
tated and taken out. Some OF fl goes
titled and washed, and some finally
become gasoline. which is also
washed. In the Magnolia refinery here
saw some Of the largest washtubs
in existence. They are steel tanks for
laundering the gasoline TO make n
clean enough for YOUR car Each II
these gasoline uashtuhs has a cylfn-
d-Ical floor space equal 10 that Of
the average narIor. and 10 is as tall
as three story house To contains
a bout $4,000 gallons and the washing
IS done with Caustic soda instead OF
soap. The suds rise 20 the top Just is
in the tubs OF the laundry
In making lubricatiuE oil the stuff
is run through hot water and cold
water. II is cooked and Is treated
with Chemicals. including sulphuric /
acid In the making Of paraffin the I
oil has TO be frozen as well as boiled I
and for this the refinery has an Ice
plant The whole is a wonder OF
modern invention and Of Industrial I
cost efficiency processes