The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1922-07-21

the place OF tracks and the flowinu 81
that OF trains when the prc due
reaches the manifold II 10 called dis
tillAte. and each distillate 10 switched
TO it, proper pipe leading to its owr
receiv'ng tank This roughly describe.
the process Of distillation.
Of course. the various products d.
not come ever from the stfll ut thu
same time. but come one 1t q time
Vhe stu man arranges the heat under
the still at such temperature a. will
drive on the products which has the
lowest boiling pcin&-which 10 gaso.
Line. He then raises the temperature
siightly so ~ to vaporise the next enc
ana 20 on until all are driven on, each
being gathered in its particular tank
after passing through the manifold.
All crude petrol cum contains the
Following different products, though
some Of them may be represented
merely by traces:
Gasoline. Kerosene. light lubricat-
Ing, heavy lubricating. fuel oil, nap
tina. gas oil. medium lubricating, CYL
inder stock. asphalt.
One by enc these distillates are driv-
en- on in the order from the still, 20
70 the condenser, thence to the mani.
fold and are there each switched to
its own receiving tank. where they
are allowed to sink tc' the bottom. At
ter settling thoroughly they are pump
ed to intermediate tanks and are on
the way to be further refined.
These distillates may now be COM
pared to human family. the differ.
ent grades of crude petroleum repre-
sentfng the parents. fer they were all
originally found in the crude, but
judging from their appearance one
would never take them to be brothers
and sisters, for they bear no resemb-
lance one to the other The family as
whole was black, but now one finds
gasoline and naptha. which are white;
Kerosene, which has a distinct "yel-
low streak;" gas-oil. which is a dirty
yellow; the lubricating oils. some of
which are pale and some red; the cyl.
tnder stocks, which are greenish and
trownish, and finally the asphalt,
which is as black as ink. However.
the chemist knows they are all from
one family-the crude petroleum fam
lily.
From the tanks each of the distil-
iates goes through process of recti.
ficat'on. the only difference in the pro-
cess being that some CT them receive
more Of this treatment than the 9TH
ers.
Then they go to the agitator. a tall
narrow tank. where they undergo
process of treating" which is moth
ing mere than a washing and scour-
ing with acids, sui phuric. caustic soda.
soda ash and hot or cold water, that
depending on the grade of the dis
tillate itself. All of the washing and
agftating is done by compressed air.
This process removes all impurities.
excess carbon, etc, from the distil-
late and, In some instances. the PROD
uct after this process is ready for the
market after being allowed to settle
for short time. A good many of the
products however, have to undergo
other processes.
Gasoline. naptha and Kerosene are
now practically finished products and
are ready for marketing. while grs-oil
has only to be freed of it's mcistu e to
be ready for shipment. But lubricat-
ing oils require further treatment. If
they are made from crude petroleum
that has an asphalt base some of them
are filtered. so as to clear them CT all
extranecus substances and impurities
However. IL they come from crude Pc
troleum that has paraffin base they
the same process but are CIV
en- more attention. They go tc the
paraffin plant, which performs Gou-
BILE duty. for it not only makes the
lubricating oil fit for use, but at the
same time it extracts from the distil-
late a valuable by-product call ed lar
afftn wax. The process Is simplt and
only of refrigeration. The oil
will not freeze. but the wax will con-
seal at low temperature and in that
way the oil Is freed from it and the
by-product. paraffin wax. is obtained
In nc part of refinery are more
kinds Of machine gathered
than there are in paraffn plant.
There are brine tanks. ammonia tanks
big hydraulic presses, through which
he oil Is squeezed. leaving the wax on
arge canvas sheets (sweaters) where
the last trace of oil is separated from
he paraffin wax. moulds for the wax.
pumps. tanks. ETC.. in bewildering
numbers. After the paraffin plant
process the wax is melted and filtered
% give it its white color. when 1t is
then run into moulds of commercial
size. after which t is packed n sacks
and is ready for shipment.
After the wax has been extra ted
from the lubricating oil, the latter
goes to the filter house for further re-
anfng. This filter house is pretty
rot place and contains many tanks. all
funnel shaped and tightly closed on
.op. These tanks. called filters. are
allied with Fuller's earth, which re-
moves the suspended coloring matter
rom the lubricating oil and also ex-
racts the free carbon ccntaied in the
Ill. The process is a simple one. The
Ill Is let in at the top of the Clter.
rickles slowly down through the
Fuller's earth and comes out at the
ever end. a beautiful fluid. It's color
varies from the color Of lemon to
he dark red Of cherry. Some CYL
rder oils are again filtered and these
ire mere transparent and have a beau
iful dark cherry color.
While gasoline has the lowest boil
ng point. 1t is the highest and there-
lore 1t Ia the first member If tho