Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-01-17

creasing the volume of gasoline manu-
facture and with that the other re-
fined products.
Shell Oil Co. was the first to pro
duce 100 octane aviation gasoline on
the Pacific coast and the Shell Text
book describes the process as follows:
Gas obtained. during the cracking
process is composed of the saturated
hydrocarbons including methane, eth
ane, propane, butane, pentane, etc,
and unsaturated hydrocarbons having
similar boiling points as these sat-
urated hydrocarbons.
"As was mentioned above, the pres
sure distillate obtained in the crack
ing process is stabilized. In stabilizing
all of the light hydrocarbons to and
including butane and butylene are
separated from the pressure diStillate.
after separating this butane-buty-
lene fraction from the hydrocarbons
having boiling points higher and lower
than this fraction, it is agitated with
sulfuric acid at the desired temper
AZURE and pressure and for the required
period. The portion dissolved by the
acid is cooled and then admitted to
a tall vertical tank. From the top of
this decanter tank is drawn off the
so-called crude polymer' which is the
result of combining hydrocarbons Of
lower molecular weight to form new
hydrocarbons having higher molecular
weight. The acid Is drawn off from
the bottom Of the tank.
Traces of acio are removed from
the crude polymer' and 1t is distilled
to give a hydrocarbon fraction called
'di-isobutylene, having a boiling range
between 212 and 220 degrees F. This
product is combination of two units
of the unsaturated hydrocarbon bu-
tylene.
1.-THE right amounts Of di-isobutylene
and hydrogen are next mixed and this
mixture is passed over a catalyst con-
tanned in the heated tubes of an APP
paratus called the reactor Here di-
isobutylene absorbing hydrogen is thus
converted to iso-octane, which has
100 octane rating.
"Di-isobutylene is an unsaturated
hydrocarbon as the valency bonds of
the carbon atom have not been full
filled. In passing over the hot catalyst
in the presence of hydrogen the car
bon atom grabs up some more hydro
gen until it is a saturated hydrocarbon,
namely. iso-octane.
1.-THE iso-octane thus prepared is
blended with aviation stock and to
this blend lead tetraethyl fluid is
added. The resultant product is a spe-
cial 100 octane aviation gasoline which |
Shell was the first company to pro-
duce on the Pacific coast and which |
is regarded as one of the most i'm
portant advances in aviation"
From Natural Gas, Also
Glacier Production Co.'s gasoline
plant at Cut Bank absorbs the gaso-
line from the natural gas and this
gasoline contains quantities of butane
and propane which are liquified and
stored under pressure. Natural gaso-
line plants provide much of the ma
terial for iso-octane throughout the
United States.
The iso-octane product Is blended
with natural high-octane gasoline.
Some crudes give a higher octane
product than others. One or two fields
n Wyoming give unusually high
)ctane gasoline, as 1t comes from the
modern refinery. To such gasoline is
added the iso-octane. to bring the re-
ultant aviation gasoline up to 100 oc-
ane. AS an example, some crudes yield
,asoline with an octane of Sc. Others
ield gasoline with an octane of g.
70 the latter can be added iso-octane
md lead to bring it up to 100 much
asier than the Sc octane gasoline.
Likewise, there is no such thing as
making rubber from crude OIL Syn
hetic rubber, again, comes from bu-
ane and butylene. Butadiene is the
lain ingredient in the buna-type syn
netic rubbers. Union Carbide is manu-
acturing butadine from ethylene mole
ule but oil companies make butadiene