The Story of OilD. Appleton, 1909 - 270 pages |
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Common terms and phrases
Allegheny River American Appalachian Baku barrels a day bitumen boom bulk California carried Caspian cent coal coal oil competition crude oil derrick distillation district Drake's drilling dustry Dutch East Indies early enormous entirely existence expansion fact feet fire foreign fuel Galicia gallons gasoline engine grades greater gusher half hundred illuminating oil important increased kerosene known lamp less leum localities lubricating oils manufacture markets ment methods miles millions modern monopoly naphtha Ohio oil business Oil Creek oil fields oil regions oil springs operations paraffin Pennsylvania Persia petro petroleum deposits petroleum industry petroleum products pipe lines pipe-line Pithole places ports possible practically profitable pumping quantities railroad rapidly refineries refining result rival rock Russian secure shipments sold soon square miles Standard Oil Company steam steamers struggle success supply tank cars tanks Texas thousand tion transportation trunk lines vessels whole yield
Popular passages
Page 24 - at Ardericca is a well which produces three different substances, for asphalt, salt, and oil are drawn up from it in the following manner: — It is pumped up by means of a swipe, and, instead of a bucket, half a wine skin is attached to it. Having dipped down with this, a man draws it up and then pours the contents into a reservoir, and, being poured from this into another, it assumes these different forms ; the asphalt and the salt immediately become solid, but the oil they collect, and the Persians...
Page 55 - Commencing at Titusville in 1859, the tide of development swept over the valley of Oil Creek and along the Allegheny River, above and below Oil City, for a considerable distance. Cherry Run in 1864 furnished the first subsequent excitement. Then came Pithole Creek.
Page 126 - Baume hydrometer, and on the basis of this test the oils are graded for commercial purposes as gasoline, naphtha, and benzine. The test for odors is made by simply saturating a cloth with the oil, as the oil evaporates from the cloth any foreign odors are readily detected. The presence of acid is revealed by testing with litmus paper, which immediately turns red if the acid has not been entirely removed. Benzines for special purposes, as in the manufacture of paints and varnishes, also have to be...
Page 110 - ... into steam ; and second, condensing these vapors just as steam condenses on cold objects. The successful separation of the different products depends on the fact that each of the many compounds, composing crude oil has its own particular boiling point, and thus allows gradual heating to Crude Stills.
Page 119 - American refiner, in general, aims to produce as much gasoline and light oils as possible, whereas in Russia the enormous demand for the residuum, or astatki, for fuel makes it nearly as valuable as any other product. There is, therefore, little inducement to increase the yield of kerosene and reduce the quantity of residuum by employing the cracking process, which can be done only in intermittent distillation. The first distillates obtained from the crude oil by either process usually have to be...
Page 130 - Fahrenheit. All these tests must be made at the refinery for each lot of distillates before they can be approved, graded, and loaded for shipment to the consumer. If any distillate does not " prove up " it has to go back for further manipulation to remedy the defects, the success or failure of the tests depending largely on the skill of the still-man in making his cuts as the distillate passes through his separating box. In spite of its many steps and intricate processes there is nothing picturesque...
Page 125 - From this description it appears that only two of the important products of petroleum are regularly obtained directly from the first distillation; these are the illuminating oils and the cylinder stock, and both of these have to receive additional treatment subsequently. All other products are the result of a second distillation and chemical manipulations.
Page 108 - Kier's results had already shown clearly enough that paraffin oils could he secured more easily from petroleum than from coal or shale, and more cheaply also if the supply of petroleum were large enough. The prospect of securing petroleum in large quantities by following Drake's example made the entire shale oil industry totter. The owners of the refineries, many of which were then only fairly started, saw themselves facing ruin, until a simple and easy salvation appeared in converting their plants...
Page 224 - ... market caused a severe slump in prices so that actually the shippers lost money in the venture. Nevertheless, this first experiment was really a success for it created an oil demand which led subsequently to increased shipments and also to a demand for oil that spread throughout the world. Within 2 years oil was being sent to practically every port in Europe — to all countries of the Western Hemisphere, to Egypt, the Orient, the- East Indies, Australia, and New Zealand.