CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE CHEMICAL LABORATORY OF 

 CASE SCHOOL OF APPLIED SCIENCE. — XLVI. 



ON THE COMPOSITION OF PETROLEUM. 



By Charlks F. Mabery. 



Presented April 12, 1905. Received April 14, 1905. 



THE SULPHUR COMPOUNDS AND UNSATURATED HYDROCARBONS 

 IN CANADIAN PETROLEUM* 



By Charles F. Mabery and William O. Quatle. 



In a paper published some time ago by one of us (Mabery) on a pre- 

 liminary examination of Canadian petroleum (Amer. Cbeni. Journal, 

 13, 89, 1891), it was stated that 225 liters of sulphur oil from Cana- 

 dian burning oil was in process of distillation for the purpose of separating 

 the individual sulphur constituents. On account of the pressure of other 

 lines of work, study of those distillates was delayed, but it has been re- 

 sumed at intervals until the results described in this paper were obtained. 



On returning to this work it seemed worth while to ascertain first, 

 whether the oil selected really represented constituents of crude petroleum, 

 or whether it consisted to a greater or less extent of decomposition prod- 

 ucts incident to the process of refining. Since the question of decom- 

 position could be determined in sulphur petroleum from any source, a 

 quantity of crude oil from the Lima (Ohio) field was distilled in vacuo, 

 and the distillate, corresponding to that from which burning oil is pre- 

 pared, carefully separated, and agitated thoroughly with alcoholic mer- 

 curic chloride for the purpose of precipitating the sulphur compounds. 

 The oil was next agitated vigorously with ordinary sulphuric acid, the 

 acid sludge drawn off and diluted with water, carefully avoiding heat so 

 far as possible. 



* The sulphur derivatives of the hydrocarbons described in this paper ;ire 

 evidently members of a new series, differing essentially in composition, physical 

 properties, and chemical relations from any of the well-known series of sulphur 

 compounds. For this new series I suggest the name Thiophane. C F. M. 



