PETROLEUM 



4614 



PETROLEUM 



fifteen miles southe nia. and about 



sixty miles from Saint Thomas and from De- 

 troit. 1 Creek flows through the town. Pe- 

 trolea is tl. .1-producing 



section of Ontario, and has numerous oil wells 

 and refineri for making drilling 



..nt to the oil indus- 

 try, and tli- ry, wagon works 



mery is said to 

 < >unded 



in 1867. and was incorporated in 1874. Its 

 and hydroelectric system are oper- 

 .n. Victoria Park and Green- 

 wood Driving Park, each covering ten acres, 

 ts, Noteworthy among the 



buildups are the hospital, a gift to the town 

 from .1. L. Kndeluart, and Victoria Hall. 

 1 in 1880 at a cost of $50,000. Popula- 

 tion in 1911. 3.518; in 1916, about 4,000. 



PETROLEUM, pctro'lcum. When the In- 



.ho inhabited what is now the western 



part of Pennsylvania first became known to 



They were in the habit of collecting 



an oil which was found in springs and on the 



ce of creek-, 

 and rubbing their 

 - with it. 

 claiming that the 

 oil made them 

 strong and en- 

 abled them to 

 w i n races. Oc- 

 dly 't h ex- 

 humed 

 quantities in their 

 eremo- 



in the \i 

 awe this fluid 

 w h i c h w o u 1 d 



burn, believing it 



tO be associated A BURXINU \Vi:i.L 



ome wiv with l"".-trati..n ..f a "pusher" 



11 rui 111'.-. Klaines soiiH-tiincs 

 an evil -pint shool upwards 300 feet, and 



nfii -n such a lire burns for a 



fore h.-intf oxtin- 

 acceptmg the In- - ui * lied - 

 dians' belief concerning the medical properties 

 of this oil, bottled and .-old it as a remedy for 

 rheumatism. No one knew at that time that it 

 was "liquid sunlight'' of the past ages stored in 

 the earth for man; no one suspected that it 

 would in time be used to light houses and that. 

 its most valuable product would some day run 



line motors. 



Oil Wells. Petroleum is a mineral oil stored 

 in sands, which are embedded between layers 



of rock through which the oil cannot pass. 



When wells are bored into this sand, the oil 



D the well. .Sometimes the pressure is SO 



hat the oil gushes out with such force as 



to throw it high in the air. and much oil has 



bet n lo.-t from wells of this kind before the 



How could be controlled by placing a cap on 



the pipe. Occasionally such a "gushi : 



afire and burns fiercely for days. From most 



MAP OF OIL FIELDS 



(o) Appalachian 



,ima-Inc 



(/) North Texas 



(b) Lima-Indiana <//) Mid-Continent 



(c) Illinois </i) Colorado 



(d) Northwest Louisi- u') Montana and 



ana Wyoming 



(e) Gulf (;) California 



wells, however, the oil has to be pumped. The 

 depth of the wells varies from about 100 feet to 

 over 500 feet. In general, the largest flow is 

 obtained from the deep wells. When the flow 

 stops, a charge of dynamite is lowered and ex- 

 ploded at the bottom. This usually removes 

 any obstruction, such as an accumulation of 

 paraffin, and also loosens the oil-bearing sand, 

 whereupon the flow is resumed. The produc- 

 tion of some wells has been greatly increased 

 by this process of "torpedoing." 



Refining. Oil as it comes from the wells is 

 known as crude petroleum; it varies in color 

 from a light brown to black, but most of it is 

 a dark green; in thickness it varies from that 

 of kerosene to that of thick molasses or hot 

 tar. This crude oil can be used for fuel, for 

 oiling roads and in making water gas, but it 

 must, be purified, or refined, for all other pur- 

 Refining consists in distilling the crude oil, 

 and then separating impurities from the prod- 

 ucts obtained by mixing a small quantity of 

 sulphuric acid with them. As the oil is taken 

 from the well it is stored in large tanks. From 

 these it is placed in closed iron vessels which 

 hold about 600 barrels, and is then heated. The 

 vapor passes through coils of iron pipe that 

 are surrounded by cold water. Crude petro- 

 leum is a. very complex substance, and the 

 various products obtained from it are separated 

 from each other by increasing the temperature 



