GAS AND OIL 



found in any crude oil on earth. Butadiene is the single 

 most important raw material for synthetic rubber. 

 Toluene for the explosive TNT is now chemically 

 twisted out of petroleum whereas during World War I 

 we knew only how to sweat it out of coal tar. These 

 same three are raw materials not only for making syn- 

 thetic fuels and lubricants, antifreeze, solvents, and 

 rubber, but also plastics, fibers, waxes, lacquers, and all 

 the dyes, perfumes, flavors, and medicines synthesized 

 from coal tar. 



May 25, 1942, is a red-letter day in the annals of 

 Baton Rouge. Though that city is the capital of Louisi- 

 ana, the date is not a legal holiday. In fact, it means 

 nothing in the state's tumultuous political history. But 

 no one who was at the big Standard Oil refinery will 

 ever forget that warm, sunny Monday which opened a 

 new chemical age for Southern industry. 



It is always a thrilling moment when the valve is 

 turned that starts a new chemical operation. It might 

 explode and send somebody off in an ambulance. It 

 may go dead and dash high hopes to the ground, to 

 say nothing of wasting months of overtime and thou- 

 sands of dollars. So everyone from the plant manager 

 to the bottle boy in the laboratory knocks off and gathers 

 'round. 



This world premiere at Baton Rouge was packed tight 

 with extra drama. The new, simplified process of refin- 

 ing petroleum on trial would, it was hoped, enormously 



233 



