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NationaJ\Resource8 Planning Board 



In contrast to the more or less random reactions 

 occurring in the cracking of higher hydrocarbons to 

 lower ones, it is possible in the processes concerned 

 with the building up from lower to higher molecular- 

 weight hydrocarbons to direct the reactions toward 

 the formation of a smaller number of reasonablj' well 

 defined compounds, thus permitting much closer con- 

 trol over both boiling point and chemical structure of 

 the products. As a result, methods of synthesis have 

 become important for the production of fuels of pre- 

 mium quality, particularly from the standpoint of 

 knock-free performance. In fact, although synthetic 

 methods originated in an effort to utilize byproducts, 

 they have within a few years created an entirely new 

 trend in petroleum technology, in that the industry is 

 now concerned with finding adequate supplies of raw 

 materials for their future expansion. This situation 

 has led in particular to an active search for new methods 

 of producing lower olefins by selective cracking and 

 catalytic dehydrogenation of the corresponding paraf- 

 fins, and for methods of isomerizing available olefins 

 and paraffins into more desirable structures. There is 

 also a great deal of activity in methods of separating 

 these lower hydrocarbons in concentrated form from 

 mixtures containing other hydrocarbons, with varying 

 emphasis on the degree of purity. Because of the 

 superior quality of the svnthctic fuels, one can actually 

 visualize that at some future time cracking may be 

 directed primarily toward the production of such low 

 molecular weight olefins as are best suited for the man- 

 ufacture of fuels of the most desirable hydrocarbon 

 structures — with what now is called gasoline as a 

 byproduct. 



Synthetic fuels are the only sources of the high octane 

 number fuels required by the aviation industry. For 

 commercial aviation, fuels approaching 100 octane 

 number in knock rating are highly desirable, since 

 they allow pay loads to be increased by decreasing the 

 fuel consumption for a given power output. For mili- 

 tary aviation, fuels of at least 100 octane number are 

 essential to obtain the maneuverability called for in 

 combat. 



Lubricants 



Among the numerous products of petroleum, lubri- 

 cants are next in importance to fuels. They cover a 

 wide range of forms — from automotive and industrial 

 oils to greases and extreme pressure lubricants. As 

 in the case of fuels, we find that the progress made in 

 lubricants has largely paralleled developments in the 

 automotive field. 



Gradual and continuous progress in distillation and 

 in petroleum treating methods has led to corresponding 

 improvements in the general quality of lubricating oils. 

 Within the last 10 years or so, however, several proc- 



esses specific to lubricant manufacture have been 

 developed, that have had far reaching consequences on 

 both performance characteristics and manufacturing 

 costs. Modern high grade lubricating oils are conse- 

 quently dccidedl.y superior to the products supplied 

 only a decade ago with respect to most of the properties 

 by which quality is judged — such as stability to oxida- 

 tion and rate of deterioration in service, cold-flow 

 characteristics, and loss in viscosity or tendency to 

 thin out at higher temperatures. 



Petroleinn research has contributed toward the solu- 

 tion of lubricant manufacturing problems along various 

 lines. The low-temperature service characteristics of 

 lubricating oils have been vastly improved by the 

 development of new solvent dewaxing methods and of 

 addition agents which lower the pour or congealing 

 point. Refining by extraction with selective solvents 

 serves to remove undesirable constituents. Removal 

 of these constituents by solvent extraction, on the one 

 hand, produces oils more stable to oxidation and, as 

 a result, more satisfactory for use in high temperature 

 service, and on the other hand brings about a marked 

 reduction in the change in viscosity with temperature, 

 thus broadening the satisfactory operating range for a 

 given lubricant. The latter characteristic can now be 

 still further improved by the use of addition agents 

 which tend to flatten the viscosit3'-temperature curve. 

 Characteristics such as oiliness and resistance to oxida- 

 tion can be improved by still other addition agents that 

 are constantly being developed. 



Aside from improving quality, the newer refining 

 processes have also made it possible to greatly extend 

 the choice of crudes that can be used for the production 

 of lubricating oils. Indeed, stocks that previously 

 were considered entirely unsuited for work-up into any 

 kind of lubricant, may now serve as the base for the 

 highest grade products. Similar improvements in 

 manufacturing costs have also resulted from this 

 progress in manufacturing methods. 



Addition Agents 



Early in the history of petroleum in this country it 

 was recognized that certain compounds when added in 

 small amounts considerably modified one or another 

 characteristic of petroleum products. Materials eflfec- 

 tive in "dcblooming," or removing the fluorescence, 

 of light lubricating oils were among the first addition 

 agents, although their use was probably never very 

 extensive Materials intended to stabilize gasolines 

 against becoming oflF-color have been used for some 

 time and are being quite generally employed. These 

 materials are for the most part conmiercially available 

 chemical compounds. More recently the petroleum 

 industry has found that compounds heretofore without 

 industrial application, and consequently not available 



