388 



Popular Science Motithly 



separate each group into the final market 

 form of the many products contained. 



The secondary purpose of refining is to 

 remove the impurities, color-bearing, and 

 unstable or unsaturated compounds and 

 free carbon. It may be well to point 

 out at this time that in the first group 

 distillation there is no sharp line of 

 demarcation between gasoline and illu- 

 minating oil or between any other 

 similar fractions. Heavy constituents 

 are mechanically carried over with the 

 light portions and more 

 volatile products are mix- 

 ed with the heavy parts. 

 In order to completely 

 separate these, further 

 distillation is necessary. 



The crude naphtha dis- 

 tillate is pumped from the 

 running tank to an agita- 

 tor where it is treated 

 with sulphuric acid, 

 washed with water to 

 remove the free acid and 

 neutralized with caustic 

 soda, again washed and 

 separated from the water. 

 The treated naphtha is 

 next sent to a steam still 

 where it is divided by 

 distillation into various 

 market grades of gasoline 

 and pumped from there 

 to the finished naphtha 

 storage tanks. (Fig. 2.) 



The illuminating oil 

 distillate is pumped to a 

 steam still where the crude 

 naphtha contained is sep- 

 arated by distillation and 

 sent to the crude naphtha still. The 

 illuminating oil remaining is sent lo an 

 agitator where it is acid treated, washed, 

 neutralized, rewashed and filtered 

 through Fuller's earth (Fig. 3) and 

 pumped to the finished kerosene lamp 

 oil storage tanks. 



The crude light lubricating distillate 

 passes from the running tank to a steam 

 and fire still, for the purpose of changing 

 (by heat) the character of the paraliin 

 wax from the amorphous condition to 

 wax that may be crystallized and for 

 si'parating the fuel oil content. The 

 lubricating distillate then goes to a 

 chilling tank where its temperature is 



OPENING Fon 

 DlSCHaOCiNfi 



Fig. 3. FuUer's Earth Filter 



lowered to such a degree as to cause 

 crystallization of the wax. In this 

 chilled condition it is then pumped to a 

 wax filter press, under high pressure, 

 where it is separated into crude scale 

 wax and pressed lubricating distillate. 

 The pressed distillate then goes to a steam 

 and fire still, where the gas oil is separated 

 from it. The remaining distillate is then 

 divided into lubricating oils of different 

 viscosity, varying from very light to me- 

 dium light, by fractional distillation. 



The oils of diflferent 

 viscosities resulting from 

 this fractional distillation 

 are next sent to a Fuller's 

 earth filter for the removal 

 of color-bearing com- 

 pounds and free carbon. 

 From the filter, these oils 

 are pumped to the finished 

 lubricating oil storage 

 tanks. 



The crude scale wax is 

 sent from the wax filter 

 press to a sweater, where 

 it is separated into scale 

 wax and oil. The scale 

 wax then goes to a Fuller's 

 earth filter, through which 

 it passes to the finished 

 paraffin wax tanks. 



The crude hea\-y lubri- 

 cating distillate follows 

 the same course in pro- 

 cessing as that indicated 

 for the light distillate. 

 Fuel oil and paraffin wax 

 are separated in the same 

 manner. The fractional 

 tlistillation of the remain- 

 ing oil results in lubricatingoilsof heavier 

 body than those recovered b\' the process- 

 ing of the light lubricating distillate. 



Crude cylinder stock is greatly thimied 

 with naphtha, and then sent to a chilling 

 lank where the paraffin wax, from which 

 \aseline is made, settles out. The oil- 

 naphtha portion is pumped to a I'uller's 

 earth filter for the removal of color-bear- 

 ing compounds and free carbon. From 

 the filter it passes on to a steam still 

 wluTc it is separated into naphtha and 

 low cold test cylinder slock, l-'rom the 

 still the oil is sent to a tank where it is 

 blown with air to remove traces of mois- 

 lurcmd llun to ihefinisiifd storage tanks. 



