216 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 
THE DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF GILSONITE. 
By THEODORE ERICKSON. 
(Abstract). 
Utah possesses very extensive deposits of solid and 
semisolid hydrocarbons, of which gilsonite, elaterite and 
asphaltum are perhaps the best known. These hydro- 
carbons are at present but little utilized, and hence the De- 
partment of Chemistry of the University of Utah has under- 
taken a systematic study of them to determine if possible, 
(a) their real chemical nature and (b) their commercial 
possibilities. At present gilsonite is receiving our atten- 
tion, and our work thus far has been confined to des- 
tructive distillation at atmospheric pressure. 
When subjected to destructive distillation at atmos- 
pheric pressure, gilsonite yields about 50 per cent of its 
weight in a thin black oil, about 30 per cent of its weight 
appears as gas, and about 20 per cent remains in the re- 
tort as coke. The gas yields about 0.25 per cent of am- 
monia, but as yet no further examination has been made 
of it and the coke has not been’ examined. 
The oil, 8 liters of which we prepared, was washed 
with dilute sulphuric acid, then with dilute sodium hydrox- 
ide, then with water, and finally dried over sodium. It 
was next fractionally distilled, using an efficient distilling 
column filled with short pieces of aluminum wire. Cuts 
were made each 5 degrees, and the distillation repeated 
eleven times. The temperature range of the distillation 
was from about 40 degrees to above 300 degrees, and all 
the distillations above 150 degrees were carried out under 
a pressure of 15 mm of mercury. After this distillation 
was finished the whole series was again distilled making 2 
degree cuts instead of 5, and this was repeated 10 or 11 
times. By this time there were well defined accumulations 
of oil at various points in the series, and these accumula- 
tions were next redistilled, taking one degree cuts. The 
