VANADIUM WITH PETROLEUM AND ASPHALT 



367 



Vanadates in solution in ground water coming in contact witli oils 

 hearing hydrogen sulphide and yielding vanadium sulphide. 



This finely divided vanadium sulphide may travel with the oil, and 

 be deposited by meeting carbon dioxide. 



Precipitated vanadium sulphide and atmospheric oxygen may change 

 the accumulating mass of oil into asphalt. 



This train of events involves no unusual occurrences of materials or 

 conditions — vanadates and carbon dioxide dissolved in ground waters, 

 oil containing hydrogen sulphide, and conditions permitting the oxidation 

 of accumulating petroleum with the aid of vanadium oxide acting as an 

 oxygen carrier. 



We give below some of the experiments from which we have drawn 

 these conclusions. Those not reported presented no contrary results. 



PREPARATION OF SODIUM VANADATE. 



Uuweathered patronite, from the eastern slope of the Andes in Peru, 

 was used in the preparation of the sodium vanadate. The composition 

 of this ore is indicated by the following analyses obtained from the office 

 of the Geological Survey in Washington (by Hillebrand) : 



The procedure was as follows: A weighed quantity of the unweathered 

 ore was treated with nitric acid, in a small flask on the water bath until the 

 reaction was complete (one and a half to two hours). The filtrate from 

 this was diluted to 100 cc. and made strongly akaline with ammonium 



