148 OIL FIELDS OF TEXAS-LOUISIANA COASTAL PLAIN, [bui.l.212. 
Very few tests of the Coastal Plain oils have been made with the 
view of determining either their flashing point or their burning point, 
and the few made show very discordant results. The differences are 
probably due, in part at least, to the different length of time during 
which the various samples had been exposed to the air, with conse- 
quent evaporation of the more volatile constituents. 
Flashing point and burning point of Beaumont oil. 
Determined by- 
Ledoux a 
Richardson b 
Emery 
Denton c 
Oliphant d ... 
Flashing 
point. 
Burning 
point. 
°F. 
°F. 
165 
110 
110 
180 
142 
181 
180 
200 
a Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., Vol. XXXI, p. 370. 
b Jour. Soc. Cheui. Industry, Vol. XX, p. 691. 
o Report to Export Oil and Pipe Line Co. 
d Mineral Resources U. S. 1890, p. 580. 
It appears from the above that in the use of this oil in its crude 
state no danger need be apprehended from fire due to the generation 
of inflammable gases if its temperature is kept below 110° F., and that 
by the gradual escape of the lighter hydrocarbons the temperature at 
which dangerous gases are given off rises in a comparatively short 
time to 180°, or even higher. This conclusion is amply confirmed by 
a series of experiments made by Professor Denton to determine this 
point. 
VISCOSITY. 
The physical character of petroleum is more or less affected by 
low temperatures. Some experiments made with the Saratoga oil 
show that prolonged cold has but a slight effect upon it. A test tube 
filled with the crude oil was submerged in the freezing tank of the 
Austin Ice Factory for sixteen hours. The temperature of the tank at 
the time of immersion was 22° F., and at the close of the experiment 
the temperature had risen to 26° F. Another test tube was sur- 
rounded by a freezing mixture so as to reduce the temperature of the 
oil to 10° F., and it was kept at this for half an hour. In both cases 
the oil showed only a slight thickening and did not run as freely as at 
ordinary temperatures. Other experiments made by Ledoux, Emery, 
and Denton have shown that the Beaumont oil remains liquid at 10° F. 
The viscosity of the Beaumont oil, according to the Pennsylvania 
Railroad standard, is 77 seconds, as compared with 42 seconds for the I 
Pennsylvania and 37 seconds for the Noble, Ohio, oils. 
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. 
Our information regarding the chemical properties of the Texas- 
Louisiana oils is derived chiefly from the work of Messrs. Thiel, 
