THE ROMANCE OF OIL

NZ Truth, Issue 1255, 19 December 1929, Page 18

THE ROMANCE OF OIL

Distillation and Blending To Suit Conditions SHELL CO. HAS LOCAL PLANTS The story of the. blending" of imotor oils is a fascinating" one. Few motorists realise the process through which an oil passes before it is a fit and proper lubricant for their cars, motor-cycles or for heavy commercial vehicles. Few, indeed, know the great care needed to make an oil a perfect product.

IT is not necessary to go outside the Dominion to see many of these processes, particularly those connected with the blending of motor oils and grease making. At Wellington anfl Auckland are to be seen plants such as these. They are the only two m New Zealand and belong to the Shell Company. Here the oils are blended under the most critical methods consistent with the purity and usefulness of the product. . .'The blending is conducted as . the result, of practical scientific research. Most high quality motor oils are blends of several oils of .varying bases and it is the care exercised m blending which determines the satisfaction the lubricant will afford and the necessary standard for the job it has to do. The Shell Company, with their vast ramifications, permit of every conceivable kind of research under

every condition, so as to enable the standards of the products to be the best suited for the particular country m which they are to be used. Shell have erected the only motor oil blending and grease-making plants m the Dominion, and at their installations at Wellington and Auckland all motor oils and greases used m the Dominion are blended and packed into sealed containers. These plants are the most up-to-date procurable, and through them the consumer of Shell motor oils is assured a purity hitherto unprocurable. The oils come m from the refineries; m drums and are decaritered by means of troughs where they are first filtered and then pumped up into bulk storage tanks. There are other small underground tanks of different oils that are blended m to bring the blend up to the standard specifications. These specifications have been laid; down as the result of actual engine research, apart altogether from arbitrary chemical, specifications. • •■•■■ ■ i The oils are then pumped from the main, storage- tanks and the underground tanks into the blend-

I ing tanks m different proportions. ! The blending tanks hold 400 to 500 gallons of oil. It is necessary to applyheat to ensure the correct blending of oils, and m the new plant the heat is applied from steam coils arranged to ensure that the slightest traces of moisture are dried out of the oils during the blending process, during which time they are also circulated by pumps to ensure thorough mixing and uniformity. . The moisture content of motor oils is of great importance. Oils that have been forwarded .m packed containers and have come overseas usually contain small traces of moisture, and the evil of moisture is that most of the sludge formation m crankcases is due to its presence. By the addition of % per . cent, of water to dry motor oils, the tendency to form sludge deposits is increased

about five times. In the Shell process all traces of moisture are entirely eliminated. The next step m the operation is to pump up from the blending tanks into the separator tanks, from which, the oil is passed down to the centrifugal j separators. This step is a very important one, as it removes even the 1 smallest traces of sediment and - dust — impurities that are bound to • get into an oil through transportation, storage and handling. . ' When going through the centrifuge ' the oil is still warm, and it . is then run into storage tanks, where it re--1 mains until a qualified chemist gives a satisfactory laboratory report on the. batch. Having passed the necessary test, the oil is then' run off from the storage tank into the different containers marketed. . . In the case of tins, which many motorists carry as a stand-by and purchase for garage use, this filling is done by a special machine which shuts off automatically, only when the correct amount has been measured out.