SEARCH FOR PERFECT MOTOR OIL

Southland Times, Issue 23538, 18 June 1938, Page 18

SEARCH FOR PERFECT MOTOR OIL

NEW SOLVENT-REFINING PROCESS

Developing.a perfect motor oil is a problem which has engaged scientists since the introduction of the motor-car. An oil has been sought with free flow at all temperatures to facilitate starting and give instant distribution to moving parts, with 1 minimum carbon-forming tendency, with stability under heat to prevent formation of sludge or gummy residue, with a high degree of lubricating power and economy of consumption, and with a tough film that retains its strength at high working temperatures. After 20 years’ pioneering research and experience, Shell scientists have perfected a solvent-refining process claimed to revolutionize preconceived ideas of oil refining. This organization has built a new refinery at Shell Haven in Essex, England, where an exclusive solvent-refining process is carried out. Mineral petroleum is recognized as the best base for deriving modern lubricants. Treatment is necessary to remove all undesirable bodies that tend to form impurities such as carbon and sludge. Solvent-refining achieves this separation. When the solvent is mixed in this new process with the unrefined lubricating oil—a series of 14 complicated stages—it dissolves out all those constituents in the oil which break down when heated and form carbon and sludge. The solvent is recovered from both the oil and the impurities. A further stage is the addition of a pure petroleum oiliness concentrate which is an entirely new development. By adding this oiliness extract to the highly-refined oils obtained by the solvent process their inherent oiliness is greatly increased, enabling the film of oil to withstand unusually severe pressures and preventing it from draining or being washed off metal surfaces, even when hot.