Petroleum and Some of Its Products.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 71, 1942, Page XXXIX

Petroleum and Some of Its Products. L. F. Elsby. Aviation Fuels. Engine performance in aircraft is largely governed by the characteristics of the fuel used. N-paraffin octane has practically no value as an anti-knock fuel, but the isomer iso-octane has an octane number of 100 and is used as one of the reference fuels in the C.F.R. engine. The higher the knock rating of a fuel, the higher the compression ratio that may be incorporated in the design of the engine using the fuel and the greater the increase in power output that can be obtained. There is no point in using a very high knock rating fuel in an engine that was not designed for it. In the last 10 years aviation spirits have increased in anti-knock rating by 25 octane numbers, and in a similar period the motor spirits on the New Zealand market have increased by 10 numbers. The earliest way of increasing anti-knock value was by the addition of benzol and later by lead tetra ethyl. Modern practice tends towards refining methods for increasing knock ratings of fuel by cracking processes. As a result of these cracking processes, large quantities of refinery gases are obtained as by-products, and these are polymerised catalytically. About 40,000,000 gallons of Polymer gasoline are available from U.S.A. from this source. Petroleum Thinners. Numerous petroleum thinners with special boiling range characteristics are produced and marketed with almost any chemical composition or boiling range desired within reasonable limits. They may be used either as true solvents or as in the case of the newer synthetic finishes, rather as diluents or extenders to the true solvents of the basic materials. They reduce the viscosity and consistency of the finish, aiding proper application and assisting levelling in the case of paints. Chemical Solvents. The production of alcohols and ketones from refinery gases on a commercial scale is a development of recent years which has made many chemical solvents available to industry. Lubricating Oils. By the use of solvent extraction processes from the acid sludges from the refineries are produced naphthenic acids, which are the base of some of the most effective driers used in the production of paints and varnishes. Glycerine has been produced from petroleum by-products on the plant scale by methods that were not envisaged in chemical text books of 10 years ago. It would appear that the ever-increasing tempo of the petroleum industry will by synthesis become an important producer of many chemicals required in other industries.