Developments in Refinery Engineering during 1931

ALTHOUGH the situation in the oil industry during the past year has. not been conducive to large expenditures for development and research, there is little indication that such expenditures have been curtailed. While few outstanding achievements have been reported, considerable progress has been made in the development of new products and the adaptation of petroleum derivatives to new uses. The most important question facing the refiner today is the anti-knock quality of his gasoline. This year has seen the widespread adoption of the term "octane number" as a measure for anti-knock values, and in the latter months of the year the public has been made acutely aware of this condition through competitive advertising. Gaso-line is no longer priced on volatility and gravity alone, but on octane number as well; and premiums are being paid for material of relatively high octane rating. The situation has grown more and more competitive and has forced refiners continually to raise the octane rating of their regular and com-petitive grades, and at this writing the same situation exists for premium grades which have possessed relatively high anti-knock properties for some time. Straight-run gasoline produced from paraffin-base or semiparaffin-base crudes has an inherently low anti-knock value, and in order to convert this material to a higher quality it has been found necessary to crack an increasing percentage of the crude oil charge. By completely cracking the heavier portions of the crude, and blending back with the straight-run gasoline, it has been possible to produce an average of 63 to 65 octane number gasoline' on average Mid-Continent crude. This operation carried to the fullest extent does not suffice, however, and the recent and rapid development of the so-called "re-forming unit," has resulted. The straight-run gasoline fraction is cut into two parts: a light, low boiling point gasoline; and a heavy gasoline or naphtha. The latter containing the low anti-knock portions of the gasoline, is sent through a re-forming unit and subjected either to high temperature ,or pressure, or both, which materially increases its octane number. On average Mid-Continent the blend of low boiling point straight-run,