US1916437A - Distillate petroleum products and method of treating the same - Google Patents

Description

atented July 4, 1933 UNIED JAMES B. RATHER AND LESLIE C. BEARD, JR., OF BROOKLYN AND ORLAN M. REIFF, OF JACKSON HEIGHTS, YORK, ASSIGNORS, TO SOCONY-VACUUIVI CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y-, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK DISTILLATE PETROLEUM PRODUCTS AND METHOD OF TREATING THE SAME No Drawing.

' No. 151,005, filed November 25th, 1926 and Serial No. 165,546, filed February 3, 1927.

It is well recognized thatdistributors and consumers of the lighter refined petroleum distillates, notably gasoline and kerosene, insist that these products be clear and free from discoloration,,gummy material and odor, as

an entirely distinct and separate matter from the actual capabilities and usefulness of the products for the ordinary uses for which they are intended. It is also well recognized that these products, particularly gasoline and kerosene, spontaneously become discolored and odorous and accumulate a gummy material upon continued exposure to air and thus become objectionable to the trade.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a distillate petroleum prod-- uct, generallythose of A. P. I. gravity higher than 37 degrees, and particularly gasoline or kerosene, which will remain clear and free of discoloration, gummy material and odor, without impairment or lowering of its effectiveness and capabilities for use; and to provide a simple and inexpensive method of and means for producing distillate petroleum products having the characteristics and qualities referred to.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description.

In accordance with this invention, the improved product consists of a. distillate petroleum product, notably gasoline or kerosene, which contains a negative oxidation catalyst, or a substance, such as a compound containing carbon, which retards the attainment of equilibrium in a chemical system in which oxidation is the fundamental reaction. The catalyst may be added in the still during distilla-- Application filed June 20,

1930. Serial No; 462,094.

the addition of further oxygen and thus may offset any advantage to be gained by the subsequent addition of the negative oxidation catalyst to the distillate. These objectionable substances, while frequently colorless and odorless, are apt to undergo changes which result in the development ofobjectionable color, gummy material and odor in the distillates.

The negative oxidation catalyst or catalysts should preferably be of a nature such that, when added to the distillate petroleum products in suflicient quantities, they do not affect the color and odor, or materially increase the cost of production of the products l to which they are added, since such effects would raise commercial objections to the products. We have discovered that nicotine is effectwo as a stabilizer of distillate petroleum products with respect to color, gum formation and odor. v

This compound or agent is preferably dissolved in a suitable solvent which is miscible with the distillate, such as an aliphatic alcohol, either isopropyl, ethyl or butyl alcohol, or an aromatic alcohol, such as benzyl alcohol before being added to the product to be treated. A ten per cent solution of the compound or agent in the desired solvent is preferably thoroughly mixed with the product, and the amount of the solution to be added may vary from'approximately one part in five thousand of the distillate to approximately one part in fifty thousand, the exact amount depending upon the amount of stabilization desired, the character of the distillate, i. e., its susceptibility to oxidation, and the storage temperature.

Preferably, however, not more than approximately one part of compound to ten thousand parts of the distillate or 0.01% of the compound should be added to the product to be treated, and the amount may, in some instances, be as little as one part of the comound to five hundred thousand parts of the distillate. Care should be exercised, however, to not add too large a quantity of the compound, otherwise the compound will tend" desired. A distillate treated with approxi-.

mately one part of nicotine to as little as approximately two'hundred thousand parts of distillate and allowed to stand for a'period of twenty-six weeks at 125 F., deteriorated in color from plus 20, as measured b the Saybolt chronometer to plus 13, as against a deterioration in color in the case of an untreated distillate of from plus 20 to Saybolt to minus 4, both the treated and the untreated distillate being stored under exactly the same 7 conditions, a loss of seven points in color, in the case of the stabilized oil, as compared with a loss of 24 points in the case of the unstabilized oil.

Since the lighter distillate petroleum products, particularly gasoline and kerosene, must be maintained comparatively inexpensive in order to satisfactorily cope with commercial competition, any .treatment to which these products are subjected must be such that the cost of production of the products is not increased a prohibitive amount. The method and means herein disclosed satisfactorily meets this situation since the amount of negative catalyst required for the treatment is so small that the cost of production of the products is not material. And the products treated in accordance with this invention may be stored and handled without danger of becoming discolored or odorous or developing gummy substances therein.

While We have thus specifically described our invention, various modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and it is therefore our intention that the invention be not limited except by the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:' 1

1. A low boiling light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene which normally tends to become discolored or to form gummy material under normal commercial conditions of storage and handling, having added thereto nicotine in quantity suificient substantially to delay the aforesaid discoloration or gum formation.

2. A distillate petroleum product suitable for use as a fuel, particularly gasoline or kerosene, of light color and low gum content but normally having the objectionable property of becoming discolored or of forming gummy material during storage, which product has had its aforesaid light color and low gum content substantially preserved by addition to said product of nicotine in quantity suflicient substantially to improve the stability of said product in the matter of color and gum content.

v 3. A low boiling light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene which normally tends to become discolored or to form gum during storage, to which product has been added nicotine in amount sufficient substantially to retard discoloration and gum formation but in proportion of not more than 0.01%.

4. A motor fuel of the gasoline-kerosene class which normally tends to deteriorate upon storage, to which has been added nicotine in small quantity, substantially as described, suificient to eifect stabilization of the product as to color and gum content, substantially as described.

5. The method of stabilizing the characteristics of a low boiling light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene that normally tends to develop color or gum, which comprises adding there to prior to substantial discoloration or gum formation a small quantity of nicotine sufficient substantially to retard objectionable color or gum formation.

6. The method of stabilizing the characteristics of a low boiling light colored distillate petroleum product-of the class of gasoline or kerosene that normally tends to develop color or gum during storage, which comprises adding to the said product prior to objectionable discoloration or gum forma- .tion a quantity of nicotine suflicient substantially to retard objectionable color or gum formation and in proportion of not more than 0.01%.

7. The process of treating light colored distillate petroleum products, gasoline and kerosene, to retard deterioration thereof in the matter of color and gum'formation, which comprises adding to the product prior to any nicotine in quantity suflicient substantially to retard the aforesaid deterioration, substan: tially as described.

8. The method of treating a motor fuel of tends to develop color and gum, which comprises adding to said motor fuel prior to substantial discoloration thereof or gum formation therein, a small quantity of nicotine sufficient substantially to retard objectionable coloration or gum formation. p This specification signed this 9th dayof June, 1930.

JAMES B. RATHER. LESLIE C. BEARD, JRQ ORLAND M. REIFF.

substantial discoloration or gum formation 'the gasoline-kerosene class, that normally