US1951207A

US1951207A - Distillate petroleum product and method of treating same

Info

Publication number: US1951207A
Application number: US357603A
Authority: US
Inventors: James B Rather; Orland M Reiff; Jr Leslie C Beard
Original assignee: Socony Vacuum Oil Co Inc
Current assignee: ExxonMobil Oil Corp
Priority date: 1929-04-23
Filing date: 1929-04-23
Publication date: 1934-03-13
Anticipated expiration: 1951-03-13

Description

Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT- orr'lcr.

DISTILLATE PETROLEUM ,PRODUCT AND METHOD OF TREATING SAME James B. Rather, Brooklyn, Orland M. Reifl,

Jackson Heights, and Leslie C. Beard,

Brooklyn, N. Y., assignors to Socony-Vacuum Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York No Drawing. Application April 23,1929,

Serial No. 357.603

1 Claims. (01. 44-9) our co-pending applications Serial No. 315,914

filed October 29, 1928, Serial No. 151,005, filed November 26, 1926 and Serial No. 165,546 filed February 3, 1927.

It is well known that during storage, the lighter refined petroleum distillates, notably gasoline and kerosene, frequently become discolored and develop a quantity of gummy material and an objectionable odor, as a result, itis generally believed, of atmospheric oxidation. And it is known that cracked gasoline will generally accumulate a gummy material during comparatively short periods of storage, particularly in the glass bowls of visible service pumps.

This discoloration and odor developed in gasoline and kerosene are objectionable to consumers and distributors of these products and the presence of gummy material in gasoline causes such undesirable effects, when used ln internal combustion engines, as sticking of the valve stems and excessive carbon formation.

. In accordance with this invention, however,

'the development ofthese undesirable character istics in distillatepetroleum products may be readily prevented or materially delayed and any without appreciably increasing the cost of production thereof.

One of the-objects, therefore, of thisqinvention, is to provide a method'of and means for preventing or materially delaying the develop-.

vment of discoloration, objectionable odor and the formation of gummy material in distillate petroleum products.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of and means for removing objectionable color developed in distillate petroleum products and for preventing initial and recurrent discoloration thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide agents 'or compounds eflective both as decolorizers and color stabilizers of distillate petroleum products and alsoeflective to prevent or matelly delay the formation of gum and objectionable odor therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide amethod and means of the character referred to that will not appreciably increase the cost of production of distillate petroleum products.

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

We have discovered that certain of the hy- 0 droxy compounds, such as the hydroxy benzenes and particularly the trihydroxy benzenes are effective as decolorizers and stabilizers with respect to color, gum formation and odor of distillate petroleum products of A. P. I. gravity higher than 37. Of the trihydroxy benzenes, pyrogallol is preferably employed because, in addition to its eflectiveness in decolorization and color and odor stabilization, it is probably the most effective of the trihydroxy benzenes in prem venting or delaying the formation oi. gum in petroleum distillates.

The method employed preferably comprises the thorough mixing of a relatively minute amount of the agent or compound, such as pyrogallol, T5

with the distillate to be treated, although it will be understood that the distillate may be percolated through a mass of the agent or compound, if desired. Preferably, however, the pyrogallol is first dissolved in a suitable solvent which is The resulting solution is then added to the distillate to be treated in the desired proportion. By this method the pyrogallol is distributed throughoutand dissolved in the distillate more readily than if it'were added directly thereto.

It has been found that as little as one part 99 by weight of pyrogallol to approximately 75,000 parts of distillate is an effective proportion for decolorizing and for preventing the development of objectionable ,color, odor and the formation of gum. Somewhat larger proportions may be used, if desired, but the absorption of too large a quantity. of the agent or compound may result in discoloration due to the compound imparting its own color to the distillate.

In most instances, however, the distillate will gallol solution is then added gradually to the distillate to be treated. and preferably in such quantities that the ratio of the amount of pyrogallol to the distillate will be approximately one part by weight of pyrogallol to 75,000 parts of distillate. After the pyrogallol and the distillate have been thoroughly mixed, the resulting solution is conducted into a clean, dry tank, and allowed to stand until the reaction of the pyrogallol with the distillate is complete. At ordinary temperatures, this usually, requires about 24 hours, but at higher temperatures, the time required may be somewhat less. During this treatment the distillate should preferable be kept out of contact with water otherwise the agent or compound may be dissolved in the water and possibly result in the return of some degree of discoloration.

Tests have shown that a distillate petroleum product having an initial color of 9 Saybolt Chromometer, when treated with as little as one part of pyrogallol to 75,000 parts of the distillate and allowed to stand for only two hours, had a color of +18 Saybolt, thus showing an improvement in color of 27- points Saybolt.

The gum forming tendency of distillate petroleum products, such as gasoline, for example, may be efiectually measured by the evaporation of the gasoline in a copper cup according to the United States Bureau of Mines Method 530.1, Technical Paper 3233. Tests in accordance with this method have shown that with commercial samples of. unrefined gasoline dis tillate, the amount of gum formed by the evaporation of the gasoline in a copper cup prior to. treatment with pyrogallol amounted to 288 millegrams, whereas after treatment with as little as .one part of pyrogallol dissolved in mono parts of the gasoline, only 7 millcgrams were formed.

The foregoing treatment has been found most satisfactory and eflective in thedecolorization and stabilization of distillate petroleum prodnets of A. P. I. gravity higher than 37 with respect to color, gum formation and odor, and is particularly advantageous because it does not appreciably increase-the cost of production or the handling charges thereof. I

While we have thus specifically described our invention, various modifications thereof may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and it is therefore our intention that the invention. be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters'Patent is:

1. A low boiling normally light colored dis tillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene which normally tends to be come discolored during storage, having added thereto a polyhydroxy-benzene efi'ective to, and

in quantity suflicient to, substantially retard spontaneous discoloration of the product.

2. The method of stabilizing the characteristics of a low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene that normally tends to become discolored during storage, which comprises adding thereto prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration a small quantity of a polyhydroxybenzene sufilcient substantially to retard selfgenerated discoloration of the product.'

3. A low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene which normally tends to bee come discolored during storage, having added thereto a trihydroxy-benzene in quantity sumcient substantially to retard spontaneous discoloration oi the product.

4. The method of stabilizing the characteristics of a low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene that normally tends to become discolored during storage, which comprises adding thereto prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration a small quantity of a trihydroxy-benzene-sumcient substantially to retard discoloration of the product. v

5. The method of stabilizing the characteristics of a low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene that normally tends to become discolored during storage, which comprises adding thereto prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration a small quantity oi? pyrogallol sufiicient substantially to retard spontaneous color formation.

6. The method of stabilizing the characteristics of a low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene that normally tends to become discolored during storage, which comprises add-' 7. n'substantially water white-color low boil= gallol in amount suflicient substantially to retard the atoresaid discoloration and insumcient in amount to impart substantial color to the product.

ORLANDQ M. mrsnm e. nnAnn, Ja.