US1997670A

US1997670A - Method of and means for identifying brands of liquid hydrocarbons

Info

Publication number: US1997670A
Application number: US618478A
Authority: US
Inventors: George L Armour
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1932-06-21
Filing date: 1932-06-21
Publication date: 1935-04-16
Anticipated expiration: 1952-04-16

Description

METOD OF awn i It George L. mm Brooklyn, N. W.

No lilirag.

My invention relates to a method for identifying brands of commercial liquid hydrocarbons, such asgasoline, kerosene, lubricating oils and similar hydrocarbons used for technical purposes,

a and it particularly relates to a method by which certain chemical compositions, when added, for instance, to gasoline, are afterwards acted upon by other chemicals or reagents and yield. a certain color, and more particularly a certain definite shade of said color, the object oi the invention being to provide means by which it can be established whether or not a certain brand of gasoline has been tammred with by adding thereto cheaper gasoline, or by substituting it entirely by other similar liquids, such as kerosene, as may be done under the pressure of themarlret conditions to obtain a higher and. mostly always illegitimate profit. Such fraud is practiced, for for instance, incases where a lease-holder of a gasoline filling station is under contract to sell in his gas-station exclusively one particular brand of gasoline. In case the market is high for gasoline, the operators of such stations often add a cheaper kind of gasoline to the one they have contracted for, or run the station with kerosene in order to reap a higher profit.

It is another object of the invention to provide such means, as described above, which will allow to produce the color test always under the some absolutely reliable conditions so that unfailingly a certain definite shade will be produced and misunderstandings, which might lead to wrong accusations, are excluded;

It is a further object of the invention to provide such means, as described above, which will allow the embodiment of said means into the gasoline under such conditions that if the party, who is to be controlled by such means, should incidentally learn of the nature of such means, he can never know exactly enough the nature of the same and will never be able to compound the means and to embody such self-compounded means into illegitimately mixed or substituted gasoline in such a manner as to produce the particular shade of color to which the legitimate gasoline is adjusted in relation with the reagent.

I am aware that at present the oil refineries usually color the gasoline with various colors, for

ilpplicatioim Jew 211, 103%, serial No. create cion on the one side or creating suspicion. and hard feelings on the side to be controlled.

I have found thatI can accomplish the objects in view by compounding colors, which distribute or dissolve in gasoline, with small quantities of a control color or dyestufi, or other substances, which also distribute or dissolve in, or suspend in, or mix with gasoline, which, when dissolved in, or suspended in, or mixed with gasoline, will give a well pronounced color reaction with other chemicals, such as an alkali metal-hydroxide, ammonia, certain allrali, metal salts, such as potassium or sodium nitrite, or nitrate, or rhodanate, etc., even when both components, which enter into the color reaction are present only in an enor-- mous degree of dilution. These other chemicals are preferably applied in the form of their solutions, preferably their aqueous, or any other solution made with a solvent immiscible with gasoline, or any other hydrocarbon coming into consideration for the purposes of this invention.

For the purpose of illustrating how I may proceed in operating my invention, I am. setting forth below a few examples.

Example I To prove, for instance, thata gasoline of orange color, having a reddish tint, is identical with the brand of a better grade of gasoline, which on the ground of a contract or lease should be on sale at a certain gas station, I prepare a mixture of certain dyestuffs suitable to yield the particular desired orange-red shade and mix thereto a certain amount of Alizarine paste, dry, (Color Index Number 1027) which dissolves in the gasoline with the other colors and thus is not noticeable at all to an observer uninformed of its presence. I found that according to my present experience a highly satisfactory result is obtained, if I thoroughly mix, for instance, 85-80 parts, by weight, of Oil Orange, concentrated, (Color Index Number 258) 10-8 parts, by weight, of Oil Red 313, or Oil Red 0. (Color Index Number 248) -12 parts by weight, of Alizarine paste, dry, (Color Index Number 1027) and add to this mixture one pound to each 5000 gallons of gasoline before the same is delivered. When the mixture has dissolved, the gasoline thereupon shows an orange-reddish color. If I take then later on at a gas-filling station an adequate sample,-for instance, 35 cc. of this orange-red gasoline as one completed composition and add to the same a quantity of a second composition, for instance an aqueous solution containing sodium hydroxide, of any desired concentration, for instance 4 cc. of a 40% NaOH solution, I obtain a distinctly and clearly noticeable lavender color at the bottom of the sample.

The amount of Alizarine paste, dry in the 35 cc. of orange-red gasoline and the amount of caustic soda in the 4 cc. of the 40% NaOH solution is always so exactly the same, that the shade of lavender is always the same under all conditions. If the exact amount of both ingredients entering into the coloring reaction, or at least of one of the said ingredients, for instance the volume and concentration of the caustic soda solution is withheld from the party to be controlled, then in ignorance of the particular concentrations on which the test is based, it will be next to impossible for him to imitate the critical shade.

Instead of the dyestuffs mentioned in above example for the purpose of giving the gasoline a color, any other dyestufl' may be applied giving a particular desired color and the admixture to this dyestufi must, of course, be such to give later on with the reagent, for instance, sodium hydroxide, a color which is in contrast with the color the gasoline dyesturl' will produce.

How my new invention may be varied, is, for instance, shown by the next example.

Example 11 I produce a mixture of 95 parts, by weight, oi Oil Red 313, or Oil Red 0. (Color Index Number 248) 5 parts, by weight, of fluoresceine, (Color Index Number 766) and add to this mixture one pound to 5000 gallons of gasoline. Upon dissolving, this mixture colors the gasoline with the standard shade of red. It I then take 35 cc. oi. the thus colored gasoline and add to it 4 cc. of an aqueous solution containing 40% sodium hydroxide, an iridescent green-yellowish shade is obtained at the bottom of the solution.

Instead of the oil soluble colors mentioned in the foregoing examples, I may also use Oil Orange G, (Color Index Number 24) Oil Scarlet, (Color Index No. '73) or any other oil soluble color known to produce any desired color or shade; and

as far as the admixed coloring substance is concerned, I am not restricted to organic dyestuffs, but can also resort to inorganic substances, such as iron chloride, which, when present in the gasoline and tested with an aqueous solution of potassium rhodanate, even in an immense dilution, gives a blood-red color. However, organic preparations are generally more suitable for the purposes of my invention, as with inorganic compounds the danger arises that they may segregate out of the gasoline and may clog the pipes of the measuring devices of the selling station.

Besides water as a medium or solvent, incompatible with the hydrocarbons, carrying the reagent, I may also apply any other solvent of sodium hydroxide and of the other substances, acting as reagents, which do not dissolve in or mix with the hydrocarbons to be tested; so glycerol is a very convenient medium for the purposes ot my invention. 4

Whenever I speak in the appending claims that the substances, added to the gasoline or other commercial hydrocarbons, give (or color") the same a desired color, I mean to include in said term "give" or color" also that they leave the hydrocarbons in a desired color, for instance, gasoline in its natural, water-like color.

What I claim is: l

1. The composition of matter for testing the identity of commercial hydrocarbons, consisting of a mixture of Oil Orange concentrated, Oil Red 33, and Alizarine paste dry, said mixture being dissolved in the hydrocarbon with an orange-red color, one ingredient of said mixture giving with sodium hydroxide solution a lavender color in the aqueous solution.

2. The composition of matter for testing the identity or commercial hydrocarbons, consisting of a mixture of Parts Oil Orange concentrated 85-80 Oil Red 33 8 Alizarine paste dry 5-12 all parts being by weight, said mixture being dissolved in the hydrocarbon with an orange-red color, one ingredient of said mixture giving with sodium-hydroxide solution a lavender color in the aqueous solution.

3. The composition of matter for testing the identity of hydrocarbons, consisting of Oil Red 3B, and fluoresceine, coloring the hydrocarbon red and yielding with an aqueous alkali metal hydroxide solution a green-yellowish color.

4. The composition of matter for testing the identity oi! hydrocarbons, as described by claim 3, consisting of 95 parts oi! 011 Red 313, and 5 parts of fluoresceine.

GEORGE L. ARMOUR.