US2861952A - Decolorization of lubricating oils - Google Patents

Decolorization of lubricating oils Download PDF

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Publication number
US2861952A
US2861952A US636251A US63625157A US2861952A US 2861952 A US2861952 A US 2861952A US 636251 A US636251 A US 636251A US 63625157 A US63625157 A US 63625157A US 2861952 A US2861952 A US 2861952A
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United States
Prior art keywords
oil
color
light
lubricating oils
oils
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Expired - Lifetime
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US636251A
Inventor
William E Thompson
Robert W Shinn
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Sunoco Inc
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Sun Oil Co
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Publication date
Application filed by Sun Oil Co filed Critical Sun Oil Co
Priority to US636251A priority Critical patent/US2861952A/en
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Publication of US2861952A publication Critical patent/US2861952A/en
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Classifications

    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10GCRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVE HYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, OR GASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; MINERAL WAXES
    • C10G32/00Refining of hydrocarbon oils by electric or magnetic means, by irradiation, or by using microorganisms
    • C10G32/04Refining of hydrocarbon oils by electric or magnetic means, by irradiation, or by using microorganisms by particle radiation
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10MLUBRICATING COMPOSITIONS; USE OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES EITHER ALONE OR AS LUBRICATING INGREDIENTS IN A LUBRICATING COMPOSITION
    • C10M1/00Liquid compositions essentially based on mineral lubricating oils or fatty oils; Their use as lubricants
    • C10M1/08Liquid compositions essentially based on mineral lubricating oils or fatty oils; Their use as lubricants with additives
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10MLUBRICATING COMPOSITIONS; USE OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES EITHER ALONE OR AS LUBRICATING INGREDIENTS IN A LUBRICATING COMPOSITION
    • C10M2207/00Organic non-macromolecular hydrocarbon compounds containing hydrogen, carbon and oxygen as ingredients in lubricant compositions
    • C10M2207/02Hydroxy compounds
    • C10M2207/023Hydroxy compounds having hydroxy groups bound to carbon atoms of six-membered aromatic rings
    • C10M2207/026Hydroxy compounds having hydroxy groups bound to carbon atoms of six-membered aromatic rings with tertiary alkyl groups
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10MLUBRICATING COMPOSITIONS; USE OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES EITHER ALONE OR AS LUBRICATING INGREDIENTS IN A LUBRICATING COMPOSITION
    • C10M2215/00Organic non-macromolecular compounds containing nitrogen as ingredients in lubricant compositions
    • C10M2215/02Amines, e.g. polyalkylene polyamines; Quaternary amines
    • C10M2215/06Amines, e.g. polyalkylene polyamines; Quaternary amines having amino groups bound to carbon atoms of six-membered aromatic rings
    • C10M2215/066Arylene diamines
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10STECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S204/00Chemistry: electrical and wave energy
    • Y10S204/901Effecting a color change by wave energy

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a process for decolorizing lubricating oils, and more particularly to a process for decolorizing oils by exposure to visible light.
  • Hydrocarbon lubricating oils particularly naphthenic oils prepared by distillation of essentially wax-free crude oils, contain small amounts of complex compounds which impart a dark color to the oil. While the presence of these compounds does not adversely affect the lubricating qualities of the oil, such oils are difiicult to sell because customers prefer light-colored oils.
  • the compounds destroyed by light are apparently natural oxidation inhibitors, since it has been observed that when irradiated oils are brought to room temperature without further treatment they tend to darken rapidly, and they cannot thereafter be lightened in color by further irradiation at reduced temperatures. If, however, an antioxidant such as phenylene diamine, ditertiarybutyl paracresol, or any other petroleum anti-oxidant known to the art is added to the oil in the amount of from about .0005 to .005% before bringing it to room temperature the oil will re- -main stable in storage. r
  • Example I A quart bottle of a naphthenic lubricating oil having an O. D. color of 24.2 was placed on the laboratory roof during December, when the average temperature was under 40 F., and was below freezing most of the time. After 5 days exposure, the color had been reduced to 15.9. The sample was then taken into ther 2 once started, was autocatalytic, so that further exposure to hght did not eifect any decolorization.
  • Example [I A duplicate sample was placed on the roof at the same time as the first sample and was left there, without warming, for 12 days, after which time it was found that it had dropped from its original 0. D. color of 24.2 to an O. D. color of 13.5. Addition of 0.002% of ditertiarybutyl paracresol to this oil,-before warming to room temperature, produced a stable oil which did not discolor in storage.
  • Example III A fourth duplicate sample bottle was wrapped in tin foil so as to exclude light therefrom and was placed on the roof with the samples of the preceding examples. After 8 days it was found that the color had increased to 24.9 from the original 24.2, indicating that cold alone was ineffective to decolorize the oil.
  • Example V A fifth duplicate sample was irradiated by ultraviolet light for six hours at 20 F. This treatment increased the O. D. color from 24.2 to 25.9, indicating that light in the visible spectrum was responsible for the decrease in color noted in the first three examples.
  • Example VI A quart bottle of a lubricating oil having an initial 0. D. color of 20.1 was placed on the roof and exposed for days during the winter. It had a final color of 10.6, and could be stabilized at this color by the addition of 0.002% of phenylene diamine. A similar bottle placed in sunlight on the laboratory window sill during the same period of time was reduced in color'only from 20.1 to 19.8, indicating that irradiation by light at room temperature is inefiective in reducing color.
  • Example VII A quart bottle of a different lubricating oil having an initial 0. D. color of 18.4 was placed on the roof in December and kept there for six days, after which the color was found to be 12.4. A duplicate bottle kept on the laboratory shelf increased in color during the same period to 21.0.
  • Example VIII A quart bottle of a still different lubricating oil having an initial 0. D. color of 13.8 was placed on the roof at the same time as the bottle of Example VII. After six days, the color of this oil had decreased to 10.4 while a duplicate kept on the laboratory shelf retained its original color over the same period of time.
  • a process for decolorizing lubricating oils which comprises bringing a petroleum lubricating oil prepared by distillation of an essentially wax-free naphthenic crude oil and containing naturally occurring impurities in an temperaturelessthan' about 40' F.', irradiatingthe'oil with light in the visible spectrum for a period of time sufiicient to eifect a reduction in the O. D. color of the oil, and adding from about 0.0005% to about 0.005% of an antioxidant selected from the group consisting of phenylene diamine and ditertiarybutyl paracresol prior to warming the oil to above about 40 F.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Toxicology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Microbiology (AREA)
  • Lubricants (AREA)

Description

DECOLORIZATION F LUBRICATING OILS William E. Thompson, Wallingford, and Robert W. Shinn,
Swarthmore, Pa., assignors to Sun Oil Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Application January 25, 1957 Serial No. 636,251
3 Claims. (Cl. 25250) This invention relates to a process for decolorizing lubricating oils, and more particularly to a process for decolorizing oils by exposure to visible light.
Hydrocarbon lubricating oils, particularly naphthenic oils prepared by distillation of essentially wax-free crude oils, contain small amounts of complex compounds which impart a dark color to the oil. While the presence of these compounds does not adversely affect the lubricating qualities of the oil, such oils are difiicult to sell because customers prefer light-colored oils.
We have now discovered that stable, light-colored oils may be produced by exposing the oil to visible light at a temperature below about 40 F., followed by'the incorporation of an antioxidant in the oil prior to bringing the oil to ambient temperatures. Exposure to visible light at room temperature has apparently no etfect on the color of the oil, and ultraviolet light, even at low temperatures, also has no beneficial eifect. The reason why light is effective at low temperatures, but not at room temperature is unknown to us, but it is speculated that at the higher temperatures, oxidation of oil components to dark colored compounds proceeds at a rate equal to the rate of removal of other colored compounds by light, so that there is no effect. The compounds destroyed by light are apparently natural oxidation inhibitors, since it has been observed that when irradiated oils are brought to room temperature without further treatment they tend to darken rapidly, and they cannot thereafter be lightened in color by further irradiation at reduced temperatures. If, however, an antioxidant such as phenylene diamine, ditertiarybutyl paracresol, or any other petroleum anti-oxidant known to the art is added to the oil in the amount of from about .0005 to .005% before bringing it to room temperature the oil will re- -main stable in storage. r
In order that those skilled in the art may more fully appreciate the nature of our invention and the method of carrying it out, the following examples are given.
Example I A quart bottle of a naphthenic lubricating oil having an O. D. color of 24.2 was placed on the laboratory roof during December, when the average temperature was under 40 F., and was below freezing most of the time. After 5 days exposure, the color had been reduced to 15.9. The sample was then taken into ther 2 once started, was autocatalytic, so that further exposure to hght did not eifect any decolorization.
Example [I A duplicate sample was placed on the roof at the same time as the first sample and was left there, without warming, for 12 days, after which time it was found that it had dropped from its original 0. D. color of 24.2 to an O. D. color of 13.5. Addition of 0.002% of ditertiarybutyl paracresol to this oil,-before warming to room temperature, produced a stable oil which did not discolor in storage.
Example III Example IV A fourth duplicate sample bottle was wrapped in tin foil so as to exclude light therefrom and was placed on the roof with the samples of the preceding examples. After 8 days it was found that the color had increased to 24.9 from the original 24.2, indicating that cold alone was ineffective to decolorize the oil.
Example V A fifth duplicate sample was irradiated by ultraviolet light for six hours at 20 F. This treatment increased the O. D. color from 24.2 to 25.9, indicating that light in the visible spectrum was responsible for the decrease in color noted in the first three examples.
Example VI A quart bottle of a lubricating oil having an initial 0. D. color of 20.1 was placed on the roof and exposed for days during the winter. It had a final color of 10.6, and could be stabilized at this color by the addition of 0.002% of phenylene diamine. A similar bottle placed in sunlight on the laboratory window sill during the same period of time was reduced in color'only from 20.1 to 19.8, indicating that irradiation by light at room temperature is inefiective in reducing color.
Example VII A quart bottle of a different lubricating oil having an initial 0. D. color of 18.4 was placed on the roof in December and kept there for six days, after which the color was found to be 12.4. A duplicate bottle kept on the laboratory shelf increased in color during the same period to 21.0.
Example VIII A quart bottle of a still different lubricating oil having an initial 0. D. color of 13.8 was placed on the roof at the same time as the bottle of Example VII. After six days, the color of this oil had decreased to 10.4 while a duplicate kept on the laboratory shelf retained its original color over the same period of time.
We claim:
1. A process for decolorizing lubricating oils which comprises bringing a petroleum lubricating oil prepared by distillation of an essentially wax-free naphthenic crude oil and containing naturally occurring impurities in an temperaturelessthan' about 40' F.', irradiatingthe'oil with light in the visible spectrum for a period of time sufiicient to eifect a reduction in the O. D. color of the oil, and adding from about 0.0005% to about 0.005% of an antioxidant selected from the group consisting of phenylene diamine and ditertiarybutyl paracresol prior to warming the oil to above about 40 F.
2. The process accordingfto claim 1 in which the antioxidant is-phenylenediamineh 3'. The process accordinglot claim:1 in which the antioxidant is di'tertiarybutyl paracresol.
References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lubrication Engineerin OTHER REFERENCES g, December 1950, pages 263-

Claims (1)

1. A PROCESS FOR DECOLORIZING LUBRICATING OILS WHICH COMPRISES BRINGING A PETROLEUM LUBRICATING OIL PREPARED BY DISTILLATION OF AN ESSENTIALLY WAX-FREE NAPHTHENIC CRUDE OIL AND CONTAINING NATURALLY OCCURRING IMPURITIES IN AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO IMPART A DARK COLOR TO THE OIL TO A TEMPERATURE LESS THAN ABOUT 40*F., IRRADITING THE OIL WITH LIGHT IN THE VISIBLE SEPECTRUM FOR A PERIOD OF TIME SUFFICIENT TO EFFECT A REDUCTION IN THE O. D. COLOR OF THE OIL, AND ADDING FROM ABOUT 0.0005% TO ABOUT 0.005% OF AN ANTIOXIDANT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTINF OF PHENYLENE DIAMINE AND DITERTIARYBUTYL PARACRESOL PRIOR TO WARMING THE OIL TO ABOVE ABOUT 40*F.
US636251A 1957-01-25 1957-01-25 Decolorization of lubricating oils Expired - Lifetime US2861952A (en)

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3282842A (en) * 1964-03-06 1966-11-01 Mobil Oil Corp Lubricating oil compositions

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US939733A (en) * 1909-05-12 1909-11-09 Lawrence C Minor Method of bleaching rosin.
US1948281A (en) * 1932-07-30 1934-02-20 Monsanto Chemicals Process for decolorizing esters
US2202877A (en) * 1937-04-12 1940-06-04 Gulf Oil Corp Antioxidants and petroleum oils containing the same
US2451642A (en) * 1944-10-23 1948-10-19 Standard Oil Co Viscous mineral oil compositions
US2647968A (en) * 1950-10-02 1953-08-04 Fasco Industries Electric switch assembly

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US939733A (en) * 1909-05-12 1909-11-09 Lawrence C Minor Method of bleaching rosin.
US1948281A (en) * 1932-07-30 1934-02-20 Monsanto Chemicals Process for decolorizing esters
US2202877A (en) * 1937-04-12 1940-06-04 Gulf Oil Corp Antioxidants and petroleum oils containing the same
US2451642A (en) * 1944-10-23 1948-10-19 Standard Oil Co Viscous mineral oil compositions
US2647968A (en) * 1950-10-02 1953-08-04 Fasco Industries Electric switch assembly

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3282842A (en) * 1964-03-06 1966-11-01 Mobil Oil Corp Lubricating oil compositions

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