Show Waste Gases in Oil Plants Are Used t 1 to Profitable End Scientists Reveal One oil company is manufacturing ing sulphuric acid from its waste products by-products and Is turning out eighty tive tons of acid every d day y says Popular Mechanics Magazine Other major oil companies are producing producing pro pro- during alcohol from their waste gases It is estimated that the industry in- in industry industry in in- Is is' producing gallons of methyl ethyl and other alcohols alcohols' every year cheaper and In some cases practically the same as the ilie alcohol produced from rom grain A A radiator radiator radiator ra ra- ra- ra anti freeze called ethylene glycol is still another derivative In some oil fields iodine is manufactured manufactured manufactured from rom the salt water flowing up with the oil from the ground This growth is taking place because because be be- cause petroleum chemists are finding finding finding find find- ing dozens of ot answers to the question question ques tion of what to do with waste refinery refine refine- ry gases Ordinary crude petroleum consists of ot large numbers of molecules molecules mole mole- cules of different complexity each type being a different combination of hydrogen and carbon atoms or arrangements of them The lightest ones are gas molecules hen heavier vier ones are just right for motor fuel and still heavier molecules arc are used for lubricating oil Straight-run Straight gasoline gasoline gasoline gas gas- oline is produced by heating petroleum petroleum petroleum petro petro- leum until the gasoline molecules evaporate Then they are collected in a condenser It amounts to a sort of screening process Potentially there is still a lot of gasoline left in the petroleum after the first run fuel is distilled off The next step Is to crack the oil oll cooking cooking cooking cook cook- ing it under heat and pressure to break some of ot the heavy fractions down Into molecular sizes that fall into the gasoline classification Inc In c doing this large quantities of gas are arc created and in the Uie past these gases were simply piped away a asale safe sale distance and burned These waste gases consist of mixtures of so called so-called called saturated paraffin gases such as methane ethane and propane propane propane pro pro- pane as well as a number of other gases |