Document EmajBg9Rb61rKMrNg2ErxpkqV

1,\tJ Gr a l \m Kd o a h o jr e c t o r o f r e s e a r c h Et h y l Ga s o l i n e Co k p o r a t i o n Ch r y s l e r Bu i l d i n g 135 E a s t '12 St h e e t X k w Yo i k April 16, 1964, Dr. Robert A. Kehoe, University of Cincinnati* College of Mecidine, Cincinnati* Ohio. My dear Kehoe t Thanks very much for your letter of April 12th. I have given considerable thought to the matter of decomposition of Ethyl Fluid in storage tanks. Tie recent* ly carried out some determinations of the freezing point of the mix -which is being ' sold at the moment and found it to be about minus 10 Fahrenheit. Accordingly, Mr. Walter has issued or is issuing instructions that agitators are not to be used ex* cept in sections of the country which get well below minus 10 Fahrenheit. The most effective method of preventing decomposition that we know is covering the Fluid with a blanket of glycerine. Laboratory tests indicate this to be extremely effective and Mr. Schaefer is, at present, carrying out some tests on a slightly larger scale at Deepwater. There are some practical difficulties in the application of this principle to field use. One of them is the item of expense which is,perhaps, not too serious but another is the difficulty in keeping the glycerine from running into the gasoline ivith the Ethyl Fluid. Furthermore,glycerine is quite hygroscopic and its volume will increase because of water absorption with varying atmospheric conditions. I had in mind that when Mr. Schaefer's experiments were completed, which will be perhaps in another month, we might give consideration to asking Arch Maxwell or someone whom we know well, to try out glycerine on a full scale installation. I will appreciate your advice on this problem. I have discussed with Mr. Schaefer the means of cleaning sludge out of tanks in which it has accumulated. Mr. Schaefer says that he has done this repeated ly in his own tanks and does not feel it to be a very serious problem. I understand that he steams the tank for some time and then after stirring the sludge up with a strong hose line with water, he either sucks it out with vacuum from the top of the tank or flushes it from a bottom drain,in case there is one, into the sewer. The men doing this, of course, wear gas masks. I hope to see you oh your next trip to Nevr York, ` Very truly yours, N20503