Document Kzv2ogN2E0a46o3MnYbj5qQgw

INTER-OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE Et h y l Ga so l i n e Co r po r a t i o n Mi h d f a c t c k i n q AND THAI'FIC Depa r t men t MAIL ADD RESS: SOX 1271. W ILMINGTON. D EIFREIGHT ADDRESS: CARNEY'S POINT. N. J. TELEPHONE: PENNSGROVE, N. J. 2 8 0 EXTENSION 0 9 0 May 11, 1938 Mr. J . S . Schaefer Bear John: We are attaching l e t t e r of April 28 from Oscar Lewis to you rself r e la tiv e t o the steaming experiment o f Mr. B a ll. Our an a ly tica l r e su lts on the samples forwarded by Ball are as follow s: A , - ULvijL?fiUo . ----- Total Lead Calculated Tote l Lead Tota l Lead Sample So. Color as T.2.L. ^ Calcul&l&d (cc. per gallon) / ~ ~ \ aa % P b t/ /'"Calculated^,,) S i s ~*~TTSTI,T K ST-1 {H2G portion) ST-1 {Solid portion) ST-2 115^ ST-3 140 ST-4 160 ST-5 175 ST-6 -- ST-7 220 3T-8 290 ST-9 350 ST-10 - sT-n 350 ST-12 (HgO portion) ST-12 (Resinous portion) ST-13 (Hi>0 portion > ST-13 {Solid portion) ' Trace only. Less ^ thsnNO.0005$ Nvv (libv^b Found) 2.79 [ C\ X 0.107$ 3.22 \ '\ \ \ 0.121 3.51 N. NJ ! 0.129 ?U7> 0.118 3.SST , x 0.132 3. 53 ' \ 0.124 3 .9 1 \ ^ ) 0.139 8.84 0.24 4.25 0.145 3.91 0.126 0.016 **- 0.066 Hone -- 0.0043 0.025# 0.104 Hone 0.0067 Samples ST-1 and ST-13 each consisted o f a so lid portion containing iron sca le and a g r itty or sandy substance and a water layer above the so lid m atter. The water was separated from the so lid by f ilt r a t io n and each portion tested for lead. Sample ST-12 contained a resinous or gummy layer with a water layer above. These were also separated and each te ste d for lead. HZ 0022579 - 2- Mr. J . H. Schaefer May 11, 1938 In commenting on the analytical r e s u lts , i t i s our opinion that Sample ST-9 shows probably too high a figure fo r lead content but that a l l other r e su lts are within reason. Not much -value can be placed in the color strengths since here we run into increases In color due to concentration during steaming and also show color deterioration due to prolonged applica tio n o f heat. Otherwise, we le a l that a l l a n a ly tica l figu res are s e l f explanatory. The report o f experimental procedure and the a n alytical r e su lts have been discussed with both Colvin and Biehle and we are including the con sensus o f our opinions in commenting on th is subject. F ir st, the quantity o f fiv e gallon s o f gasoline in a 5S-gallon drum seems quite proper sinoe th is corresponds to three square fe e t o f refluxing surface per gallon, very nearly the same surface per gallon as found in a standard SO* x 40* (20,000 barrel) refinery tank when there are two inches of gasoline in the bottom. The f iv e gallon gasoline content a lso corresponds f a ir ly c lo se ly with two inohee in a 20.000- barrel tank on the b asis of area exposed. For example, in the tank, there were 0.77 square fe e t of gasoline exposed per gallon , vhereas in a 2 0 .000- barrel tank, a 2-inch depth corresponds to an 0.82 square-foot exposure per gallon. However, two items in the report indicate that the quantity o f steam introduced was e n tire ly too great for p a r a lle l comparison. The temperature o f 140 was reached in between two and three hours, whereas at the refin ery, twenty-four to th ir ty -s ix hours are required before reaching that temperature, the th eo retica l g oal. In th is t e s t the'maximum ran up to 170 for over one hundred hours. These temperatures are Fahrenheit, Furthermore, the steam condensate amounted to one gallon per hour or in t o t a l, twice the content of the experimental tank. To have been consistent with refinery experience, t o t a l condensate should not have exceeded ten g a llo n s, basing the qu an tities on comparable un its of refluxing surface. The one experience in the t e s t which seems out o f lin e with refin ery experience i s why i t took longer to str ip out the gasoline than is normal for a tank steaming vJhen using steam qu antities so much greater than normal. The explanation may be due to the strong draft or chimney e ffe c t venting refinery tanks, vhich e ffe c t is v irtu a lly non-existent in a small oontainar. The statement i s made in the report that lead in draw-off water i s probably n e g lig ib le due to the very s lig h t s o lu b ility . This does not n ecessa rily follow sin ce lead might be present in suspended or em ulsified form in su ffic ie n t q u an tities to a ffe c t r e s u lts , p articu larly considering the larger than normal ra tio o f draw-off water to gasolin e. HE 0022550 -3Mr. J . H. Schaefer May 11, 1938 I f the reflu x ra tio in the tank has any r ela tio n to the removal o f lead by steaming, then the small sca le experiment is not comparable to large tank steaming. The ra tio o f unwetted drum area to free drum volume i s almost tw enty-five times the same ratio for a 60* x 40* tank. The e ffe c t upon refluxing i s shown by the fa ct that in the f ie ld the condensate amounts to about three times the volume o f the g asolin e, v h ile in the small scale experiment, even in the f ir s t forty hours, the ratio of condensate to original gasoline was 8 t l. i.s has been borne out by the an alytical r e s u lts , it i s reasonable to suppose that the concentration of lead in the residual gasoline increases as the steaming progresses. Therefore, considerable lead w ill be d is t ille d in the la t t e r stages of the steaming. In the experiment, the la t t e r stage might be considered the period from forty hours on, when the la s t 10# o f gasoline was d i s t i l l e d . During the la s t s ix ty -fiv e hours, approximately s ix ty fiv e gallons of condensed steam refluxed into the tank and must have carried quite a b it o f the lead with i t . The layer of gasoline during the period was not over one-quarter inch in thickness and therefore, re-absorption o f lead by the gasoline must have been lower than at f i r s t . From these considerations i t would not be surprising i f a large amount of suspended tetraeth yl lead l e f t the drum with the s ix ty -fiv e gsllo n s o f draw-off water. F in ally, in order to interpret the resu lts more in te llig e n tly , i t would be preferable to reta in a material balance during the course of the experiment. In th is way i t might have been possible to check the r e su lts. There are several factors to be considered in interpreting the r e s u lts . F ir st, l e t us assume that the sample of sludge submitted was represent a tiv e . Ze estimate the to ta l sand used up to a three-inch le v e l to be equal to 0.4 cubic f e e t , with an estimated weight of forty-eigh t pounds at 120 pounds per cubic fo o t. The lead present in th is weight of sludge, as tetraeth yl lead, i s 1 .5 grams based on the 0.006?# o f tetraeth yl lead for the so lid portion o f ST-13 and calculated from the assumptions just made. The resinous portion, which analyzed at 0.104# tetraeth yl lead , shows a to ta l residue of 0.2 grams a3 tetra eth y l lead based on the 1# o f original volume as the residue, and the same gravity as for water. The to ta l residue o f tetraeth yl lead found in the container la therefore equal to somewhat lo s s than 10# o f the orig in a l weight o f ttrenty-three graias o f tetraeth yl lead present. Thus, i t i s safe to assume that in the steaming operation at a refinery, at le a s t 10# o f the quantity o f tetraethyl lead present in the gaso lin e layer w ill remain a fte r completion of the steaming and that in a l l p robab ility the lead residue w ill exceed th is figure. r;e are attaching several extra copies o f th is report for your con venience in the event that you find i t advisable to d istrib u te i t in i t s present form. Yours very tru ly , U.E 0022581 A, P, Stover Bo3to n , Mass STEAM TEST I. General In p re p a rin g g a s o lin e sto ra g e ta n k s fo r c le a n in g , the q u ic k e st method in d riv in g out vapors and the rem aining g a so lin e is to steam th e tan k fo r a t l e a s t f o r ty e ig h t h o u rs. The q u e s tio n has a r i s e n a s to w hat happens when le ad ed g a s o lin e tan k s a re steam ed. A te n t on a sm all s c a le was c a r r ie d o u t to b rin g to l i g h t some p r e lim in a r y d a ta on t h i s s u b j e c t . I I . Purpose A. To d e te rm in e w h e th e r o r n o t le a d i s d r iv e n I n t o th e re m a in in g g a so lin e a3 su ccessiv e f r a c tio n s a re steamed o f f in a lead ed g aso lin e tank. B. To d e te rm in e w h e th e r le a d i s d r iv e n i n t o s lu d g e d u r in g t h i s process. I I I . D escription of te s t A. E quipm ent u s e d - 1 - 55 --"allon drum 1 - 30o - UOOOF th e rm o m eter - Steam co n n ec tio n s a t 150 l b s . p e r sq u are in ch p re s s u re Iron ru s t and sc a le used as "sludge" A 15" x 1" ru s ty iro n pipe p a r t i a l l y submerged in g a so lin e and w ater corresp o n d in g to a p o s itio n o f a swing arm. Water draw o ff b o ttle s Sample c o lle c tin g b o t t l e s B. P rep aratio n . The drum ( h e r e a f t e r r e f e r r e d to a s ta n k ) was p la c e d in a h o r i zo n ta l p o s itio n w ith a 2" hole in the to p , and a 5" hole cu t in the sid e 6" from the bottom of the tan k . At the o th e r end of the tank an 8" rem ovable co v er was h eld in p la c e by s tu d b o l t s to a s s i s t In sludge removal a t th e conclusion of the te s t . A steam je t from a lin e was connected a t th e 5" h o le a t th e end o f th e ta n k , and a n" steam l i n e was p la c e d in th e to p man h o l e . T h ese w ore c o n t r o l l e d b y s e p a r a t e v a l v e s . A jM w a te r draw o f f was p la c e d 3" from th e b o t tom o f th e ta n k on th e same end o f th e 2" h o l s . I r o n r u s t , s c a lo , sand and w ater were th e n p laced in the tan k u n t i l the w ater le v e l reached th e h e ig h t o f the d ra w -o ff. A "sludge" sam ple was th en ta k e n . I t should be e x p la in e d h e re , th a t th i s t e s t was c a r r ie d o u t on a s m a ll s c a l e f o r two r e a s o n s . We had no a p p r o p r i a t i o n to w ork w ith so th e re f o r e could p ro v id e no e la b o ra te g e t up such as a la rg e ta n k , s c a l e s , e t c . S e c o n d ly , we f e l t c l o s e r c o n t r o l c o u ld b e k e p t o v e r a 3m all o p eratio n such an th is one. 2- - On t h i s b a s i s , we u s e d f i v e g a l lo n s o f E th y l g a s o l i n e i n t h i s ta n k . As we d e s i r e d to ta k e a sam ple a s ea c h 10$ was d r iv e n o f f , we f i r s t c a lib r a te d the 10$ p o in ts on a m easuring rod w ith w a te r. The g a s o lin e was then o la ced in the ta n k , and the re a d in g s checked f o r a f u l l 100$. The th ic k n e s s o f th e le v e l o f th e g a s o lin e la y e r on th e to o o f th e w a te r m s a b o u t 2g in c h e s , and b ro u g h t th e l e v e l o f th e en t i r e c o n te n ts o f the tan k below the opening in the end where th e steam was in tr o d u c e d . In d is c u s s in g ta n k 'c le a n in g w ith v a r io u s o la n t o p e ra t o r s , we h av e found t h a t th e l a y e r o f g a s o l i n e on to p o f w a te r w i l l sometimes run between 1 and 3 in ch es. o n o t m a in ta in t h a t 2 in c h e s i s a n a v e r a g e , b u t we 3 t i l l f e e l i t i s w ith in l i m i t s o f a c t u a l p ractice. A ccording to the A .P .I. fig u re s , tank steam ing is norm ally run be tw een th e te m p e ra tu re s lUo and 170 F . T h is r e p r e s e n t s from 20$ - *40$ steam s a tu ra tio n . This a-d u ra tio n is re p o rte d to he s a tis f a c to r y to make c o m b u stib le m ix tu re s s a f e . In k eep in g w ith g e n e ra l p r a c t i c e , th e te m p e ra tu re s th ro u g h o u t tb i* t e s t w ere ru n betw een th e s e l i m i t s . The steam was tu rn e d on t h r u th e to p man h o l e , and g r a d u a l l y w orked \tp to 135c F . We in tro d u c e d n te u n t h r u th e to p in o r d e r to e f f e c t a sm o th e r ing a c t i o n on th e v a p o rs i n th e ta n k . T h is i s common p r a c t i c e a t th e b e g in n in g o f steam in g a ta n k , and th i s p ro ced u re was fo llow ed u n t i l a b o u t 30$ was steam ed o f f . As th e ta n k wan s te a m e d , w a te r fo rm ed b y th e c o n d e n s a tio n r a i s e d th e le v e l o f th e w a te r b o tto m so a s to th ro w o f f an y r e a d in g s we m ig h t g o t b y s t i c k i n g th e ta n k . I t was n e c e s s a ry th e r e f o r e to draw o f f an y a c cum ulated w ater th ru th e tap provided fo r th is purpose. 3y draw ing the w a te r to t h i s l e v e l , we re a c h e d th e z e ro p o i n t on o u r c a l i b r a t i o n o r m e a s u rin g ro d , and r e a d i l y d e te rm in e d how much g a s o l i n e had b e e n steam ed o f f . The le a d s o l u b i l i t y in w a te r b e in g e x tre m e ly lo w , we b e l i e v e d any w a te r in s o lu b le p ro d u c ts would go d i r e c t l y to the bottom o f th e ta n k . Inasm uch a3 we w ere p r i m a r i l y t r y i n g t o d e te rm in e w h e th e r o r n o t th e l nad c o n t e n t o f th e r e s i d u a l g a s o l i n e wa;; i n c r e a s i n g , we f e l t t h a t d ra w in g o f f w a te r w ould have l i t t l e o r no e f f e c t cm th e s o lu b le l e a d i n th e g a s o lin e . Sam pling was c a r r ie d o u t th r u th e same draw o f f . T h is name n r-tho d o f d e te rm in in g th e f r a c t i o n s steam ed o f f and sam pl in g was fo llo w e d th ro u g h o u t th e t e s t . Vie t r i e d to sam ple a t ea c h 10$ p o in t, b u t t h i s was found to be im p o ssib le .- The fo llo w in g sch ed u le g iv e s sample id e n tif i c a ti o n ( S t. f o r 3team te n t) alo n g w ith tem p eratu res a t the tim e sam pling was ta k in g p la c e . ianrSSottl..eNo12. St. St. k3 St. St. 65 St. 7 St. S Temperature -- --- 135 113107 1U0 1^2 lUo Identificatlon Sludgebefore test Cities Serv. Ethylbefore test After first 10$ steamed off 2350$$ uo$ 6500$$ -* -J- inrole No. st. 9 S t . 10 S t . 11 S t . 12 s t . 13 Teiaoe r a t u r e 16 0 0 17 0 17 0 170 -- Identification 80$ 90$ 95$ He s i duo on w a te r b o tto m Sludge a f te r te s t The te m p eratu re was low ered to a p p ro x im ate ly 120F a f t e r the f i r s t 10$ was ta k e n o f f , a s i t was f e l t th e t e a t was ru n n in g to o r a o id l y . Tver, th o u g h we d id lo w e r th e te m p e ra tu re th e n e x t 10$ p o i n t was n o t h i t , and we had to ta k e a sam ple a f t e r 05$ o f th e g a s o l i n e had "been steam ed o f f . We a l s o to o k a sam ple a t th e 30$ p o i n t . From th e n on, we h i t th e 10> p o i n t s f a i r l y r e g u l a t l y , e x c e p tin g th e 70$ p o i n t w h ich came o f f d u r in g th e n i g h t . S tea m in g was n o t c o n tin u o u s u n t i l a f t e r th e 50$ p o i n t h ad b e a n re a c h e d , a s the f r a c t io n s were coming a t too fre q u e n t in te r v a ls to allo w ru n n in g o v e r n i g h t , h e r e , a q u e s ti o n may "be r a i s e d a s to w h e th e r some v a r i a b l e m ig h t have b een in tro d u c e d b y s h u tti n g down from tim e to tim e , i n s t e a d o f r u n n in g a c o n tin u o u s t e s t . We know t h a t when th e steam i s s h u t down, th e r e a c t i o n slo w s down due to lo w e r te m p e r a tu r e s , and a l s o th a t more w a te r i s condensed in to the bottom o f the ta n k . A side from t h i s , we c a n n o t se e w here s h u t t i n g down would i n t e r f e r e w ith th e p u rp o s e of th e t e s t . I n c i d e n t a l l y , b o th man h o le s were c lo s e d when th e t e s t was sh u t down. The fo llo w in g g iv e s a b r i e f lo g o f th e t e s t . A ccum ulated S team ing Time Tine O ccurrence 0 15 m in u te s I45 n 1 2 hr U305 2 30 3 h r 30 m in u te s 8 iiij 9 9 30 n 30 II l 6 h r . 3 m in u te s 3U h r. Uo 15 30 H 57 30 h 105 h r s . f l a t T ue8 . Mar. ? 9 , 2 : 0 0 FM ? :1 5 PM 2 :^ 5 PM Us 0 0 PM UtUp PM ed . M ar. 30, 10:00 AM 1 1 :0 0 AM U : i 5 PM U H5 PM T h u rs.M a r. 31 T h u rs.M a r. 31 U;U5 PM F r i . A pr. 1 10:30 AM U: Up H i S a t . A p r il 2, 11: 00 AM Mon. A p r il U, 11:00 AM Test started F ir s t 10$ o ff F ir s t. 25$ o ff F ir s t 30$ o ff Steam o ff Steam on (Hag p lu g g in g man h o ld sa tu ra te d w ith g aso lin e) F i r s t Uo$ o f f F ir s t 50$ o ff Steam o f f Steam on (co n tin u o u s steam ing) F ir s t 60$ o ff F i r s t 80/?- o f f F i r s t 90$ o f f F i r s t 95$ o f f Steam o ff As can b e n o te d from t h i s l o g , a l th o u g h th e ta n k was steam ed f o r 105 h r s , o v e r 35$ o f th e g a s o l i n e was rem oved in 59 h o u rs o r a p p r o x i m a te ^ / one h a l f t h i s tim e . The r e s id u e was a v is c o u s s u b s ta n c e - a b o u t the co n sisten cy c f petroleum je lly . I t is estim ated th is re sid u e , re m a in in g a f t e r 105 h o u rs s te a m in g , r e p r e s e n t e d a b o u t 1$ o f th e t o t a l volume o f g a so lin e p u t in the ta n k . IV. Comments Inasm uch a3 th e a team t e s t as c a r r i e d on in a 55 g a llo n drum, i t i s "b e lie v e d t h i s c o u ld "he u s e d a s a "b asic u n i t in d e te r m in in g l a r g e r t e s t a . For exam ple, i t was i'o ' t h a t ap p ro x im ate ly one g a llo n of w a te r co n d en sed e v e r y h o u r a t 20* steam s a t u r a t i o n . I f a t e s t s h o u ld "be m ale on a l a r g e r ta n k - "by know ing th e s i r e o f t h i s ta n k - th e c o n d e n s a tio n o f w a te r c o u ld "be d e te rm in e d "by m u l tip l y in g th e s i z e i r " b a rre ls "by one gallon per hour. I t is "believed any tan k should be steam ed a t le a s t f o r ty e ig h t hours to fre e th e tank of vap o rs, i f steam ing alone is to be depended upon. H. "C. B a ll 0022585