Document zzE0D2vvoBRawrnVrnBVN485B

A Et hyl Ga so l ine Co r po r at io n Ma n u f a c t u r in g a nd Tr a f f ic De pa r t me n t IN TER-O FFICE CORRESPONDENCE MAI L. A D D R E S S : B O X 1 2 7 1 , W I L M I N G T O N . D E L . F R E I G H T A D D R E S S ; C A R N E Y 'S P O I N T , N , J . TELEP H O N E; P EN N SG R O V E. N. J. 2 8 0 EXTEN SIO N 5 9 0 June 13, 1939 33morandua t o : tir. 0. 3. Lewis In connection-with your le t t e r of June 9, furth er to a discussion of sludge d ifficu lt y , I do not think th at the anount of sludge present in Fluid is any higher today than at any tin e in the p ast . The fact th at it hare had three or four reports of trouble in the unloading of cars recen tly does not n ecessarily imply th at the sludge concentration has in creased, since I fe e l that t h is i s lar gely a cumulative question . This sludge problem i s not at a l l new, and the presence of a sludge cleaning truck as permanent egiAptent i s due eridence th at we may expect to hare sludge d ifficu lt y from time mc^irs<e. As you hare indicated, in ypur opinion t h is i s one of the most important safety''probleras of today, and we do not naan to imply that the Lianufacturi^ysPepartment<. looks upon t h is as an in er itable and incurable e v il. On the contrary t h is subject is one^of the most active, at the moment, and we hare recent ind.iW tlons of a most promising develop ment for essen t ial elimination of th is, d ifficu lt y . iith regard to your theory s!s happened at Bayonne, we sh all not attempt to eith er prove or disprove^jX.Nie'Npnly know th at the condition of the truck upon-return from Hayonae'-^s peffe'oti, whereas normally cars or trucks which cause trouble are found(tc^hare fliir ly high sludge d eposits. ,7e do concede the th eoretical possibility i\a batch of Fluid is sludgy, it may cause trouble during unloading. Je V lXpydiow th at the distribu tion of solid s in a tank need not n ecessarily be un ifom>%ahd/since sludge is sometimes present as material of ligh ter gravity than Flu id, producing a top sludge i t is quite possible th at t h is substance, the la st portion being unloaded from a tank, can clog the stand pipe. However, in order for t h is to be the mechanism of the process, the average composition in the standpipe would be of lower gravity, and therefore your theory of the force of gravity working again st the vacuum to reach the point of equ ili brium would not hold. I don't know th at we can d iffer en t iat e very w ell, but i t would be my guess th at bottom sludge rath er than top sludge would cause the most trouble. 000906 Please r e st assured th at we are not ju st sit t in g back and ignoring the U( situ ation , but are doing everything possible to bring a sat isfact or y solution to th is problem, which we recogn ise as one belonging to our own dpartirent. J. II. Schaefer C:AB B7d J.