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SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL MOBILIZATION

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1943

UNITED STATES SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON WAR MOBILIZATION,

Washington, D. C.

The subcommittee met at 4:37 p. m., pursuant to adjournment on Thursday, November 4, 1943, in room 104, Senate Office Building, Senator Harley M. Kilgore, West Virginia (chairman of the subcommittee), presiding.

Present: Senator Harley M. Kilgore, West Virginia (Chairman). Also present: Dr. Robert M. Hunter, Department of Justice.

The CHAIRMAN. Dr. Hunter, at the November 4 hearing of this subcommittee, the chairman of the committee questioned you with reference to a memorandum of facts covering the origin, history, and practices of the Universal Oil Products Co., which appears to have been prepared by one C. J. Colville, 10756 Ashton Avenue, West Los Angeles, Calif., on July 1, 1942, a copy of which was in the possession of either yourself or Mr. Berge from the Department of Justice. Did you remember being asked about that?

Dr. HUNTER. I do.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there any objection on the part of you, or Mr. Berge, or the Department to that being a part of the record of this committee as an exhibit with testimony?

Dr. HUNTER. I had assumed that it became a part of the record at the time I introduced it.

The CHAIRMAN. That was my assumption, too, but on reading I discovered it was not properly identified in the hearing as a part of the record. With your permission we will now make it a part of the record and ask that it be identified by an exhibit number and that this testimony today be also made a part of the hearing as of a recess session of the hearing of November 4, 1943.

(The document referred to was received, marked "Exhibit No. 157," and appears on page 982.)

Dr. HUNTER. I assume the same would apply to the copy of the master's report that I handed to the committee at the same time.

The CHAIRMAN. If you have no objection, we'll also make that a part of the record.

Dr. HUNTER. I have no objection.

(The document referred to was received, marked "Exhibit No. 158," and appears on page 1003.)

The CHAIRMAN. One other question. Is Mr. Colville available in Washington at any time do you know?

Dr. HUNTER. So far as I know he resides in West Los Angeles, Calif., and is not in Washington. He originally sent a memorandum concerning the Universal Oil Products Co., and the gasoline cracking patents to Mr. Thurman Arnold with a suggestion that it be filed with the Senate Patents Committee.

The CHAIRMAN. I presume that was about the time that the Senate Patents Committee was investigating the subject of patent monopoly. Dr. HUNTER. That's true-in May of 1942. He was later asked whether that statement might be filed with the subcommittee of the Senate Military Affairs Committee investigating technological mobilization, and he sent a supplemental statement saying that either or both of the statements might be filed with this committee.

The CHAIRMAN. This, of course is also being filed at his request and with his permission.

Dr. HUNTER. That's true.

The CHAIRMAN. Could you furnish the committee a copy of that communication so that it may also be an exhibit with this testimony? Dr. HUNTER. The original statement I have with me. It's largely duplicated in the statement which was filed on November 4, but I can make this available to the committee.

The CHAIRMAN. The reporter will mark it, then return it to you for your files as soon as copy is made.

(The document referred to was received, marked "Exhibit No. 159," and is on file with the committee.)

EXHIBIT NO. 157

MEMORANDUM OF FACTS COVERING THE ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND PRACTICES OF THE UNIVERSAL OIL PRODUCTS Co., HAVING TO DO WITH ITS ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE SHERMAN ANTITRUST ACT, THROUGH THE EXPLOITATION OF ITS PATENT MONOPOLIES IN THE OIL CRACKING INDUSTRY

FOREWORD ON PETROLEUM

Petroleum is a natural mixture of hydrocarbons occurring as a mixture in nature and found in geological strata (sedimentary rocks). It ranges from permanent gases as the lightest member through the common oils-gasoline, kerosene, lubricating oils-up to the solids, which are waxes and pitches. The oil is delivered to the refinery in such form as it comes from or through the tapping, by wells, of such geologic strata as contain it.

CRACKING OIL INTO GASOLINE

Cracking is the operation by which heavy or high boiling-point constituents of the oil are cracked, or broken up as to molecular constituents, to produce lighter or lower boiling-point constituents. As an example, gas oil or kerosene, which are relatively heavy, are cracked to produce gasoline.

There are several methods of cracking, the best known of which are

(a) Pyrogenesis, meaning by application of heat.

(b) Catalysis, by a catalytic chemical agent which causes the heavy molecules to split up into lighter ones.

There are other methods, but these will be sufficient for our purpose here. Petroleum is of two component parts, hydrogen being about 15 percent and carbon 85 percent. The difference between the gravities of petroleum oils is the small percentage of carbon that is added to or deducted from this main percentage. For example, the difference between gasoline and kerosene, both of which are derivatives of crude oil, is approximately 0.7 of 1 percent, or in other words, gasline contains 0.7 of 1 percent less carbon than does kerosene.

The process of cracking is carried on commercially to modify or change the small percentage of carbon which is extracted in mineral or gaseous form, thereby upsetting the original percentage of hydrogen and carbon, and is the one way that a heavier petroleum oil can be changed to a lighter petroleum oil. In short, it is a rearrangement of the molecular structure.

There are three major factors affecting and controlling cracking operationsthese being pressure, temperature, and time of exposure of the charge to these conditions.

The lower the volatility of a hydrocarbon oil, the higher the temperature at which it will condense, on which account the condensed oil will only give off vapor or an appreciable amount of vapor-at a relatively high temperature. On the other hand, the higher the volatility of the oil, the lower the temperature at which it will condense. This assuming a given pressure.

These vapors pass into the condenser or dephlemator and the vapors having a relatively low degree of volatility condense at a relatively high temperature and accordingly will be condensed in the first part of the condenser or dephlematorthe cooling apparatus. Vapors of higher volatility condense further on in the apparatus where the temperature will be slightly lower, and this procedure continues on and on until you find that vapors of the highest degree of volatility are condensed at the furthest part-from the heating apparatus-of the condenser, and such a condition enables one to secure the desired condensed oil (probably gasoline) from its particular vapor.

Cracking is the most important operation in the petroleum refinery and has in recent years been amplified by the remarkable developments of polymerization, alkylation, isomerization, hydrogenation, and a lot of other "ations," all of which have as their primary result the rebuilding or rearrangement of molecular structure to obtain materials with more desirable properties.

Besides all this, there are the innumerable variations in refining processing that have come into practice in recent years, and around all this is built the presentday modern refinery for the production of the desired qualities of high-grade gasoline and oils.

For the uninitiated, the term “cracking" may be taken literally, indicating the breaking up of heavy molecules to form those of lower molecular weight, identical in principle in the minds of the earlier, less technically minded operators to the action of a crusher on stone and in practice. Thermal cracking involves a general decomposition, rearrangement, dehydrogenation, hydrogenation, and polymerization of the charging stock. Clearly indicative of the presence of all these reactions is the result shown through the heating of any given charging stock, such as gas oil, under elevated pressure and temperature in a still, if none of such material is allowed to escape from the system.

Increase in the value of any of the pressure, temperature, and time factors increases the degree of cracking obtained.

While cracking is actually a simple operation based on a few, easily understandable elements, there are innumerable variations of operating conditions and processes in the modern cracking unit now in use, such being caused chiefly by commercial requirements and the different charging stocks.

DISTILLATION

The distillation of oil commenced its development in the United States about 1860, around the time of the discovery of the Drake well. In distillation, you merely place the oil in a receptacle and heat it to the boiling point of its constituents, and such constituents will then vaporize, just as water will vaporize into steam at water's boiling point, 212° F. and then this particular oil vapor is passed on to an apparatus called a condenser--sometimes a series of aircooled pipes-where it is cooled and condensed into liquid form. The first constituent to be distilled from such oil is known as gasoline-the former napthas. This has an initial boiling point of 100° F. and an end point of 437° F.; that is, the gasoline vapors start coming off the oil when such oil is heated to a temperature of 100° F. and the vaporization of these gasoline vapors continues until a temperature of 437° F. is reached, at which point such gas-producing vapors have all been driven off-these condensed vapors make a very light gravity product or distillate, which, when distilled, produces a gasoline of not very high quality.

The next fraction or constituent of the hydrocarbon oil is generally spoken of as "kerosene." This, with an initial boiling point 437° F. and an end point of 572° F. the vapors given off when the oil is heated in this range 437° F. to 572° F.—

on being condensed form kerosene. There is, of course, a slight overlapping of these two constituents; that is, there will be a little gasoline included in the kerosene and some kerosene will be in the gasoline. Heat is the only effective agent in distillation and no chemical change takes place. In distilling we get off a certain amount of gas oil, plus whatever the crude contains.

Distillation was originally done in a crude pot erected over a simple brick firebox, having a simple "gooseneck" vapor line and as simple a bent coil immersed in a wooden water tank, with coal used for a fuel. From this point on, distillation methods and their development have been the chief concern of the refiners, to the end of separating and making use of this unbelievably complex mixture of hydrocarbons contained in petroleum oil.

Distillation is merely the vaporization of a material, normally a liquid, and the condensation to liquid form again. It does not involve the careful separation of the vapors into narrow boiling point ranges or fractions, and does not cause any molecular change in the product distilled. It is a purely physical operation by which, in practice, a mixture of liquids of different boiling points may be separated more or less crudely from each other or from nonvolatile impurities, i. e. water, which often combines with the oil in an emulsified state. Distilling is the first stage of refining.

Originally (1860) the refiners distilled crude petroleum to obtain coal oil or kerosene, as this was the product desired for illuminating and heating until the eighties, and the practice of refining-including distillation under heat and by pressure was well known to the art. Gasoline was then looked on as a nuisance and the refiners tried to eliminate this by running the condenser "hot" and they always tried to include as much gasoline in the kerosene as they could get away with, which caused lamps to explode and generally helped to bring this new form of household illuminant into disrepute, through the danger attending its use. Kerosene then competed with the old coal oil obtained through the destructive distillation of coal, and the coal-oil salesmen built up much of their selling argument on the danger of using this new gasoline-containing, ill-smelling Rock oil. This condition of affairs caused the oil refiner to get rid of this undesirable portion and gradually there then came into being and was developed the next step in the separation of the components of petroleum-fractionation. Fractionation is the separating of any desired product or products from the mixture, usually into predetermined narrow boiling range fractions from which commercial products may be refined. This separation is on the basis of boiling range entirely.

The principle of all fractionators is intimate and repeated contact by the down-flowing condensed liquid and the up-rising vapors, enabling the vapors to rob the condensed liquid of its lighter fractions and carry them upward as vapors, at the same time condensing the heavy fractions of ascending vapors to mingle with the down-flowing condensate which comes back for further heat treatment.

Practically speaking, cracking is carried out for the purpose of making gasoline or motor fuel from fuel oils and other petroleum products of less value. Petroleum consists of a great variety of hydrocarbons having a vaporization range from the temperature of air up to temperatures of more than 700° F.

In subjecting the high boiling hydrocarbons of petroleum to heat, decomposition does not commence before 650° F. There is no decomposition or cracking at a substantial rate before at least 700° F. It is therefore necessary to confine this petroleum under such pressure that it will not volatilize before the heat applied has its desired effect. The pressure generated in cracking determines the yield of gasoline in each passage through the heater. It is necessary to treat gasoline at a pressure of more than 400 pounds per square inch and a temperature of more than 850° F. to obtain a practical rate of cracking. As the end point of kerosene is 572° F. the importance of pressure is easily understood. With liquid phase cracking (a common and much used medium) a yield of as high as 45 percent may be obtained at high pressure of 1,000 pounds and possibly only 5 percent with the same oil at low pressures of 200 pounds. By cracking, it is possible to obtain a total yield of 80 percent of gasoline, but it is not usually the expedient or economical thing to do this.

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