23/05/2024
Saving Whales & Horses , Coal & Combustion Engines - The History of Oil starts in Detroit 1860's , The average production of the above five refineries is 100 barrels per day, which could be nearly doubled by running night and day. The quantity refined in Detroit within the last year will amount to about $450,000; the quantity sold will greatly exceed that amount, as there are numerous agencies for Eastern manufacturers, the sales of which are very nearly equal to the quantity manufactured here. The total amount of petroleum oils sold in Detroit will exceed $800,000. There is every probability that before another year the manufacturers of Detroit will be able to supply a sufficient quantity of oil to meet the demands of the State.
The crude oil which is refined in Detroit is brought from Pennsylvania, as it is found to be so much easier to deodorize than the Canadian, or Inniskillen petroleum, that manufacturers prefer to send some two hundred or three hundred miles for the crude Pennsylvania oil, in preference to using that which is at our doors, comparatively speaking.
The great difficulty with regard to the Canadian oil is its intolerable odor, making the cost of deodorizing so great that virtually there is none of it refined in any of the Western States. As yet, no cheap method has been discovered for deodorizing the Innis. killen oil, and until some cheaper method o deodorizing it is discovered than that usually adopted, there is little chance of the Canadian petroleum being made available for the American market.
Oil produced in Detroit is equal to that produced in any other market, and as the manufacturers find it to their interests to produce a superior article, the public may rest assured that the Detroit manufacturers will maintain their present enviable reputation. In the distillation of Pennsylvania Petroleum there is a large quantity of naptha produced. Lately naptha has been considerably used instead of turpentine for mixing with printers' ink, paints, varnishes, &c., &c. The article as sold in Detroit is very inferior, as it is sold without being in the least purified or deodorized. The consequence is, that instead of taking the place of turpentine for all purposes, it has only been us d for coarse painting and outside work.
With a little care it can be deodorized completely, when it in limpid as water and as free from oder as alcohol deodorized,it enters
extensively into commerce as benzoine, much used for removing dirt, grease, tar, paint, &c. from clothing, and as a solvent for India rubber, gutta percha, shellac, capal, &c. We hope that our oil refiners will see that it is to their advantage to purify and deodorize the naptha before it is put on the market. When that is the case there will be no difficulty in the use of it in place of turpentine, as the chemical constituents are the same only in varying proportions.
The oil trade of Detroit is yet in its infancy. before another year the quantity produced in Detroit will be doubled and may be trebled. The use of petroleum oil is becoming universal, as it is cheaper by one hundred per cent. than any illuminating agent yet discovered.
The value of the oil refined in Detroit within the last year was about $450,000-a very respectable item of our domestic manufactures.
How coal saved the Whales! And combustion engines saved horses! Oil has now assumed an important position in the commerce of the country, being extensively used in almost every part of the Union. It has had already considerable effect on the price of whale oil, so much so indeed, that whaling has become an unprofitable business, and the ships heretofore employed in capturing the monarchs of the finny tribe, lie rotting at their wharves, or are used for obstructing the harbors of the rebellious South. The absence of demand for lard oil has had an unfavorable influence on the price of pork, and contributed to bring it down, to the present low rate. The price of whisky has also been effected by it, both whisky and lard having been used extensively in combination with spirits of turpentine in the manufacture of burning fluid. It was at first thought that this oil could not be made sufficiently cheap to compete with other oils, and the failure of several companies engaged in its manufacture, seemed to justify that supposition, but perseverance is generally rewarded with success, and this manufacture is now carried on successfully not only in Pennsylvania but in Michigan, and as an illuminating material it is rapidly gaining favor, great numbers of lamps suited for consuming it, being now disposed of in every city and village in the State.
The average yield of crude oil is said to be nearly 60 gallons per ton of coal, and the cost for making is about five cents per gallon. The principal expense in the manufacture is in the process of of refining, about sixty per cent of the crude oil remaining after that operation. Of course the manufacture can be most profitably carried near eil wells, or oil bearing minerals, but Detroit possesses so many advantages of communication with various places that is a first rate site for refineries.
Petroleum is now finding a market in England, and an analysis of it by London Chemists shows that one hundred parts of it consists of:
Light Naptha.... 20%
Heavy Naptha... 50%
Heavy Lubricating Oil... 22%
Tar. 5%
Carbon........ 1%
Loss............................. 2%
The present wholesale price of refined petroleum in England is three shillings British per American gallon, and the price of unrefined is one shilling. It is probable that the price of the crude oil will advance, the margin for the refiners being at present too great. It is probable that abundance of coal and rock oil exists in Michigan awaiting discovery and development. There is no danger of the refined oil becoming a drug in the market, as after supplying the home demand the surplus will always find a ready market in England. Shipments of petroleum are now being made from New York to the West Indies, and one vessel lately took out 27,000 gallons of this oil to Melbourne, Australia.
At the time of making our last annual report there was only one oil refinery in operation in Detroit; now there are five, as follows:
J. H. Harmon & Co., 3 stills produce 25 barrels per day.
A. Burtis & Co.,
Harding,
Jas. Fisher
E. Delaney & Bro.,