Posted: 3/19/2014 2:14:10 PM EDT
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I found this story enjoyable:
Making Gasoline Story Excerpt: There were many oil wells in the area, and anyone who wanted oil felt free to help themselves. The price was so low that it barely paid the operators to pump it, and they didn't care if you took a few barrels for your own use. The process of making gasoline from oil was pretty well known among those in the area. It was quite simple. Heat the oil in an enclosed container, and condense the vapor by running it through a coolant.
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| Very similar to how the early refineries distilled raw crude oil around 1900-1920, except they were a little safer than what this farmer was doing. I've worked in a oil refinery since 1977, and some of the old "batch stills" were still sitting around, but hadn't been used since the Depression era, or so I was told. A couple of years ago, I saw a similar article about farmers somewhere in Indonesia still doing this today. They have accidents quite often. |