The Scientist Enters The Picture

The largest of all the pipelines in the United States is the "Big Inch," which was sponsored by the Petroleum Administration. Two feet in diameter, the Big Inch originated in Long view, Texas, on the edge of the East Texas oil field and terminated 1,254 miles away at Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, from which it fed crude oil to refineries in New York and Philadelphia. The longest pipeline in the country is the "Little Big Inch," 1,475 miles long and 20 inches in diameter. It is a products line, carrying gasoline and other products from Texas and Louisiana refineries to New York outlets. The "Big Inch" cost $78,500,000, while the "Little Big Inch" cost $66,500,000 to construct. The most important step in all this process of getting usable crude to the ultimate consumer—whether civilian or fighter—was refining.

To the consumer, the refiner is a glamorous individual— although within the industry there is not a step anywhere from the oil well to the corner filling station that is not fascinating beyond comparison. For half a century the oilman had satisfied himself by pushing the sales of his four principal products: kerosene (or coal oil), lubricants, gasoline and fuel oil. Then, some 30 years ago, it occurred to the oilman that the molecules in petroleum could be arranged into a multitude of new products. The scientist entered the picture. He found many ways to juggle the molecules, until the industry's 400 refineries—as of 1945—could produce products that heat homes, power ships, abolish the knock in auto mobile motors, furnish the backbone of plastics, and do many other things.

By 1939 the industry's chemists had their shelves lined with achievements that remained in the test-tube stage because of the prohibitive costs of their manufacture. Among these test-tube triumphs was jellied gasoline, which was regarded highly as a safety fluid because it would not explode as readily as other kinds of gasoline. There was also fine diesel oil for tractor use. In addition, there was a lubricant that defied temperature.

When World War II began, the Nazi leaders, whose scientists had also made great progress, depended upon petroleum for the lightning thrusts that made them momentary masters in Europe. When the United Nations recovered from their dismay, they began equipping themselves to overcome the Germans. They were able to do it quicker and better because Americans by then knew how to go about it. Americans knew, for instance, that their 100-octane gasoline gave extraordinary flying and carrying power in an airplane engine built to make full use of its properties.

By: davidbunch

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