Download or read book The Separation of High-Boiling Petroleum Oils by Thermal Diffusion written by F. W. Melpoldee and published by . This book was released on 1958 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the many laboratory processes in use today for the separation of heavy petroleum oils, thermal diffusion is recognized as a unique method of great future potentiality. Work to date by several investigators (1-3, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13) has demonstrated that remarkable separations can be achieved with relatively simple apparatus. It is believed that even more impressive use can be made of thermal diffusion with the development of more efficient apparatus and with a more thorough understanding of the basic principles of operation. There is also a need for a more practical determination of the mathematical relationships involved. In our laboratory the investigation of thermal diffusion has passed through several stages. The first was a study of a large number of mixtures of pure compounds, and the second involved separation and determination of the composition of a light and a medium lubricating oil. At present a critical evaluation is being made of column efficiency and methods for improving the degree of separation. The results of both the compositional study of lubricating oil and the study of efficiency of a multicolumn assembly are given below.