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| September 2007 Newsletter |
2007-10-26 |
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Welcome all!
Motormouth here,
Let’s take a moment to extend a warm fuzzy welcome to all of our brand new Car Connection Club members. The warm and fuzzy would be Axel so good luck with that because she can be a “handful” Well here we all are once again folks faced with the task of coming up with yet another initiation task for all Car Connection Club “Newbies”
As senior club members we had to pool our thoughts and energies in order to come up with another great initiation idea so here it is! It has been brought to our attention that most of our senior club members are saddened by the fact that summer 2007 is coming to an end.
The sightings of leaves on the Car Connection Club house grounds are found to be rather disturbing to them. They feel that if we could remove the unsightly leaves that this would help them to hold onto the happy thoughts of summer 2007 long enough for them to transition into the fall season much more comfortably!
Our Car Connection Club grounds keeper was given the task of equipping each one of our “Newbies” with a Titanium shafted high performance rake along with a bright red “Kiddies” wagon to place those undesirable leaves into as they do their deed! Once again our “Newbies” are contributing to the environment in a positive way while at the same time serving others! Go gettem “Newbies” ! “How about those leaves”
Well folks summer 2007 is slowly coming to an end and we are making the transition into fall (tear). How ever let’s look on the bright side there is a good chance that we could enjoy a very warm fall season! If you missed last months news letter for some unknown reason you probably won’t understand what I am about to tell you. Axel and I are in the dog house once again after proving that the summer of 2007 was hot enough to cook a rather large pancake on the hood of a car!
Mamamotormouth was not impressed that we selected her car to be our griddle and that she had to drive her car around for a number of days with a rather large mess on the hood until we could figure out how to get it off! Needless to say the car is off limits to Axel and I for a while! Mama has a lot of nuggets for you to enjoy once again regarding the higher fuel prices these days so get comfortable and take in all the research that Mama has done just for you, our loyal Car Connection listeners!
Enjoy the last Air Conditioning tech tip of summer 2007 and pay close attention to the automotive quick tips that I have assembled for you and will be included not only in this issue of our newsletter but also in all of our future newsletters as well! Happy Motoring your friend “Motormouth”
Motormouths final A/C Tech Tip for the summer of 2007: If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me this summer “hot enough for ya” I would have earned enough dough to find my self sitting on the beach of some tropical paradise somewhere sipping a cool fruit drink with a little umbrella stuck in it! If the A/C system in the vehicle that you are presently driving decided to pack it in this summer due to the heat or simply just age. And after finding out how much it was going to cost to get the A/C system repaired was not at all appealing to you or your budget! So you have decided to leave it the way it is ( non – operative) until next A/C season you probably will not like what I am about to tell you!
Anytime an A/C system loses its refrigerant leaving the system non – operative. There is only one reason why the refrigerant has escaped, there has to be a hole in the system somewhere for the refrigerant to have leaked out! And no you can’t blame your neighbor for this one!
Leaving the A/C system empty all winter long is by no means a great idea to save money, in fact allowing the system to remain empty all winter could end up costing you a bundle of cash next A/C season to get the system up and running again. When a hole or leak has developed allowing the refrigerant to leak out this provides a means for moisture to get in. Creating corrosion inside the workings of the A/C system this is NOT GOOD folks!
An open A/C system attracts moisture all by itself and does not require any help from you or I. Any corrosion in the A/C system will cause serious internal contamination that could create blockages preventing the flow of refrigerant even after the A/C system leak has been diagnosed located and repaired.
There are many tiny passages that the refrigerant must pass through when an A/C system is operating properly. To rid any A/C system of corrosion could mean dismantling and flushing out all of the components that make up a vehicles A/C system. If this sounds time consuming and expensive to you at this point you are absolutely right it is!
In fact in most cases where the corrosion built up in the A/C system is too extensive to repair it would be far cheaper for the owner of the vehicle to have a brand new A/C system installed on their vehicle from scratch than try to rid the A/C system of corrosion!
In conclusion, if you’re vehicles A/C system has been determined that it has a leak and you decide to forgo the repair ask your self these questions How important is it to me to have A/C in my vehicle? Could I live without having A/C in my vehicle 100%. Could I live with getting less for my vehicle at resale time because the A/C is not working?
If the answer to all of the above questions is NO! I suggest making the decision to have the have the A/C system diagnosed and repaired properly ASAP. In the long run you will save both time and money! Food for thought as they say from you’re A/C technician “Motormouth”
Here are just a few of “Motormouths” Automotive Car Care Quick Tips!
1) Have your tires inspected to see if there is enough tread wear remaining to get you through winter driving conditions safely. I suggest snow tires for winter driving conditions not all season tires. They are really not 100% effective for winter driving conditions and temperatures.
2) Have you’re tire pressures checked once a month. For every 5psi below the
Manufacturer’s recommended inflation rate for your vehicles tires you lose 1% in fuel economy! So go ahead and do the math.
3) Have your windshield wipers inspected for wear and tear, if they are unable to keep the windshield clear without streaking replace them! Windshield wipers should be replaced every 6 months. Impaired vision causes vehicle accidents.
4) Have your vehicle protected against rust and corrosion every year. In order to protect your vehicle against rust and corrosion properly and effectively rust proofing must be done each year. Check out Krown Stoney Creek on our web site for more details. I have my own vehicles protected against rust every year “Motormouth”
5) Now is the time to put together a winter travel kit to keep in your vehicle all winter long. Just in case you find your self stuck out in the cold waiting for assistance.
6) Have your summer windshield washer fluid drained out of the reservoir and winter washer fluid installed.
7) Have your engine oil level checked once per week, pick a day and stick to it no matter what!
Regular vehicle maintenance doesn’t cost it pays Happy Motoring! And put that coffee on cause were on our way!
Your friends Mamamotormouth, Motormouth and Axel.
Understanding the squeeze at the pumps - Part 4
Well it’s that time once again, so let’s review what we have learn so far: Americans drive more that 2.5 trillion miles a year in cars, light trucks and SUV’s and that our personal vehicles alone use 140 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel per year. The average consumption in the United States is 20 million barrels of oil per day. 45% of that is used for motor gasoline. The rest is used for distillate fuel oil, jet fuel and other oils. Each barrel equals 42 US gallons/159 L and yields 19 to 20 gallons/75 L of gasoline. In the United States an average of 178 million gallons of gasoline is consumed daily.
The biggest factor is the cost of crude oil. Statistics for April 2007 show that crude oil made up 50% of the cost of a gallon of gasoline. So if a gallon of gas costs $2.85, crude oil accounts for about $1.43 of that.
OPEC is a conglomerate of 12 countries: Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Together these 12 countries are responsible for 40% of the world’s oil production and 2/3 of the world’s oil reserve. So, when OPEC wants to raise the price of crude oil, it simply reduces production.
Basically a refinery is a factory or industrial process plant where crude oil is turned into petroleum products such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, etc. They are large sprawling industrial complexes with extensive piping that carries streams of fluids between chemical processing units. A typical refinery costs billions of dollars to build and millions to maintain and upgrade. It runs 24/7, 365 days a year. It employs hundreds of people and takes up as much land as several football fields. Refineries can process anywhere from a hundred thousand to several hundred thousand barrels of crude oil per day. Because of this high capacity, many of the units are operated continuously or at steady state (the constant flow of material through a system, filling or draining of a tank with material would be an example of a transient state) or approximately steady state for long periods of time (months to years).
Now we can continue with the refining process.
Separation: Heavy on the Bottom, Light on the Top
Modern separation is not that much different from the “cooking” methods used in the early stills. It involves piping oil through hot furnaces and the consequential liquids and vapors are then discharged into distillation towers – the tall, narrow, columns that give the refineries their distinctive skylines. This is called “fractional distillation”.
The “fractionating” column is cooler at the top than at the bottom, therefore, causing the liquids and vapors to separate into components of “fractions”, according to weight and boiling point. The lightest fractions, which include gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) vaporize and rise to the top of the tower, where they condense back into liquids.
The “fractionating” column is cooler at the top than at the bottom, therefore, causing the liquids and vapors to separate into components of “fractions”, according to weight and boiling point. The lightest fractions, which include gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) vaporize and rise to the top of the tower, where they condense back into liquids.
The heavier fractions that come from the bottom of the fractioning column are often broken up, or “cracked” to make more useful products. All fractions are routed to other refining units for further processing.
Medium weight liquids, which include kerosene and diesel oil distillates, stay in the middle and heavier liquids, called gas oils, separate lower down. The heaviest fractions with the highest boiling points settle at the bottom. These tar like fractions, called “residuum”, are quite literally the “bottom of the barrel”.
The “fractions” are now ready to be piped to the next station or plant within the refinery. Some require very little additional processing to become asphalt base or jet fuel. Most, however, are destined to become high-value products and require much more processing.
Conversion: Cracking and Rearranging Molecules to Add Value
This is where the refinery does its best work. Fractions from the distillation tower are transformed into streams, or intermediate components, that will eventually become finished products. This is also where the refinery makes money. Only through conversion can low-value fractions become gasoline.
The most widely form of conversion is called cracking. This process uses heat and pressure to “crack” the hydrocarbon molecules into lighter ones. A cracking unit is made up of one or more tall, bullet shaped reactors, with very thick walls, and a network of furnaces, heat exchangers and other units.
Fluid catalytic cracking, or “cat cracking” is the basic gasoline making process. By using intense heat (about 538 degrees Celsius), low pressure and a powdered catalyst (a substance that speeds up chemical reactions) the “cat cracker” can convert most fairly heavy fractions into smaller gasoline molecules.
Hydrocracking, applies the same principles but uses a different catalyst, slightly lower temperatures, greater pressure and hydrogen to obtain a chemical reaction. Not all refineries use hydrocracking, but it is the most effective way to convert medium to heavyweight gas oils into high-value streams.
Some refineries have “cokers” which use heat and moderate pressure to turn “residuum” into lighter products and a hard, coal like substance that can be used as an industrial fuel. Cokers are peculiar looking structures that look like a series of giant drums with metal cranes on top.
“Cracking” and “coking” are not the only forms on conversion. Other processes, instead of splitting molecules, rearrange them to add value. Alkylation, makes gasloine components by combining some of the gaseous byproducts of cracking. This process, which is basically cracking in reverse, takes place in a series of large, horizontal containers and tall, skinny towers that loom over refinery structures.
Hydro-treating, is the process of forcing Hydrogen into molecules to displace sulphur. It is critical for producing low-sulphur products. The Napth-treater (NHT) and Gasloine Hydro-treater (GHT) remove sulphur from the gasoline blend stocks and the Diesel Hydro treater removes sulphur from diesel and jet fuel.
Reforming, uses heat, moderate pressure and a catalyst turn naphtha, which is a light, relatively low value fraction, into high-octane gasoline components.
Process flow diagram of multiple process units within an industrial plant.
On the left is a schematic flow chart of a typical oil refinery. It depicts the various unit process and the flow of intermediate product streams that occurs between the inlet crude oil feedstock and the final end products.
This chart depicts one of hundreds of different oil refinery configurations. It does not include any of the usual refinery facilities providing utilities such as steam, cooling water, and electric power or storage tanks for cured oil feedstock.
Finishing Touches
In the early days when crude oil was boiled to get kerosene, refiners didn’t have to worry about customer specifications and government standards. Today, a major portion of refining involves blending, purifying, fine tuning and improving products to meet these requirements.
Technicians carefully combine a variety of “streams” from the processing units. Some variables that determent the blend are octane level, vapor pressure ratings other considerations, such as, if the gasoline will be used at high altitudes.
Specialty end products:
These will blend various feedstocks, mix appropriate additives, provide short term storage, and prepare for bulk loading to trucks, barges, product ships, and railcars.
• Gaseous fuels such as propane, are stored and shipped in liquid form under pressure in specialized railcars to distributors.
• Liquid fuels blending (producing automotive and aviation grades of gasoline, kerosene, various aviation turbine fuels, and diesel fuels, adding dyes, detergents antiknock additives, oxygenates, and anti-fungal compounds as required). Shipped by barge, rail, and tanker ship. May be shipped regionally in dedicated pipelines to point consumers, particularly aviation jet fuel to major airports, or piped to distributors in multi-product pipelines using product separators called “pipeline inspection gauges” or “pigs”.
• The refining process has come a long way since the oil boiling days. Today, by the time a gallon of gasoline is pumped into your gas tank, it contains more than 200 hydrocarbons and additives.
• Lubricants (light machine oils, motor oils, and greases, adding viscosity stabilizers as required, usually shipped in bulk to an offsite packaging plant.
• Wax (paraffin), used in the packaging of frozen foods, among others. May be shipped in bulk to a site to prepare as packaged blocks.
• Sulfur (sulfuric acid), byproducts of sulfur removal from petroleum which may have up to a couple percnt fulfur as organic sulfur-containing compounds. Sulfur and sulfuric acid are useful industrial materials. Sulfuric acid is usually prepared and shipped as the acid acid precursor oleum.
• Bulk tar shipping for offsite unit p0ackaging for use in tar-and-gravel roofing.
• Asphalt unit. Prepares bulk asphalt for shipping.
• Petroleum coke, used in specialty carbon products or as solid fuel.
• Petrochemicals or petrochemical feedstocks, which are often sent to the petrochemical plants for further processing in a variety of ways. The petrochemicals may be olefins or their precursors, or various types of aromatic petrochemicals.
Co-plant siting
Frequently a chemical plant will be sited adjacent to a refinery, utilizing intermediate products as feedstocks for the production of specialized materials such as plastics or agrichemicals.
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