Carbon distribution, worldwide

Undoubtedly, methane is cheap, and its abundant distribution worldwide is a highly valuable feature [186], In addition, during methane combustion, low emission levels of ozone, unburned hydrocarbons, and SO-, and NO, are observed [188], Furthermore, the greenhouse effect is much less than that of classical liquid hydrocarbon fuels [187], Finally, methane has the maximum possible hydrogen-to-carbon ratio and, thus, the highest energy per unit mass of all the other hydrocarbons [188],... 

The main producers worldwide are Shell, Gulf, and Ethyl. The physical and detergency characteristics of a-olefins are affected by the carbon chain length distribution and therefore each new supply may require testing to determine whether the desired properties for the new chosen application can be achieved. The following specifications (Table 12) may be used as a guideline. 

ACRN is used to make acrylic fibers, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), and styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN). Worldwide acrylic fiber accounts for over half of total demand while ABS and SAN consume about 30% of output. Smaller applications include nitrile rubber copolymers (4%), adiponitrile (ADN) and acrylamide. Acrylic fibers are used in carpets and clothing while ABS and SAN resins are used in pipes and fittings, automobiles, furniture, and packaging276. In the United States the ACRN uses are distributed differently 38% is used in ADN, 22% in ABS and SAN, 17% in acrylic fibers, 11% in acrylamide, 3% in nitrile elastomers, and 9% in miscellaneous, which includes polymers, polyols, barrier resins and carbon fibers277. 

In 1946, the problem was demonstrating that the most fundamental assumptions did in fact hold. Initially, this meant obtaining measurements of the natural radiocarbon concentrations in living organics to see if it occurred in the amount expected and if the worldwide distribution of radiocarbon was essentially constant. An experiment was devised whereby biological methane gas derived from the sewage disposal plant at Baltimore, MD and petroleum methane from the Sun Oil Co. refinery were each enriched by a similar factor in a thermal diffusion column. It was assumed that the petroleum methane contained no because of its age in excess of many tens of millions of years whereas the biological methane contained about 17-18 dpm radiocarbon per g of carbon. The experiment was conducted, and the results confirmed the calculations (26). 

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