Vacuum Oil Company

II. F. Sheets of Vacuum Oil Company, who learned of Houdi y s work and shared his vision for converting vaporized petroleum to gasoline catalytically, invited him to the United States. After a successful trial run, Houdry moved his laboratory and associates from France to Paulsboro, New Jersey, to form a joint venture, Iloudiy Process Corporation, with Vacuum Oil Company. In that year Vacuum Oil Company merged with Standard Oil of New York to become Socony-Vacuum Company (much later Mobil Oil Corporation). 

Commercial 3-methylthiophene, formerly available from Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was used. 3-Methylthiophene is now available from Winthrop-Stearns, Inc., Special Chemicals Division, New York 18, N. Y. 

Houdry The first catalytic petroleum cracking process, based on an invention by E. J. Houdiy in 1927, which was developed and commercialized by the Houdry Process Corporation. The process was piloted by the Vacuum Oil Company, Paulsboro, NJ, in the early 1930s. The catalyst was contained in a fixed bed. The first successful catalyst was an aluminosilicate mineral. Subsequently, other related catalysts were developed by Houdry in the United States, by I. G. Farbenindustrie in Germany, and by Imperial Chemical Industries in England. After World War II, the clay-based catalysts were replaced by a variety of synthetic catalysts, many based on alumino-silicates. Later, these too were replaced by zeolites. U.S. Patents 1,837,963 1,957,648 1,957,649. 

Sovaforming [Socony Vacuum reforming] A catalytic reforming process, using a platinum catalyst in a fixed bed. Developed by the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company in 1954. Subsequently renamed Platinum Reforming, or PR. 

TPC [Thermofor pyrolytic cracking] A continuous process for thermally cracking petroleum fractions on a moving bed of hot pebbles. Developed by the Socony Vacuum Oil Company (now a part of Mobil Corporation). See also Thermofor. 

In 1930, Houdry was offered an opportunity to continue his research on fuels by the Vacuum Oil Company of the United States. He accepted that offer, moved to the United States, and formed his own company, Houdry Process Corporation, in partnership with Vacuum Oil. During World War II, he was a vocal opponentof the Vichy government in Fra nee, which repealed his French citizenship. Houdry became a U.S. citizen in 1942. 

Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Incorporated. New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York... 

In 1930, Houdry affiliated with the Vacuum Oil Company and moved to the United States (51). Several pilot plants, ranging in size from 20 to 200 barrels/day, were built and operated (341). In 1933, Houdry joined the Sun Oil Company, and the Houdry Process Corporation was organized. Socony-Vacuum rejoined the development in 1935. With the aid of these companies, the Houdry process was developed to the commercial stage (51). Socony-Vacuum later terminated its connection with Houdry Process Corporation (17,40). 

The first moving-bed process employed countercurrent flow of catalyst and reactants in both vessels and used mechanical bucket elevators to transfer the catalyst from one vessel to the other. This process, originally developed by the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was named the Thermo-for Catalytic Cracking (TCC) process (239,295,339). Two major improvements were subsequently developed change from countercurrent to concurrent flow in the reactor (297,298) and substitution of a gas-lift system for transfer of catalyst. In the gas-lift system, the catalyst pellets are conveyed upward through a pipe, or pipes, by a stream of flue gas or air. 

The gas-lift technique was adopted in two commercial processes the Houdriflow process, developed by Houdry Process Corporation (86), and the Air-Lift TCC process, developed by the Soeony-Vacuum Oil Company (107,333). 

Fig. 11. Thennofor catalytic cracking (TCC) unit. Early design with bucket elevators. (Courtesy of Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Inc.)...

In 1944, Socony-Vacuum Oil Company started manufacture of synthetic silica-alumina catalyst in the form of beads (262). This catalyst was reported to contain about 10% alumina. The bead catalyst gives about the same product distribution as the pelleted synthetic catalyst and was developed primarily to achieve greater physical strength for use in the TCC process. The bead catalyst has also been used in Houdry fixed-bed units (51,171). Subsequently, a harder bead catalyst was developed for use in the air-lift units. The improved bead catalyst consists of approximately 15% alumina and 85% silica and contains 0.003% chromium to minimize afterburning by suppressing formation of carbon monoxide during regeneration (333). 

The thiophene used by the submitters was that supplied by the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company. It was used without any additional purification. 

The next step was design and construction of a pilot unit of 60 bbls/day capacity which came on stream in May 1931. Results were as expected which added momentum to the project. On July 25, 1931, the Houdry Process Corporation was founded and on July 31, 1931, Vacuum Oil Company was merged with Socony to become Socony-Vacuum Oil Company. Support for development was continued by the new company and by 1933 a 200 bbl/day fixed bed pilot plant was operating. 

The theory of catalytic cracking was developed in the 1940 8 almost simultaneously in the research laboratories of Socony-Vacuum Oil Company (now Mobil Oil Corporation), Shell Development Company, and Universal Oil Products Company (now UOP, Inc). This review records the history of that portion of the development which occurred at Mobil s laboratories in Paulsboro, New Jersey, beginning about 1940. 

A DIVISION OF SOCONY-VACUUM OIL COMPANY, INC.) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT PAULSBORO, NEW JERSEY... 

After large-scale pilot plant testing, in cooperation with the Vacuum Oil Company from 1931 to 1933 and Sun Oil from 1933 to 1937, the first full-scale... 

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