Universal Oil Products Co. v. Globe Oil & Refining Co.
| Decision Date | 24 July 1941 |
| Docket Number | No. 10744.,10744. |
| Citation | 40 F. Supp. 575 |
| Parties | UNIVERSAL OIL PRODUCTS CO. v. GLOBE OIL & REFINING CO. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
A. F. Reichmann, of Chicago, Ill., Thomas G. Haight, of Jersey City, N. J., William F. Hall and Charles M. Thomas, both of Washington, D. C., and Walter J. Blenko, of Pittsburgh, Pa., for plaintiff.
Thiess, Olson & Mecklenburger, of Chicago, Ill., and Arthur C. Denison, of Cleveland, Ohio, for defendant.
Plaintiff sues defendant charging infringement of two patents owned by it, one No. 1,392,629 granted to Carbon P. Dubbs, October 14, 1921, and assigned to plaintiff, and the other No. 1,537,593, granted to plaintiff May 12, 1925, upon the application of Gustav Egloff, each relating to a process of producing from heavier petroleum products a lighter oil capable of being used in internal combustion engines. Defendant says the patents are not valid, or if they are, it does not infringe.
Petroleum as it comes from the ground contains a variety of compounds composed of hydro carbon molecules, the various molecules being composed of atoms of hydrogen and carbon differently arranged and with differing numbers of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Many years ago it was discovered that by the application of heat some of these molecules could be broken up, some of the heavier carbon atoms separated from lighter hydrogen atoms and a lighter oil having a lower boiling point produced. This process is known in the art as "cracking".
With the development and increased use of the internal combustion engine came a greatly increased demand for the lighter oil known as gasoline. This fluid was recoverable from crude petroleum by a simple process of distillation and this method had been used for years, but the amount so produced was insufficient to meet the needs of modern industry. It was known that gasoline could be produced from the heavier oils by cracking and various inventors had been exploring the possibilities of so producing gasoline in commercial quantities.
The first practical process, the first that met with commercial success, was devised by Dr. Burton and put into operation during the year 1912. In his process about 8,250 gallons of a light oil which had theretofore been obtained from crude petroleum by distillation was put into a shell eight feet in diameter and thirty-two feet long. From that shell two vapor lines, each about 12 inches in diameter and 35 feet long led to a condenser. A fire was built under the shell and the liquid therein heated to a temperature of from 700° F. to 750° F. and became subject to antogenous pressure of about 75 pounds from the vapors and non-condensible gases produced by the heating. This temperature and pressure were maintained throughout the operation. The vapors generated passed up through the vapor tubes where they were subjected to partial condensation. The portion of the vapor condensed, termed reflux condensate, returned through the long vapor line to the shell where it was subjected to further cracking. The uncondensed vapor was passed on from the partial condensation chamber for further processing.
About twelve hours were required to bring the contents of the shell to the proper temperature and pressure, to bring the still "on stream". It remained "on stream" about 24 hours when it became necessary to draw the fires and withdraw the oil remaining in the still and remove the carbonaceous material which had been released during the operation and had adhered to the inner wall. This required about 12 hours.
This method had several disadvantages. A still could be "on stream" only about 24 out of every 48 hours. Only about 28% of the total charge was recoverable as gasoline. The "on stream" period was necessarily limited to 24 hours because experience had shown that the carbonaceous material accumulating on the bottom of the shell retarded the absorption of the heat by the oil, and caused "hot spots" to appear on the shell. If the "on stream" period were extended an explosion was likely to occur at these "hot spots" with serious danger to the life of those operating the still and great property damage as well. Several such explosions had occurred.
To overcome this danger of overheating a new process known as the Burton-Clark process was devised and put into operation about 1915. In this the heat is not applied directly to the shell. The oil is brought to a cracking temperature by passing through a nest of 4 inch convection tubes which are placed within the furnace, the tubes being connected with the shell. While in the tubes the oil was heated to temperature of from 720° F. to 725° F. and subjected to pressure of 95 pounds. This temperature was maintained throughout the entire system. The overhead apparatus for handling the vapors, returning the reflux condensate and securing the pressure distillate was practically the same as for the Burton still and functioned in a like manner.
The cycle of operation of the Burton-Clark still was 72 hours, which included 15 hours necessary to bring the still up to pressure, thirty-six hours "on stream" and the remainder for shutting down, cleaning and getting the still ready for operation. The "on stream" period was limited to 36 hours for the same reason that the period was limited to 24 hours in the Burton process, coke accumulated where heat was applied to the tubes resulting in "hot spots". These were of frequent occurrence and caused buckling and often rupture of the tubes.
This was the state of the art as practiced commercially when Dubbs appeared on the scene. The problem to be solved was to crack the heavier hydrocarbons to produce gasoline without coking up the vessel in which the cracking occurred. Dubbs solved the problem.
Dubbs states in the patent granted to him that one of his objects is to provide a cracking process "in which the carbon containing residue is continuously removed from the cracking zone while the reflux condensate is returned to the cracking zone for further treatment substantially free from carbon; to provide a process which permits the apparatus to be operated for an extended period without the necessity of cleaning and in which that part of the system containing precipitated carbon is free from subjection to any excessive heat."
In his process Dubbs treats crude oil while in the Burton and Burton-Clark stills only gas oil (a lighter oil obtained from crude petroleum by distillation) could be used. The material to be treated is pumped into a nest of 4 inch tubes known as B tubes and during the time it is passing through said tubes they are subjected to sufficient heat to cause the desired amount of cracking. The oil is then passed into ten inch tubes designated as C tubes where vapor is liberated. This liberated vapor passes to an aerial condenser. The uncondensed vapor is passed on to other condensers. The vapor condensed in the aerial condenser is returned by gravity to the heating zone where, with the fresh feed, it is again subjected to cracking temperature. The residue in the C tubes is continually drawn off from those tubes. Pressure is maintained throughout the apparatus by means of a regulating valve. In the process a light fire may be maintained under the C tubes or they may be insulated to prevent loss of heat. In the illustrative run described in the patent Dubbs suggests subjecting the B tubes to a temperature of 750° F. to 860° F. and maintaining pressure on the oil of approximately 100 pounds to the square inch "which is caused by the pressure of the generated vapors".
In the discussion of the issues presented in this case it is agreed that claim 7 of the Dubbs patent may be taken as typical. That claim reads as follows:
Dubbs claimed many advantages over the processes then employed in the art. The cracking heat is applied to the B tubes only and as the cracking occurs principally in the C tubes there is no deposition of carbon, or coking, in the B tubes and all danger from over heating of these tubes is eliminated. The reflux condensate is not returned to the shell or tubes containing the carbonaceous residue, but is returned to the tubes containing the fresh feed and passed directly to the heating zone. The carbonaceous residue from the cracking is withdrawn from the C tubes and as this is withdrawn fresh feed may be pumped into the B tubes enabling the operator to operate the apparatus for a long period of time. In a demonstration run at Independence, Kansas, the system remained on stream nine days and was shut down then because the oil men who had come to witness the demonstration said they were satisfied. The Dubbs process was recognized immediately by the larger oil companies as a great improvement in the art and the older processes of producing gasoline were practically abandoned.
Defendant contends, however, that there is nothing new in the Dubbs process except the "two-step" feature (heating the oil in one set of tubes and passing it into another where the cracking and deposit of carbon takes place), and in that Dubbs was anticipated by one Behimer; that all the other features of the Dubbs process, the return of the reflux directly to the heating coil instead of being...
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