- Drip gas
Drip gas is a naturally occurring form of
gasoline found near many oil and natural gas wells, in natural gas pipelines, and as a byproduct of natural gas extraction. It is also known as "natural gasoline," "casing head gas," "raw gas," "white gas," and "liquid gold." [Mamdouh R. Gadallah and Ray L. Fisher, [http://books.google.com/books?id=Th9f937IF44C&pg=PT44&dq=%22drip+gas%22&as_brr=3&sig=cbkvT3nz-T_jAEspQIHiHOTpTks Applied Seismology: A Comprehensive Guide to Seismic Theory and Application] , ISBN 1593700229.] [New Mexico State Police Association, [http://books.google.com/books?id=jYtC8tBHVqEC&pg=PA39&dq=%22drip+gas%22&as_brr=3&sig=Ik8ESN2SVPMYFAXipiZifNbuKSA#PPA39 New Mexico State Police, 1933-2000] , ISBN 1563115875.] Drip gas has industrial uses as a cleaner andsolvent , and as a denaturing additive for fuel alcohol.Historical Use in Vehicles
Beginning in the
Great Depression , drip gas was used as a replacement for commercial gasoline by people in oil-producing areas. "In the days of simple engines in automobiles and farm tractors it was not uncommon for anyone having access to a condensate well to fill his tank with 'drip,'" according to the Oklahoma Historical Society. Sometimes it worked fine. "At other times it might cause thundering backfires and clouds of foul-smelling smoke." [Oklahoma Historical Society, [http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/N/NA017.html Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.] ]Woody Guthrie 's autobiographical novel "Seeds of Man" begins with Woody and his uncle Jeff tapping a natural gas pipeline for drip gas. The gas also has a mention in " Badlands," the Terrence Malick movie. [ [http://moviescripts.funnymovies.net/script/badlands Badlands script] .]In 1975, the New Mexico State Police's drip gas detail--three men in pickup trucks--began patrolling oil and gas fields, catching thieves and recovering barrels of stolen gas. The detail stopped its work in 1987. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=jYtC8tBHVqEC&pg=PA39&dq=%22drip+gas%22&as_brr=3&sig=Ik8ESN2SVPMYFAXipiZifNbuKSA#PPA39 New Mexico State Police, 1933-2000] .]
The use of drip gas in cars and trucks is now illegal in many states. It is also potentially harmful to modern engines and dangerous for drivers. It has a distinctive bad smell when used as a fuel, which allowed police to catch people using drip gas illegally [ [http://www.hurherald.com/cgi-bin/db_scripts/articles?Action=user_view&db=hurheral_articles&id=11798 "Drip Gas Was A Real Gas for Me As A Kid"] by Jack Cawthon, June 9 2004.] [ [http://www.horntown.com/Remember/DripGas.htm Burning Drip Gas] in Horntown, Oklahoma, by Clayton Adair.] .
Composition
Under the United States
Code of Federal Regulations , drip gas consists ofbutane ,pentane , andhexane hydrocarbon s. Within set ranges ofdistill ation, drip gas may be extracted and added to fuel alcohol to denature it--in other words, to make it unfit to drink. [cite web
url=http://www.ttb.gov/pdf/authorized_denaturants_fuel_alcohol.pdf
title=Authorized Materials for Fuel Alcoho
publisher=Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
accessdate=2008-03-06]References
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