IMPERIAL OIL OPERATIONS AND ACTIVITIES IP-14a-12533to 13899 IP-14a-12533-12568 Housewife with appliances use of gas/oil. IP-14a-12579-12659 I.O.L. refinery at Montreal. November, 1957 IP-14a-12591 Automatic controls adjust and watch over the many processing operations of the modern refinery. The daily distillation of 2,500,000 gallons of crude oil in Imperial Oil’s refinery in Montreal east is directed from this room. November, 1957 IP-14a-12592 Montreal refinery- main A&V tower. November, 1957 IP-14a-12593-12596 Montreal refinery- A&V unit. November, 1957 IP-14a-12597 Montreal refinery- exterior of control room for A&V unit. November, 1957 IP-14a-12598-12602 Exterior of Control Room – Montreal refinery A&V unit & Cat. Poly. Unit. November, 1957 IP-14a-12603-12604 Montreal refinery- exterior of powerformer control room. November, 1957 IP-14a-12605 Montreal refinery- interior of powerformer control room. November, 1957 IP-14a-12606 Montreal refinery at night – control room of powerformer. November, 1957 IP-14a-12607 Brightly lit towers at Imperial Oil’s East refinery outline the costly Powerformer- a group of towers, heaters and reaction chambers in which hydrocarbon molecules are rearranged to produce the high octane gasoline needed by the high compression engines of modern automobiles. The catalyst used in the process contains platinum. November, 1957 IP-14a-12608 Now in operation at Imperial Oil’s Montreal East refinery is this 8,500 b/d Powerformer. It produces high octane gasoline to suit the needs of the automobiles of today and tomorrow. November, 1957 IP-14a-12609 Towers at right are part of the LPG plant at Imperial Oil’s Montreal East refinery. Propane is separated out in these towers and purified for use as liquefied petroleum gas. Massive tower at left is the giant catalytic cracking unit in which heavier oils are converted into high octane gasoline. Built in 1948, this unit was Canada’s first “cat cracker”. November, 1957 IP-14a-12610 Montreal refinery- powerformer. November, 1957 IP-14a-12611-12614 By night a Powerformer is an imposing sight. Well-lit to avoid accidents to workmen who must make regular inspections, this Powerformer at Imperial Oil’s Montreal East refinery cost $5 million to build last year. It produces up to 9,500 barrels of high octane gasoline a day. November, 1957 IP-14a-12615 Furnace at Montreal refinery powerformer with cat cracker in background. November, 1957 IP-14a-12616-12617 Furnace of Montreal refinery powerformer. November, 1957 IP-14a-12618 Montreal refinery- furnace of powerformer in foreground with powerformer towers in background. November, 1957 IP-14a-12619 Montreal refinery- furnace of powerformer. November, 1957 IP-14a-12620-12623 Montreal refinery- powerformer. November, 1957 IP-14a-12624 Montreal refinery- propane storage tanks. November, 1957 IP-14a-12626 Montreal refinery- general shot with refinery tubing in foreground and cat cracker in background. November, 1957 IP-14a-12627-12638 Montreal refinery- light ends unit. November, 1957 IP-14a-12639 Montreal refinery- spheroidal storage tank. November, 1957 IP-14a-12640-12644 Montreal refinery- storage tanks and pipe lines. November, 1957 IP-14a-12645-12646 Montreal refinery- storage tanks. November, 1957 IP-14a-12647 A giant metal sphere at Imperial Oil’s refinery at Montreal East holds 15,000 barrels of liquid butane. Normally a gas, butane is stored under pressure, which keeps it in liquid form. Butane is blended with gasolines to make engines easy to start. More is added in winter than summer. November, 1957 IP-14a-12648-12650 Montreal gas plant. November, 1957 IP-14a-12651 Montreal refinery cat cracker. November, 1957 IP-14a-12652 Montreal refinery- cat cracker in the centre and furnace on the left. November, 1957 IP-14a-12653 Montreal refinery cat cracker. November, 1957 IP-14a-12654 Montreal refinery- interior of cat cracker control room. November, 1957 IP-14a-12655-12659 Montreal refinery cat cracker. These three towers at Imperial Oil’s Montreal East refinery are part of the “light ends unit”—where light gasses are separated from gasoline during refining process. Gases are returned in proper proportion to various products later in process, or are used in petrochemical operations. November, 1957 IP-14a-12660 Montreal refinery—medical and employee relations buildings. November, 1957 IP-14a-12661 Montreal refinery- entrance to refinery office building. November, 1957 IP-14a-1266212672 Montreal refinery, tanker unloading docks. November, 1957 IP-14a-12662A Montreal refinery—medical and employee relations building. November, 1957 IP-14a-12673-12680 Near Imperial Oil’s Montreal East refinery, the 236 mile Portland-to- Montreal pipe line rises above the ground. At this point the crude oil is transferred through the smaller pipes and valves to storage tanks in the rear. The pipe line has a capacity of about a quarter-million barrels of crude oil daily—most of it from Venezuela. November, 1957 IP-14a-12681-12683 Esso Hepworth service station at Dorval. November, 1957 IP-14a-12684-12690 Between the refinery where oil products are made and the automobile or furnace where the average person uses them is a large arsenal of oil equipment. This network of piping is part of Imperial Oil’s bulk plant at Montreal where the tank truck has come for a load of products. November, 1957 IP-14a-12691 Montreal bulk plant at Dorval airport. November, 1957 IP-14a-12695-12702 Storage tanks at Imperial Oil’s bulk plant at Dorval. November, 1957 IP-14a-12703 Montreal research lab. November, 1957 IP-14a-12704-12708 Laboratory checks help to ensure the quality of oil products made at Imperial Oil’s refinery in Montreal East. Here a technician using a series of glass stills checks a fraction of crude oil for water content. Water must be removed from products before they are shipped out. November, 1957 IP-14a-12709-12711 Here is the quality control laboratory at Imperial Oil’s refinery in Montreal. A close watch is maintained over refinery operations. These Podbielniak distillation units are used to determine the composition of gas streams from various processing units. November, 1957 IP-14a-12712-12714 Lab-scale models are used to check refinery operations. In a laboratory at Imperial Oil’s Montreal East refinery technicians check a pilot unit used for the high-vacuum distillation of heavy oils. The pilot unit duplicates the actual refining operation and tells technicians exactly how well [the] refinery is operating. November, 1957 IP-14a-12715 Exterior of Montreal mechanical shop. November, 1957 IP-14a-12716-12726 Mechanical shop at Montreal. November, 1957 IP-14a-12727-12738 Tank cars yard and loading tracks. Tank cars are loaded with finished petroleum products at Imperial Oil’s refinery in Montreal East. Loading facilities are designed to handle large quantities of petroleum products with speed and safety. November, 1957 IP-14a-12739-12741 Tank Car Loading Racks- Montreal. Loader- Wilfred Blaxland. November, 1957 IP-14a-12742-12744 Mr. Harold J. Eddy- in charge of loading racks. November, 1957 IP-14a-12745 Night view of butane tanks, Halifax refinery. November, 1957 IP-14a-12746 Spectacularly lit, a refinery is an impressive sight after dark, as this night view of the Imperial Oil refinery in Halifax shows. The atmospheric and vacuum distillation towers in the background are the heart of the refining process, receiving up to 1,500,000 gallons of crude oil daily and separating it into its primary components. November, 1957 IP-14a-12747 Liquid petroleum gas plant with powerformer in background, Halifax refinery. November, 1957 IP-14a-12748 Liquid petroleum gas plant and storage tanks, Halifax refinery. November, 1957 IP-14a-12749-12750 Cat polymerization unit, Halifax refinery. November, 1957 IP-14a-12751 Refineries work 24 hours a day seven days a week. This night photo of Imperial Oil’s Halifax refinery shows the atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit on the left and the cat cracker on the right. Adequate lighting is needed for safety of workers, who frequently climb towers to make routine checks. Refinery can process 1,500, 000 gallons of petroleum products daily for four Atlantic provinces. November, 1957 IP-14a-12752-12753 Cat polymerization unit, Halifax refinery. November, 1957 IP-14a-12754 Night view of control room of fluid cat cracker. Cat cracker in background, Halifax refinery. November, 1957 IP-14a-12755 Night view of liquid petroleum gas storage tanks. Powerformer tower in background. IP-14a-12756 Butane and pentane storage tanks, Halifax refinery. November, 1957 IP-14a-12578-12760 Halifax Refinery – night view of powerformer. November, 1957 IP-14a-12761 Halifax Refinery – powerformer with control room. November, 1957 IP-14a-12762 Halifax Refinery – night shot of cat poly unit. November, 1957 IP-14a-12763-12764 Halifax Refinery – Cat poly unit with furnace in background. November, 1957 IP-14a-12765 Halifax Refinery – light ends and cat poly units. November, 1957 IP-14a-12766-12767 Halifax Refinery – pumps for cat poly unit. November, 1957 IP-14a-12768 Halifax Refinery – pumps for cat poly unit. November, 1957 IP-14a-12769-12771 Halifax Refinery – separators. November, 1957 IP-14a-12781-12792 Completed in 1957, this Powerforming unit is used to upgrade the quality of motor gasolines at Imperial Oil’s refinery in Halifax. The Powerformer is a sort of “reform school” for gasoline: low octane components which would knock in a modern car engine are changed into high-octane components which won’t knock. The process involves the use of an extensive platinum catalyst. Working 24 hours a day, Imperial Oil’s Powerformer at its Halifax Refinery upgrades low-octane gasolines to make them suitable for modern high-compression automobile engines. Through catalytic reforming, inferior grades of gasoline are passed as a vapor over a platinum catalyst and converted into high-octane fuel.