What chemical process, patented by William Meriam Burton in 1913, was key to increasing the yield of usable gasoline components?
Answer
Thermal Cracking
Thermal Cracking, patented by William Meriam Burton in 1913, represented a significant engineering breakthrough in transforming the outputs of crude oil distillation. This process involved applying heat to break down heavier, less volatile hydrocarbon molecules into smaller, lighter fractions, thus substantially increasing the quantity of the volatile components suitable for use as gasoline. Although later improved upon by Eugene Houdry's Catalytic Cracking in 1937, Thermal Cracking was the foundational chemical manipulation that allowed gasoline production to outpace kerosene production in the US by 1916, signaling gasoline's rise to prominence as the primary petroleum product.
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