Gustav Egloff (1886–1955) was an American chemist nicknamed Gasoline Gus. He was

Universal Oil Products Honeywell UOP, formerly known as UOP LLC or Universal Oil Products, is an American multi-national company developing and delivering technology to the petroleum refining, gas processing, petrochemical production, and major manufacturing industries. ...

' first chemist and by 1917 became their director, serving in that capacity until death. ''Science'' magazine described him as a "human catalyst". He was president of the

American Institute of Chemists The American Institute of Chemists (AIC) is an organization founded in 1923 with the goal of advancing the chemistry profession in the United States. The institute is known for its yearly awards recognizing contributions of individuals in this fie ...

from 1942 to 1946, and chairman of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

from 1947 to 1948. He had 280 patents to his name and wrote over 600 articles, mostly on the subject of petroleum and hydrocarbons. He holds the record for one of the longest answers to a question in a courtroom in relation to a lawsuit in St. Louis regarding one of his patents. On being asked "What do you know about emulsions?" his response continued for 21 days.

Life

Egloff was born in

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on 10 November 1886 to Swiss parents. He graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1912 and received his doctorate from Columbia in 1915. In 1915 he got his first job with Universal Oil Products, based in

Independence, Kansas Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,548. It was named in commemoration of the ...

. There he worked with Carbon P. Dubbs (son of Jesse A. Dubbs) building a demulsification unit to create gasoline. This is a means of creating gasoline artificially rather than pumping it out of the ground in a "natural" form, and is a forerunner to

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure inje ...

. This “artificial” gasoline was named "polymer gasoline". In 1940 he received the

Gold Medal and the National Research Council gave him a distinguished service award in 1941. In 1950 the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

in Britain made him an Honorary Fellow. In 1953 he was elected an Honorary Foreign Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. In 1954, he won the for petroleum research and refinery technology. In later life he largely operated from an office on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. He lived at 2100 Lincoln Park West. He died in Alexian Brothers Hospital in

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on 29 April 1955. He is buried in St. Johns Cemetery in

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, New York.

Family and personal life

Egloff married Clara Mellor in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in 1915. Unable to have children of their own, they raised their great-niece Adele M. Costello from the age of 5, after the death of her father reduced the family circumstances, making it impossible for her mother to care for all six children. Egloff was a keen cyclist and in early life an amateur wrestler. He anonymously helped many struggling students achieve their goals, always via third parties.

Publications

*''The Properties of Mixed Liquids: Phenol and Water'' (1916) *''The Cracking of Bitumen from Canadian Alberta Tar Sands'' (1926) *''The Refining of Seminole Crude Oil'' (1927) *''The Cracking Process: A Universal Source of Motor Fuel'' (1928) *''Earth Oil'' (1933) *''Thermal Reactions of Aromatic Hydrocarbons'' (1934) *''Catalytic Production of Polymer Gasoline'' (1936) *''The Reactions of Pure Hydrocabons'' (1937) *''Cracking Oils the World Over'' (1937) *''The Cracking Art in 1937: UOP'' (1937) *''The Cracking Art in 1938: UOP'' (1938) *''The Cracking Art in 1939: UOP'' (1939) *''Catalysis Inorganic and Organic'' (1940) *''Sulfur Limits in Gasoline'' (1941) *''Emulsions and Foams'' (1941) with Sophia Berkman *''Isomerization of Pure Hydrocarbons'' (1942) *''Physical Constants of Hydrocarbons'' (1947) *''Alkylation of Alkanes'' (1948) *''The Engineer in the Oil Industry'' (1954)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egloff, Gustav 1886 births 1955 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Cornell University alumni Columbia University alumni 20th-century American chemists Presidents of the American Institute of Chemists