I Tried to Buy an Actual Barrel of Crude Oil

Re:I Tried to Buy an Actual Barrel of Crude Oil by teddyg1 on Tuesday November 03, 2015 @09:02AM (#10499554)

I did this recently as well (though for a different purpose, chemical testing). it's even more difficult than the journalist describes. No refinery wants to stop processing or halt flow in their pipelines, and so getting WTI or Bakken oil is immensely difficult when you're not at the source. There are small mom & pop ~2-3bbl/day producers who are willing to sell their oil at a premium, however.

Ventilation is a huge problem - H2S emits a very foul smell. Quickly open and close a small bottle of crude in a room, and the scent lingers for a few minutes or more.

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Re:I Tried to Buy an Actual Barrel of Crude Oil by fnordfnordfnord on Tuesday November 03, 2015 @09:34AM (#10499741)

You don't need to stop anything to fill a sample bottle.

>Ventilation is a huge problem - H2S emits a very foul smell.

H2S also deadens the olfactory nerves, or something to that effect so that one does not notice if the concentration increases gradually.

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Re:I Tried to Buy an Actual Barrel of Crude Oil by teddyg1 on Tuesday November 03, 2015 @09:43AM (#10499809)

>You don't need to stop anything to fill a sample bottle.

Gotcha. I had trouble reaching people who were willing to do sampling, which led me to that conclusion.

>H2S also deadens the olfactory nerves

Going back to check my ventilation right now, haha. From what I know, the scent disappears only above concentrations in air of ~150-200ppm.

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