Petroleum is a fossil fuel mainly used nowadays, but do you know what the formation of it and what the products made?
It is formed from the dead bodies of marine creatures and plants, with bacterial reaction, under high pressure and temperature for a long period of time. It is a black viscous liquid, which is difficult to be transferred from one container to another. Also, it is hard to be burnt. As a result, we should do sth on petroleum industrially. Otherwise, all the products of it will not exist.
We will do fractional distillation (oil refinery) on it in order to separate fractions of petroleum. We burn it in 400 degree Celsius to vaporize it, and different gases will condense in different fractions because they have different boiling point. Below is a table showing various fractions and their respective uses.
| Fraction | Boiling point range (degree Celsius) | Main uses |
|---|---|---|
| Refinery gases | Below 40 | LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) |
| Petrol | 40-70 | motor car fuel |
| Kerosene | 170-250 | fuel for aircraft |
| Diesel oil or gas oil | 250-340 | fuel for diesel machines in lorries or trains |
| Lubricating oil or waxes | 340-500 | greases of machine, candles |
| Fuel oil | over 500 | fuel for ships and oil-burning power stations |
| Bitumen | over 500 | road surfacing |
I hope that you will not be confessed about petroleum after reading this article.