The word oil is derived from the Latin word Petra meaning stone and Odeum meaning oil. The reason why it is named like this is because, like many other minerals, it is derived from rocks. It is also known as “mineral oil”. Petroleum products are the output of an oil refinery. A typical refinery produces a wide range of different products from each barrel of crude oil it processes. In general, refineries operate to produce as many high-value light products (gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel) as they can, while other products function primarily as byproducts. In this article, we learn about the uses of crude oil and various types of petroleum derivatives.
Crude oil and petroleum fossil fuels are mixtures of hydrocarbons formed from the remains of animals and plants, or diatoms, that lived millions of years ago in marine environments before the existence of dinosaurs.
Over millions of years, the remains of these animals and plants were covered by layers of sand, silt, and rock. The heat and pressure from these layers turned the remains into what we now call crude oil or petroleum. The word oil means rock oil or oil from the ground.
Crude oil and other hydrocarbons exist as liquids or gases in underground pools or reservoirs, in small spaces within sedimentary rocks, and near the surface in tar (or oil) sands. Petroleum products are fuels that are made from crude oil and petroleum derivatives of hydrocarbons found in natural gas. Petroleum products can also be made from coal, natural gas and biomass.
Fractional distillation is a process by which oil refineries separate crude oil into different and more useful hydrocarbon petroleum derivatives based on their relative molecular weight in a distillation tower. It is the first step in crude oil processing and is considered as the primary separation process because it performs the primary separation of the various fuels. The various components that are separated during this process are known as components. Petroleum derivatives of the distillation tower are useful products that arise from the use of crude oil.
There are various methods for classifying useful petroleum products that are distilled from crude oil. A general way is to divide crude oil applications into three categories: light, medium and heavy cuts.
Heavier fractions condense at higher temperatures and are removed at the bottom of the column. Lighter cuttings can go higher in the column before cooling to their condensation temperature, allowing them to be removed at slightly higher levels. In addition, the slices have the following features:
It is one of the most important cuts and its products have a boiling point of about 70 to 200 degrees Celsius. Petroleum derivatives of useful hydrocarbons in this range include gasoline, naphtha (a chemical raw material), kerosene, jet fuel, and paraffin. These products are highly volatile, have small molecules, low boiling point, flow easily and ignite.
There are products that have a boiling point of 200 to 350 degrees Celsius. The products of this range include diesel fuel and petroleum gas, which are used in the production of municipal gas and commercial heating.
There are products that have the lowest volatility and their boiling point is above 350 degrees Celsius. These cuts can be solid or semi-solid and may require heat to flow. Fuel oils are produced in this sector. These products have large molecules, low volatility, poor flow and do not ignite easily.
However, there are two main components that do not count in these three categories.
After the crude oil is extracted from the ground, it is sent to a refinery where the different parts of the crude oil are separated into usable petroleum products. These petroleum products are mainly petroleum derivatives of the distillation tower, which include gasoline, distillates such as diesel and heating oil, jet fuel, petrochemical raw materials, wax, lubricating oils and bitumen-asphalt.
Some of the main products of a typical refinery are:
Special or non-fuel products of refineries from petroleum derivatives:
Petrochemical industries, transportation, defense industries, technology, industry, trade, research and development and many other aspects of human activities are directly or indirectly related to the use of oil or its by-products. It provides fuel for heat and lighting, machinery lubricants, and raw materials for a number of manufacturing industries. In general, the uses of crude oil and petroleum derivatives are as follows:
Oil is the key source of energy for transportation. Nearly two-thirds of transportation fuels are obtained from oil. Transportation fuels that consist of petroleum derivatives include gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), jet fuel, and marine fuel. While gasoline is used in cars, motorcycles, light trucks, and boats, diesel is used as fuel by trucks, buses, trains, boats, and ships. Jet planes and some types of helicopters use kerosene, which is a byproduct of oil refining.
Although oil is mainly used in transportation, it is also used in electricity generation. A fossil fuel power plant uses oil or natural gas to generate electricity (through a turbine). Electricity generation from oil still makes a significant contribution to the energy mix of many countries, even though coal is the main source of electricity generation, however, oil-fired power plants cause significant environmental pollution. Oil plants also consume large amounts of water.
Lubricants, which are derived from petroleum, are used in many machines in almost all industries. Lubricants are used in all kinds of cars and industrial machines to reduce friction. In addition, they are used in cooking, biological applications on humans, ultrasound and medical examinations. Lubricants usually contain 90% base oil, which are usually petroleum derivatives.
Petroleum byproducts such as mineral oil and crude oil applications are used in the manufacture of creams and topical medications. Although most drugs are composed of complex organic molecules, their basis is linked to simple organic molecules, which are mostly petroleum byproducts.
Among the applications of crude oil, it is used in the production of ammonia, which is used as a source of nitrogen in agricultural fertilizers. To achieve this product, pesticides are widely used in the agricultural sector. Most of the pesticides are produced from oil and in addition, the machines for agricultural work also use oil. In this way, agriculture is one of the major consumers of oil.
Petroleum products are used as raw materials by many chemical companies. Applications of crude oil are used in the manufacture of chemical fertilizers, synthetic fibers, synthetic rubber, nylon, plastics, pesticides and insecticides, perfumes, dyes, etc. Refinement of crude oil leads to the production of several by-products that are used in the manufacture of various products for domestic and industrial use. Major petroleum by-products include plastics, detergents, naphtha, grease, petroleum jelly, wax and butadiene, etc.
Another use of crude oil is in household products. Many household products such as detergents, petroleum jelly, wax, etc. are derived from petroleum. Kerosene is a petroleum byproduct that is still used in many countries for cooking, lighting, and other household purposes.