- 8 common applications of oil
- 1- Plastics
- 2- Diesel or diesel fuel
- 3- Gasoline
- 4- Asphalt
- 5- Tires
- 6- Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics
- 7- Paints, detergents, and others
- 8- Agriculture
- References
Some of the most common applications for petroleum include transportation fuels, fuels for heating and generating electricity, asphalt, in chemicals to make plastics, and in synthetic materials.
Today oil is a great source of energy around the world. This is due to its multiple use in different fields of machinery of civilization. Every aspect of man's daily life is influenced by the use of oil.
Transportation, technology, defense, industry, commerce, research and development, as well as many facets of human activities, are directly and indirectly related to the use of oil or its by-products.
After the crude is removed from the ground, it is sent to a refinery where the various parts of it are separated into useful petroleum products.
Oil provides us with fuel for heating and electricity, lubricants for machinery, and raw materials for manufacturing industries.
Petroleum products are fuels made up of crude oil and other hydrocarbons contained in natural gas. Petroleum products can also be made from coal, natural gas, and biomass.
8 common applications of oil
1- Plastics
Plastics are materials that consist of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds. They are malleable, so they can be molded into solid objects.
Plastics are derived from materials found in nature; while some are made from renewable materials, they are generally synthetics derived from petrochemicals.
Plastics are part of modern life. Computer monitors, polystyrene, PVC, and nylon - which is found in a variety of items ranging from clothing to engines - are derived from petroleum.
Due to their low cost, easy manufacture, versatility and resistance, plastics are used in a large number of products. It is used in the manufacture of objects as small as paper clips, to polymer implants and in spacecraft.
However, the success and dominance of plastics that began in the 20th century has led to environmental concerns about their slow decomposition after being thrown away due to their large molecules.
2- Diesel or diesel fuel
Diesel is a type of distillate fuel. It is used in the diesel engines found in most large trucks, trains, buses, boats, and construction and agricultural vehicles.
This type of fuel is also used in some motors and electricity generating plants, especially in rural places.
3- Gasoline
Gasoline is a fuel made up of crude oil and other petroleum liquids. Mainly, it is used as fuel for vehicle engines.
Sometimes refineries and companies that produce gasoline for gasoline engines at service stations add various additional liquids to the product.
This is done so that gasoline can burn more cleanly and can meet standards against environmental pollution.
There are several types of gasoline depending on its exact composition. That is why the type of gasoline a vehicle uses can vary depending on the make or model.
4- Asphalt
Asphalt is a black material that can be solid, semi-solid, viscous, and amorphous. It can be found in different ways. These forms include rock asphalt, natural bitumen, and petroleum-derived tar and asphalt.
Petroleum-derived asphalt is obtained through petroleum processing; it is essentially the residue that remains after the petroleum distillation process. Although asphalt can be found naturally, the world relies on oil to produce it.
Currently, most of the world's roads are paved with asphalt. Today its demand represents more than 100 million tons per year; this can translate into approximately 700 million barrels of asphalt consumed annually.
Asphalt is widely used to protect iron and concrete structures from water and salts. In addition to paved roads, it can be found on race tracks, on tennis courts, on the floors of greenhouses, and as a construction material, among others.
5- Tires
Until 1910, all rubber was produced from natural elastomers obtained from plants. But the need for synthetic rubber intensified in World War II, leading to the creation of synthetic rubber on a large scale.
Four types of tires are generally used in the manufacture of tires. One class that is used is the natural rubber found in rubber trees. The other three types are synthetic rubbers.
These synthetic rubbers are typically produced using polymers found in crude oil. Synthetic rubber is primarily a product of butadiene.
6- Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics
Mineral oil and petrolatum are petroleum products used in many topical creams, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
Most pharmaceuticals are complex organic molecules, which are based on simpler, simpler organic molecules. Most of these precursors are petroleum products.
7- Paints, detergents, and others
Petroleum distillates such as benzene and tulene provide the raw material for products including paints, synthetic detergents, and fabrics.
Benzene and toluene are the primary materials used to make polyurethane, which is used in surfactants, oils, and wood varnish. Even sulfuric acid has its origins in sulfur that is removed from oil.
8- Agriculture
One of the most important uses of oil is in the production of ammonia, which is used as a source of nitrogen in agricultural fertilizers.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a process was invented that allowed large-scale industrial production of ammonia. Before that, ammonia for fertilizers only came from natural processes.
Methane from natural gas is cleaned to remove sulfides. It then reacts with steam to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
Hydrogen and nitrogen gases react to high heat and pressure to produce ammonia, which is then extracted and added to chemical fertilizers.
Additionally, agriculture also relies on the use of pesticides to ensure healthy and consistent crops.
Almost all pesticides are made from oil. Therefore, agriculture is one of the industries that uses more petroleum based products.
References
- Products made from petroleum. Recovered from earthscienceweek.org
- What is asphalt? Recovered from bitumina.co.uk
- Uses of petroleum. Recovered from yourarticlelibrary.com
- What are plastics? (2011). Recovered from plasticsmakeitpossible.com
- Diesel fuel explained. Recovered from eia.gov
- Other uses of petroleum. Recovered from petroleum.co.uk
- Plastic. Recovered from wikipedia.org
- Asphalt applications. Recovered from eapa.org
- What's a tire made of? Tire ingredients for the perfect rubber recipe. Recovered from info.kaltire.com
- Gasoline explained. Recovered from eia.gov
- What are petroleum products and what is petroleum used for? Recovered from eia.gov
- Oil: crude and petroleum products explained. Recovered from eia.gov.