- Main uses of oil
- 1- Transportation
- 2- Industrial power
- 3- Heating and lighting
- 4- Lubricants
- 5- Use of by-products
- Other uses of oil
- farming
- Plastic
- Rims
- Pharmaceutical products
- Colorants, detergents and others
- Partial list of unexpected products made or containing petroleum
- Other facts about oil
- References
The six main uses of oil are as follows: transportation, industrial power, heating and lighting, lubricants, by-product use, and the petrochemical industry. Transportation, defense, technology, industry, commerce, research and development and many other facets of human activities are directly or indirectly linked to the use of oil or its by-products.
It provides fuel for heat and lighting, lubricants for machinery and raw materials for a number of manufacturing industries (US energy information administration, 2016).
You may be interested in 12 advantages and disadvantages of using oil.
Main uses of oil
1- Transportation
The transport can be of merchandise and products
The entire transportation system in the world depends on oil. Gasoline and diesel are the main sources of energy for all types of modern transport vehicles.
2- Industrial power
Oil is the main source of industrial energy. Diesel and gasoline are used in gas turbines to produce electricity.
3- Heating and lighting
The heaviest oils are used in central heating plants for shops, offices and homes.
Oil is also used to produce electricity for industrial and domestic use. Lighter grades of oil, such as 'kerosene', are still used for domestic purposes.
4- Lubricants
Lubricants are very useful for all types of machines, especially for machines used in transport and industries.
All types of lubricants and greases are produced from petroleum. Vehicles of all types and the wide range of sophisticated machinery in use in factories and offices depend on lubricants and grind to stop if they were not available.
Figure 4: lubricant made from petroleum.
5- Use of by-products
Crude oil is a mixture of carbon, hydrogen, impurities, and few other components.
The refining process separates various hydrocarbon fractions and various by-products have been produced (Chand, 2016).
Other uses of oil
When most people think of oil, gasoline and diesel fuel come to mind.
They may even conjure up images of jet fuel, but you'll rarely consider the other unexpected places that oil by-products show up in modern life.
Because crude oil contains a large number of different hydrocarbons, various refined products have found their way into multiple arenas, from plastics to pharmaceuticals (Petroleum.co.uk, 2015).
farming
One of the most important uses of petroleum is in the production of ammonia that is used as a source of nitrogen in agricultural fertilizers.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Fritz Haber invented a process that allowed the production of ammonia on an industrial scale.
Before that, the ammonia for the fertilizer came only from manure and other biological processes.
Plastic
Plastic is a staple of modern life. From computer monitors to Styrofoam, plastics are integral aspects of many manufactured products.
Polystyrene, from which polystyrene foam is made, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), both products of post-World War II industrialization.
Nylon, which can be found in stockings to mechanical gears and even car engines, is the most successful petroleum plastic to date. Most plastics come from olefins, which include ethylene and propylene.
Rims
The tires are made of rubber. Until 1910 all rubber was produced from natural elastomers obtained from plants.
The need for synthetic rubber was relatively small until World War II, resulting in embargoes on natural rubber from South America and the need to produce synthetic rubber on a large scale. Rubber is primarily a butadiene product.
Pharmaceutical products
Mineral oil and petrolatum are petroleum by-products used in many creams and topical pharmaceuticals.
Tar, which is used for psoriasis and dandruff, is also produced from oil.
Most drugs are complex organic molecules, based on smaller, simpler organic molecules. Most of these precursors are petroleum by-products.
Colorants, detergents and others
Petroleum distillates such as benzene, toluene, xylene, and others, provide the raw material for products including dyes, synthetic detergents, and fabrics.
Benzene and toluene are the starting materials used to make polyurethanes, which are used in surfactants, oils and even to varnish wood.
Even sulfuric acid has its origin in the sulfur that is removed from the oil.
Partial list of unexpected products made or containing petroleum
Ink.
Upholstery.
CDs.
Vitamin Capsule.
Denture adhesive.
Putty.
Guitar strings.
Heart valves.
Anesthetics
Cortisone.
Toilet seats.
Color pencils.
Pillows
Artificial grass.
Deodorant.
Lipstick.
Hair color.
Aspirin.
You may be interested in 10 everyday products derived from petroleum.
Other facts about oil
Oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that are produced on Earth in liquid, gaseous or solid form.
The term is often limited to the liquid form, commonly called crude oil, but as a technical term it also includes natural gas and the viscous or solid form known as bitumen, which is found in tar sands.
The liquid and gaseous phases of petroleum constitute the most important of the primary fossil fuels (Gordon I. Atwater, 2016).
A thick, flammable, yellow to black mixture of gaseous, liquid, and solid hydrocarbons that occurs naturally below the earth's surface.
It can be separated into fractions that include natural gas, gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, fuel and lubricating oils, paraffin wax, and asphalt. It is also used as a raw material for a wide variety of derived products (American Association of Petroleum Geologists, SF).
Oil was formed from the remains of ancient marine organisms, such as plants, algae, and bacteria.
Over millions of years of intense heat and pressure, these organic remains (fossils) are transformed into carbon-rich substances in which we count as raw materials for fuel and a wide variety of products (National Geographic Society, SF).
Oil, today, is a main source of energy in the world. This is also due to its multiple usability in different fields of machine civilization.
Every aspect of man's daily life is in some way influenced by the use of oil (Petroleum.co.uk, 2015).
References
- American Association of Petroleum Geologists. (SF). What is Petroleum? Recovered from org: aapg.org.
- Chand, S. (2016). Uses of Petroleum: 6 Main Uses of Petroleum - Discussed! Recovered from yourarticlelibrary: yourarticlelibrary.com.
- Gordon I. Atwater, JP (2016, December 2). Petroleum. Recovered from britannica: britannica.com.
- National Geographic Society. (SF). petroleum. Retrieved from nationalgeographic: nationalgeographic.org.
- co.uk. (2015). An introduction to Petroleum. Recovered from petroleum.co.uk.
- co.uk. (2015). Other Uses of Petroleum. Recovered from petroleum.co.uk.
- US energy information administration. (2016, November 28). Use of Oil. Recovered from gov: eia.gov.