Petroleum
Composition by weight
Element Percent range
Carbon 83 to 87%Hydrogen 10 to 14%Nitrogen 0.1 to 2%Oxygen 0.1 to 1.5%Sulfur 0.5 to 6%Metals less than 1000 ppmComposition by weight
Hydrocarbon Average Range
Petroleum
(L.
petroleum
, fromGreek
πετρέλαιον
, lit.
"rockoil"
) or
crude oil
is anaturally occurring, flammable liquid foundin rock formations in theEarthconsisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbonsof variousmolecular weights, plus otherorganiccompounds.The term "petroleum" was first used in thetreatise
DeNaturaFossilium
Composition
The proportion of hydrocarbons in the mix-ture is highly variable and ranges from asmuch as 97% by weight in the lighter oils toas little as 50% in the heavier oils andbitumens.The hydrocarbons in crude oil are mostlyalkanes,cycloalkanesand variousaromatic
hydrocarbonswhile the other organic com-pounds containnitrogen,oxygenandsulfur,
and trace amounts of metals such as iron,nickel, copper and vanadium. The exact mo-lecular composition varies widely from forma-tion to formation but the proportion of chem-ical elementsvary over fairly narrow limits asfollows:
Four different types of hydrocarbon mo-lecules appear in crude oil. The relative per-centage of each varies from oil to oil, determ-ining the properties of each oil.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaPetroleum
1
Most of the world’s oils are non-convention-al.
Crude oil varies greatly in appearance de-pending on its composition. It is usually black or dark brown (although it may be yellowishor even greenish). In the reservoir it is usu-ally found in association withnatural gas,which being lighter forms a gas cap over thepetroleum, andsaline waterwhich, beingheavier than most forms of crude oil, gener-ally sinks beneath it. Crude oil may also befound in semi-solid form mixed with sand andwater, as in theAthabasca oil sandsinCanada, where it is usually referred to ascrudebitumen. In Canada, bitumen is con-sidered a sticky, tar-like form of crude oilwhich is so thick and heavy that it must beheated or diluted before it will flow.
Venezuela also has large amounts of oil intheOrinoco oil sands, although the hydrocar-bons trapped in them are more fluid than inCanada and are usually calledextra heavyoil. These oil sands resources are callednon-conventional oilto distinguish them from oilwhich can be extracted using traditional oilwell methods. Between them, Canada and Venezuela contain an estimated 3.6 trillionbarrels (570×10^
9
m
3
) of bitumen and extra-heavy oil, about twice the volume of theworld’s reserves of conventional oil.
Petroleum is used mostly, by volume, forproducingfuel oilandgasoline(petrol), both
important "primary energy" sources.
84%by volume of the hydrocarbons present inpetroleum is converted into energy-rich fuels(petroleum-based fuels), including gasoline,diesel, jet, heating, and other fuel oils, andli-quefied petroleum gas.
The lighter gradesof crude oil produce the best yields of theseproducts, but as the world’s reserves of lightand medium oil are depleted,oil refineriesare increasingly having to process heavy oiland bitumen, and use more complex and ex-pensive methods to produce the products re-quired. Because heavier crude oils have toomuch carbon and not enough hydrogen,these processes generally involve removingcarbon from or adding hydrogen to the mo-lecules, and usingfluid catalytic crackingtoconvert the longer, more complex moleculesin the oil to the shorter, simpler ones in thefuels.Due to its highenergy density, easytrans-
portabilityandrelative abundance, oil has
become the world’s most important source of energy since the mid-1950s. Petroleum isalso the raw material for manychemicalproducts, includingpharmaceuticals,solvents,fertilizers,pesticides, andplastics;
the 16% not used for energy production isconverted into these other materials.Petroleum is found inporousrock forma-tionsin the upperstrataof some areas of the
Earth’scrust. There is also petroleum inoil
sands (tar sands). Knownreserves of petro-leumare typically estimated at around190 km
3
(1.2trillion(short scale)barrels)
without oil sands,
or 595 km
3
(3.74 trillionbarrels) with oil sands.
Consumption iscurrently around 84 million barrels(13.4×10^
6
m
3
) per day, or 4.9 km
3
per year.Because theenergy return over energy inves-ted (EROEI)ratio of oil is constantly falling(due to physical phenomena such as residualoil saturation, and the economic factor of rising marginal extraction costs), recoverableoil reserves are significantly less than totaloil in place. At current consumption levels,and assuming that oil will be consumed onlyfrom reservoirs, known recoverable reserveswould be gone around 2039, potentially lead-ing to a globalenergy crisis. However, thereare factors which may extend or reduce thisestimate, including the rapidly increasing de-mand for petroleum inChina,India, and oth-
er developing nations; new discoveries;en-ergy conservation and use of alternative en-ergy sources; and new economically viableexploitation of non-conventional oilsources.
Chemistry
Petroleum is a mixture of a very large num-ber of differenthydrocarbons; the most com-monly found molecules arealkanes(linear orbranched),cycloalkanes,aromatic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaPetroleum
2
Octane, ahydrocarbon found in petroleum,
lines aresingle bonds, blackspheresarecar-
bon, white spheres arehydrogen
hydrocarbons, or more complicated chemic-als likeasphaltenes. Each petroleum varietyhas a unique mix of molecules, which defineits physical and chemical properties, like col-or andviscosity.The
alkanes
, also known as
paraffins
,aresaturatedhydrocarbons with straight orbranched chains which contain onlycarbonandhydrogenand have the general formula
C
n
H
2n+2
They generally have from 5 to 40carbon atoms per molecule, although traceamounts of shorter or longer molecules maybe present in the mixture.The alkanes frompentane(C
5
H
12
8
H
18
9
H
20
16
H
34
) intodiesel fuelandker-
osene(primary component of many types of jet fuel), and the ones from hexadecane up-wards intofuel oilandlubricating oil. At the
heavier end of the range,paraffin waxis analkane with approximately 25 carbon atoms,whileasphalthas 35 and up, although theseare usuallycrackedby modern refineries intomore valuable products. The shortest mo-lecules, those with four or fewer carbonatoms, are in a gaseous state at room tem-perature. They are the petroleum gases.Depending on demand and the cost of recov-ery, these gases are either flared off, sold asliquified petroleum gas under pressure, orused to power the refinery’s own burners.During the winter, Butane (C
4
H
10
), is blen-ded into the gasoline pool at high rates, be-cause butane’s high vapor pressure assistswith cold starts. Liquified under pressureslightly above atmospheric, it is best knownfor powering cigarette lighters, but it is alsoa main fuel source for many developing coun-tries. Propane can be liquified under modestpressure, and is consumed for just aboutevery application relying on petroleum forenergy, from cooking to heating totransportation.The
cycloalkanes
, also known as
naph-thenes
, are saturated hydrocarbons whichhave one or more carbon rings to which hy-drogen atoms are attached according to theformula
C
n
H
2n
. Cycloalkanes have similarproperties to alkanes but have higher boilingpoints.The
aromatic hydrocarbons
areunsatur-ated hydrocarbonswhich have one or moreplanar six-carbon rings calledbenzene rings,to which hydrogen atoms are attached withthe formula
C
n
H
n
. They tend to burn with asooty flame, and many have a sweet aroma.Some arecarcinogenic.These different molecules are separatedbyfractional distillationat an oil refinery toproduce gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, and oth-er hydrocarbons. For example2,2,4-trimethylpentane(isooctane), widelyused ingasoline, has a chemical formula of C
8
H
18
The amount of various molecules in an oilsample can be determined in laboratory. Themolecules are typically extracted in asolvent,then separated in agas chromatograph, andfinally determined with a suitabledetector,such as aflame ionization detectoror amass
spectrometer
.Incomplete combustion of petroleum orgasoline results in production of toxicbyproducts. Too little oxygen results incar-bon monoxide. Due to the high temperaturesand high pressures involved, exhaust gasesfrom gasoline combustion in car engines usu-ally includenitrogen oxideswhich are re-sponsible for creation of photochemicalsmog.
Formation
Geologistsview crude oil andnatural gasas
the product of compression and heatingof ancientorganic materials(i.e.kerogen) over
geological time. Formation of petroleum oc-curs fromhydrocarbonpyrolysis, in a variety
of mostlyendothermicreactions at high tem-perature and/or pressure.
Today’s oilformed from the preserved remains of prehis-toriczooplanktonandalgae, which had
settled to a sea or lake bottom in large quant-ities underanoxic conditions(the remains of prehistoricterrestrial plants, on the otherhand, tended to formcoal). Over geologicaltime the organic matter mixed withmud, and
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaPetroleum
3
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
Recommended
More From This User
Notes
Load more
