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Sunday, March 27, 2011

PETROLEUM PRODUCTS


Petroleum Pump Jack
Petroleum products are everywhere around us. They appear in visible forms and in less visible forms. Petroleum products in visible forms are found as:
  • gasoline
  • diesel
  • kerosene
  • and aircraft fuels.


Petroleum products in less visible forms are found in over the entire spectrum of industry, such as:
  •     automobile lubricants
  •     greases
  •     carbon black for truck tires
  •     bitumen for road building
  •     the waterproofing in house roofs
  •     feedstock for petrochemicals
  •     synthetic fibers
  •     and plastics.
Petroleum feedstock is used in the manufacture of white mineral oils in eye ointment, hair oils, cosmetics, petroleum solvents, and pest control sprays. Transportation fuels, however, remain the most important use of petroleum.

There are a very large number of specialty products — petroleum solvents, bitumen for paving and industrial uses, lubricating oils, greases, white mineral oils, carbon black, petroleum coke, spray oils, and so on — to meet the requirements of industry. Possibly far more technical personnel are engaged in petroleum specialty manufacture and the handling of petroleum products than are found in refineries.

Petroleum fuels are generally made in refineries out of crude oil distillation. Petroleum specialty products are made in relatively smaller downstream units starting with refinery streams as feedstock. A refinery may produce five or six basic products, such as liquified petroleum gas (LPG), naphtha, kerosene, diesel, and fuel oils, but specialty manufacturers may produce a large number of their products from these basic refinery products.

There is very little published information on specialty manufacturing processes. The selection of a petroleum product for a specific job has become more challenging. Specifications and the test methods used on petroleum products are important for the proper selection of a petroleum product for a given end use.

The consumption of petroleum products throughout the world is ever-increasing to meet the rising energy needs of countries. But this rapid rise has led to undesirable air and water pollution levels. Environmental pollution affects everyone on the planet. During the last two decades, the manufacture and blending of petroleum products has changed rapidly, with a view to reduce atmospheric pollution and conserve petroleum feedstock. The lead phaseout from gasoline, sulfur reduction in all transportation fuels, and new lube-making technologies that produce longer-lasting engine oils or lower fuel consumption are a few illustrations of these changes.