What is petroleum?

Petroleum i.e. crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid that is refined to

prepare products like gasoline i.e. petrol, diesel fuel, jet fuel, home heating
oil, lubricating oil, wax, asphalt, and many other useful products. The word
petroleum originates from Latin, where “petra” means rock and “oleum”
means oil. Petroleum also includes natural gas which has similar chemistry to
crude oil. Transportation and power generation are the two major uses of
petroleum. Chemicals obtained from the refining of crude oil and the
processing of natural gas are used by the petrochemical industry to produce
petrochemicals like synthetic rubber, fertilizers, plastic, latex paints, drugs,
synthetic fibres, and explosives.
 
Properties of Petroleum
Crude oil can appear very fluid, volatile liquids and also viscous, semisolid
materials. It is usually black or black with a greenish tinge in colour.
Sometimes it can be reddish, greenish-yellow, light yellow, or transparent.
Natural gas is a colourless and odourless gas.
Petroleum majorly contains alkanes and also cyclohexanes, aromatic
hydrocarbons and more complex hydrocarbons such as asphaltenes. Carbon
and hydrogen are the two basic constituent elements of petroleum. Crude
oils vary greatly in their chemical composition due to the combination of the
above elements in various complex ways. 
The properties of petroleum, such as viscosity, density, boiling point, and
colour may vary extensively.  Heavier fractions like asphaltene contain
greater metal concentration than saturated and aromatic fractions. Nitrogen
and sulfur can be present in traces in light petroleum with an increase for
heavier or extra-heavy crude oil.
 
The Basic Composition of Petroleum
Carbon 84 to 87%

Hydroge
11 to 14%
n

Sulfur 0.06 to 2%

Nitrogen 0.1 to 2%

Oxygen 0.1 to 0.2%

Metals 0 to 0.14%
 
What is Petroleum Used For?

Transportation: To date, petroleum is the basic source of energy used in

transportation. Petroleum accounts for two-thirds of the total transportation
fuel globally. Gasoline/petrol, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), jet fuel,
and marine fuel are the major transportation fuels obtained from petroleum.
Cars, motorcycles, light trucks, buses, trains, boats and ships use gasoline or
diesel. Jet aeroplanes and some types of helicopters often use kerosene.

Power Generation: A thermal power plant uses petroleum for electricity

generation. Although coal is the major source of electricity generation,
petroleum also accounts for significant power generation that eventually
results in serious environmental pollution. 
Apart from these two uses of petroleum, the fuel has other industrial
applications too. 

These are:
Lubricants: Almost all industries use lubricants for the proper functioning of
machinery. Lubricants reduce friction in vehicles and industrial machines.
However, they are even used in cooking, bio-applications on humans,
ultrasound and medical examinations. 

Pharmaceuticals: Certain by-products like mineral oil and petrolatum are

used in the manufacture of topical medicines. The complex organic
molecules used in pharmaceuticals are linked to simple organic molecules of
petroleum byproducts.

Agriculture: Ammonia, which is a source of nitrogen in agricultural

fertilizers, is manufactured from petroleum using Haber’s process. Moreover,
a lot of pesticides are produced from petroleum. Machinery for ploughing etc
also works on petroleum. 

Chemical Industry: The raw materials of many chemical companies are by-
products of a petroleum refinery. Chemical fertilizers, synthetic fibres,
insecticides, synthetic rubber, nylon, plastics, pesticides, perfumes, dyes,
paints etc are the significant products produced using the major by-products
like naphtha, grease, petroleum jelly, wax, butadiene etc.

Domestic uses: Household products like detergents, vaseline, wax etc are
by-products derived from petroleum. Kerosene is used in many countries for
cooking, lighting and other domestic purposes.  
 
Different Types of Petroleum Products and their Applications
Let us look into the examples of petroleum products obtained from
petroleum:-
Fuels
 Gasoline
 Kerosene
 Liquefied natural gas
 Liquefied petroleum gas
 Butane
 Diesel fuel
 Fuel oil
 Propane

Other Products
 Paraffin wax
 Petroleum jelly
 Petroleum wax
 Microcrystalline wax
  Napalm
 Naphtha
 Naphthalene
 Refined asphalt
 Refined bitumen

Fractional distillation column of Crude oil

 
Some Petroleum Products and their Uses
Gases
Gaseous products obtained from the refinery are hydrogen, fuel gas,ethane,
propane, and butane. Propane and butane are collectively known as
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is a portable and suitable fuel for light
industrial use and domestic heating (cooking).
Gasoline
Gasoline uses include application in internal combustion engines, commonly
used in private and commercial vehicles.
Diesel
It is commonly used in trucks, buses and public transport, locomotives, farm
and heavy equipment. Diesel has greater energy and power density than
gasoline.
Kerosene
It is used extensively globally in cooking and space heating. It is also the basic
fuel for modern jet engines. 
Fuel oil
It can be used as a power source of lamps, heaters, stoves, engines and
lanterns typically at home in furnaces and boilers. The machinery of farming,
mining or quarrying machinery or even bunkering ships uses fuel oil.
Other Petroleum Products

 Naphtha is used to manufacture solvents for paints, cosmetics,

commercial dry cleaning etc. Paper manufacture and foodstuffs use
wax.
 Asphaltic bitumen is employed in the construction of roads and
airfields and the manufacture of roofing felts, waterproof papers,
pipeline coatings, and electrical insulation. 
  Decomposing liquid hydrocarbon fractions make carbon black which is
compounded with rubber in tire manufacture and used in printing inks
and lacquers.
 

Petroleum is an Important Resource and Applied in Various Fields

 It is a valuable source of energy

 Petroleum is used to produce about 40% of the world's electricity.

 It is also used as fuel for transportation. About two-thirds of the oil that
is consumed in the United States is used for transportation, including
cars, trucks, trains, planes, and boats.

 Petroleum can be turned into many different types of products such as

plastics, fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals.

 It can also be burned to create heat or steam which can be used to

generate electricity.

 Petroleum is also used to make many types of products including

paints, dyes, detergents, and cosmetics.

 Petroleum is nonrenewable, which means that it cannot be replaced

once it is used.

 Petroleum is a fossil fuel, which means that it comes from the remains
of plants and animals that lived long ago.
 Substitutes for petrol


 Biodiesel

 Biodiesel is a renewable fuel which can be made from vegetable oils, animal fats,
or recycled restaurant grease. Believe it or not, this can then be used in diesel
vehicles already on the road because its physical makeup is similar enough to
petroleum diesel, but it burns much more cleanly. Biodiesel is also much safer.
Not only is it easier on the environment if spilled, but it has a flashpoint of over
130 degrees celsius, compared to 52 for normal diesel. Pure biodiesel, known as
B100,  reduces carbon dioxide emissions by more than 75% compared with
normal diesel.

 Electricity

 Electric cars have been around a while but so far have struggled to enter the
mass market. Many hybrid vehicles now use electricity to reduce fuel
consumption and thus reduce fuel costs. While the power grid might be readily
available in the west, charging stations for these vehicles remains limited. In the
United States, for example, there were only roughly 8,800 charging stations in
2014.

 Ethanol

 Ethanol is an alcoholic renewable that is made of the same kind of alcohol you
find in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol is then mixed in various degrees with
traditional petrol. The production and use of ethanol could reduce greenhouse
gas emissions anywhere between 52 and 86 percent. Additionally, the
infrastructure already exists to deal with ethanol, because it is the equipment
 used to store and dispense gasoline, just with modifications to some materials.
The drawback, however, is that ethanol has less energy than petrol, meaning you
need more of it to get the same results.

 Hydrogen

 Hydrogen has virtually no greenhouse gas emissions. Power is generated in a

hydrogen fuel cell, which will only emit water vapor and warm air. The difficulty is
that hydrogen fuel must be extracted from water, hydrocarbons or other organic
matter. The process of doing this involves either natural gas or high levels of
energy which, of course, come from power plants. Storing hydrogen is also a
challenge, because it requires high pressures, low temperatures, or chemical
processes to be stored compactly.

 Natural Gas

 Natural Gas is already widely used for a number of purposes around the world. It
is an odorless mixture of hydrocarbons, most of which are methane. Natural gas
is considered a fossil fuel, but an alternative known as renewable natural gas
does exist. Biomethane is produced from waste, either from livestock or even
landfills through a process called anaerobic digestion. In this series of processes,
microorganisms break down biodegradable material. A major advantage to
renewable natural gas is that it is chemically identical to its fossil fuel brother,
meaning the existing infrastructure is perfectly useable.

 Propane

 Propane, or liquefied petroleum gas, is clean-burning and high-energy, making it

a tempting alternative. Propane vehicles are typically more expensive than those
running on petrol, though inversely propane is often cheaper than petrol.
Nevertheless, propane’s reduction of greenhouse gasses is only about 10%.
  Factors affecting on
petroleum

The rising prices of petrol and diesel have been a major concern for the citizens of the
country. There are a number of factors that affect the fuel prices in India. Some of the
most important factors that affect the prices of fossil fuels in India can be summed up as
follows:

Cost of crude oil:

Crude oil or unrefined oil is a commodity of the international market. The changes in the
price of this commodity directly affect the price of petrol and diesel in our country.
Whenever there is a change in the demand and supply of crude oil, the prices vary. In
addition to that, international political relations and future reserves and supplies also
have direct effects on the price of crude oil.

Price charged to dealers:

The crude oil is acquired and distributed by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). The
price charged by the OMCs to the dealers is an important deciding factor of the price of
the fossil fuels. This price is also based on a number of factors which include the freight
charges, the refining cost, and so on.

Commission for dealers:

The Oil Marketing Companies or OMCs pay a commission to the fuel dealers. The petrol
pump owners have their earnings, cost, and profit covered in this commission. This is one
of the components which makes up the price of the fuel.

Central excise duty:

The central government levies the excise duty on petrol and diesel. It should be kept in
mind that the central excise duty is a pre-defined amount of money and not a
percentage. Thus, the duty does not fluctuate with the price of the fuels. Over the past
few years, the Government of India has increased the excise duty manifold. The current
duty charged on petrol is Rs.32.98 per litre and that for diesel is Rs.31.83 per litre. This
amount is constant irrespective of the rise or fall in the price of the crude oil.
Sales Tax or Value Added Tax (VAT):
This tax is imposed by the respective state governments. The VAT or sales tax is
calculated after taking a few other factors into consideration such as the excise duty
charged by the centre, the commission of the dealers, and so on.

Taxes imposed by the government:

The Government of India imposes a tax on both petrol and diesel. There are certain
policies on the basis of which, the centre might change the tax structure. The change in
this structure is mainly base on the marginal returns from the fossil fuels and the
recovery of losses. The price of the fuels also changes on the basis of these taxes.

Demand for fuel:

With the number of two-wheelers and four-wheelers steadily increasing on the Indian
roads, the demand for both petrol and diesel have been increasing as well. As the oil
refinery companies in India have to acquire crude oil from the international market in
order to process the same into petrol and diesel, the supply cannot be always fulfilled.
When the supply is less and the demand is more, as per the laws of economics, the price
of both the fuel is bound to increase.

Consumption ratio of refineries:

The crude oil imported to India are sent across to the refineries for processing. If the
number of refineries is lower, then the overall quantity of petrol or diesel which will be
available for sale will also be lower. This would also mean that the supply will be lower,
which in turn, will make the price of the fuel higher.

Valuation of INR against USD:

One major factor that is responsible for the alteration of prices of petrol and diesel in
India is the value of the Indian Rupee against the American Dollar. The crude oil which is
refined for petrol and diesel is bought from the international market and the transaction
is done in dollars. Thus, the strength of the USD against INR is a direct factor. If the
American Dollar is stronger, the cost of purchasing crude oil will be higher. This will
mean that the price of the finished products will also be higher.