1.

PETROLEUM
o Petroleum is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that occur
in the Earth in liquid, gaseous, or solid forms. The term is
often restricted to the liquid form, commonly called crude oil,
though as a technical term it also includes natural gas and the
viscous or solid form (bitumen).
o The liquid and gaseous phases of petroleum constitute the
most important of the primary fossil fuels. Indeed, liquid and
gaseous hydrocarbons are so intimately associated in nature
that it has become customary to shorten the expression
“petroleum and natural gas” to “petroleum” when referring
to both.
i. Origins of Crude Oil
o Although it is recognized that the original source of carbon and hydrogen
was in the materials that made up the primordial Earth, it is generally
accepted that these two elements have had to pass through an organic phase
to be combined into the varied complex molecules recognized as crude oil.

o This organic material has been subjected for hundreds of millions of years to
extreme pressures and temperatures that have transformed it into the fuel
source as it is known today.
 Element Composition (% by mass)
Carbon 84 – 87
Hydrogen 11 - 14
Sulfur 0.6 - 8
Nitrogen 0.02 - 1.7
Oxygen 0.08 - 1.8
Metals 0 - 0.14

Table enlists the most common elements found in crude oil and natural gas.
ii. Formation of Petroleum
From planktonic remains to kerogen
The organic material that is the source of most oil has probably been derived
from single-celled planktonic plants, such as diatoms and blue-green algae, and
single-celled planktonic animals, which live in aquatic environments of marine,
brackish, or fresh water. Such simple organisms are known to have been abundant
long before the Paleozoic Era, which began some 542 million years ago.
o Rapid burial of the remains of the single-celled planktonic plants and
animals within fine-grained sediments effectively preserved them.

o This provided the organic materials, the so-called protopetroleum, for later
diagenesis (i.e., the series of processes involving biological, chemical, and
physical changes) into true petroleum.
o The first, or immature, stage of petroleum formation is dominated by biological
activity and chemical rearrangement, which convert organic matter to kerogen.
This dark-coloured, insoluble product of bacterially altered plant and animal
detritus is the source of most hydrocarbons generated in the later stages.

o During the first stage, biogenic methane is the only hydrocarbon generated in
commercial quantities. The production of biogenic methane gas is part of the
process of decomposition of organic matter carried out by anaerobic
microorganisms.
From kerogen to petroleum
o Deeper burial by continuing sedimentation, increasing
temperatures, and advancing geologic age result in the mature
stage of petroleum formation, during which the full range of
petroleum compounds is produced from kerogen and other
precursors by thermal degradation and cracking (the process
by which heavy hydrocarbon molecules are broken up into
lighter molecules).
o Depending on the amount and type of organic matter, oil
generation occurs during the mature stage at depths of about
750 to 4800 metres at temperatures between 65 and 150 °C.
This special environment is called the “oil window.”
o Approximately 90% of the organic material in sedimentary source rocks is
dispersed kerogen. Its composition varies, consisting as it does of a range of residual
materials whose basic molecular structure takes the form of stacked sheets of
aromatic hydrocarbon rings in which atoms of sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen also occur.

o Attached to the ends of the rings are various hydrocarbon compounds, including
normal paraffin chains. The mild heating of the kerogen in the oil window of a
source rock over long periods of time results in the cracking of the kerogen molecules
and the release of the attached paraffin chains.
o Further heating, perhaps assisted by the catalytic effect of clay minerals in
the source rock matrix, may then produce soluble bitumen compounds, followed
by the various saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, asphaltenes, and
others of the thousands of hydrocarbon compounds that make up crude oil
mixtures.

o At the end of the mature stage, below about 4800 metres, depending on the
geothermal gradient, kerogen becomes condensed in structure and chemically
stable. In this environment, crude oil is no longer stable and the main
hydrocarbon product is dry thermal methane gas.
iii. Petroleum Refining

o The extraction of petroleum from underground reservoirs is followed by the

conversion of crude oil into useful products in a process known as refining.

o In refining, the first step is distillation, which separates the different parts of
petroleum through their different boiling points.
o The petroleum is initially heated from the bottom and then passed into a
fractionating tower. The various petroleum products condense at different
temperature levels in this tower and are collected.

o The heaviest fractions (or products)

collect at the bottom of the tower,
while gasoline condenses near the
top. (Some gases do not condense
and are taken off at the top and
added to the natural gas.)
Basic refinery processes

Each refinery is uniquely designed to process specific crude oils into selected
products. In order to meet the business objectives of the refinery, the process designer
selects from an array of basic processing units. In general, these units perform one of
three functions:
(1) Separating the many types of hydrocarbon present in crude oils into fractions of
more closely related properties,
(2) Chemically converting the separated hydrocarbons into more desirable reaction
products,
(3) Purifying the products of unwanted elements and compounds.
o Most of the products from the tower are treated further chemically and/or
thermally to produce such products as gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, diesel oil,
paraffins, and asphalt.
o Gasoline is the most important petroleum product, accounting for about 45% of the
refinery output. The refinery output can be adjusted according to the season to
produce more or less gasoline and heating oil.
o About 10% of all petroleum provides the chemical industry with raw materials such
as methane, ethane, benzene, and toluene. These are used in the production of
fertilizers, plastics, solvents, nylon, synthetic rubber, and so on.
The world’s first commercial oil well, Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1859.
iv. Petroleum Fuel Products
Although petroleum is the source material for many chemicals and synthetic
materials such as plastic, its most important use is as a fuel. Following are some
of the most prominent petroleum fuel products.

a. Gases
b. Gasoline
c. Diesel Fuel
d. Fuel Oil
Octane rating
o Experimental studies led to the determination that, of the standard fuels
available at the time, the most extreme knock was produced by a fuel
composed of pure normal heptane, while the least knock was produced by
pure isooctane. This discovery led to the development of the octane scale for
defining gasoline quality.
o Thus, when a motor gasoline gives the same performance in a standard knock
engine as a mixture of 90% isooctane and 10% normal heptane, it is given an
octane rating of 90.
isooctane

heptane
 PETROLEUM
Advantages Disadvantages
It can be extracted easily Its resources are limited
It has high density. It contributes to environmental pollution.
It can be extracted at a low cost. It produces hazardous substances.
It can easily be transported. It is a non-renewable form of energy.
It has broad areas for application. Its transport can cause oil spills.
It is a crucial element in industries. It sustains growth of terrorism and violence.
It can power up almost all types of vehicles.
It can support constant power use.
It is a powerful source of energy.