Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Petroleum products are materials derived from crude oil as it is processed in oil refineries. Unlike petrochemicals, which are a collection of well-defined usually pure organic compounds, petroleum products are complex mixtures. [1] Most petroleum is converted into petroleum products, which include several classes of fuels. [2]
Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and begins to melt above approximately 37 °C (99 °F), [ 2 ] and its boiling point is above 370 °C (698 °F). [ 2 ]
Petroleum [a] is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture. It consists mainly of hydrocarbons, [1] and is found in geological formations. The term petroleum refers both to naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil, as well as to petroleum products that consist of refined crude oil.
Confusingly, the name "paraffin" is also used to refer to a number of distinct petroleum byproducts other than kerosene. For instance, liquid paraffin (called mineral oil in the US) is a more viscous and highly refined product which is used as a laxative. Paraffin wax is a waxy solid extracted from petroleum.
The "deep biotic petroleum hypothesis", similar to the abiogenic petroleum origin hypothesis, holds that not all petroleum deposits within the Earth's rocks can be explained purely according to the orthodox view of petroleum geology. Thomas Gold used the term "the deep hot biosphere" to describe the microbes which live underground. [6]
Waxes are organic compounds that characteristically consist of long aliphatic alkyl chains, although aromatic compounds may also be present. Natural waxes may contain unsaturated bonds and include various functional groups such as fatty acids , primary and secondary alcohols , ketones , aldehydes and fatty acid esters .
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. [1] Mineral products resembling tar can be produced from fossil hydrocarbons, such as petroleum.
Naphtha (/ ˈ n æ f θ ə /, recorded as less common or nonstandard [1] in all dictionaries: / ˈ n æ p θ ə /) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.Generally, it is a fraction of crude oil, but it can also be produced from natural-gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the fractional distillation of coal tar and peat.