What is petroleum?

Question

what is petroleum, how does it form, what is it used for, and whats an intersting fact about it?

Answer 1

Petroleum is a hydrocarbon found in the upper crust in the earth, and it's used for fuel, household products, etc. It's interesting to know that the asphalt used on our roadways contains petroleum in it.

Answer 2

Petroleum is a broad classifcation which generally describes anything derived from crude oil including gasoline, diesel fuel, motor oil, greases and lubricants,kerosene, and a number of other less known chemicals used in everything from make-up to plastics manufacturing. These various petroleum products, also called fossil fuels, are derived from crude oil through a process known as refining. Crude oil is a naturally occurring substance found globally, and was formed from the decomposition of hydrocarbon based organisms (which is basically all plant and animal life here on Earth) under secific geologic conditions. Differing geologic conditions produce coal rather than crude from the same decomposing mass.

Answer 3

Petroleum (from Latin petra – rock and oleum – oil) or crude oil (also known as black gold) is a black, dark brown or greenish liquid found in formations in the earth. The American Petroleum Institute, in its Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards (MPMS), defines it as "a substance, generally liquid, occurring naturally in the earth and composed mainly of mixtures of chemical compounds of carbon and hydrogen with or without other nonmetallic elements such as sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen."

Petroleum is found in porous rock formations in the upper strata of some areas of the Earth's crust. It consists of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, mostly alkanes, but may vary greatly in appearance and composition. Petroleum is used mostly, by volume, for producing fuel oil and petrol (gasoline), both important "primary energy" sources (IEA Key World Energy Statistics). Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics. 84% (37 of 42 gallons in a typical barrel) of all petroleum extracted is processed as fuels, including gasoline, diesel, jet, heating, and other fuel oils, and liquefied petroleum gas [1]; the other 16% is converted into other materials such as plastic.

Known reserves of petroleum are typically estimated at around 1.2×1012 barrels[2] with at least one estimate as high as 3.74×1012 barrels (3,740,000,000,000)[3]. Consumption is currently around 84×106 barrels per day, or 31×109 barrels per year. Because of pumping difficulties, usable oil reserves are only about 1/3 of total reserves. At current consumption levels, world oil supply would be gone in about 33 years. However, this ignores any additions to known reserves, changes in demand, etc. As the supply of petroleum becomes more scarce, consumers may look to alternative fuel sources such as ethanol, photovoltaic, or clean-burning hydrogen. Petroleum forms naturally within the earth too slowly to be sustainable for human use.

You could get more information from the link below...

Answer 4

oil. and is used in many things . my opion?