Lynne Kelly, age 12, of Peoria, Illinois,for her question:
Do both oil and gasoline come from the ground?
The frantic energy crisis has tuned our minds to such items as oil and gasoline. For years we took these precious fuels for granted and most of us never gave a thought about what goes on behind the scenes. Then all of a sudden these faithful old friends are in short supply, or so it seems. Naturally we wonder where they come from and why their supplies suddenly seem to be running low.
Yes, indeed, our oil and gasoline fuels both come from the ground. In fact, they both are extracted from one and the same underground product which is petroleum. However, the raw petroleum piped up from below is thick, oozy material, dark and tacky. Only its tangy odor hints of clean, clear gasoline.
Actually, petroleum is a highly complex mixture of many hydrocarbon chemicals. We call it a fossil fuel because hydrocarbons are created by once living plants and animals. Many scientists suspect that underground reservoirs of petroleum form from the remains of small creatures that once teemed in the ancient seas. After many millions of years, their decomposed organic remains become a multi mixture of assorted molecules, in which the main ingredients are made from atoms of carbon and hydrogen.
Petroleum that comes from the ground is called crude oil and you might mistake it for gummy black garbage. Unless you were told, you could never guess that it contains multitudes of secret riches. For example, concealed in 100 quarts of average crude oil there are about 45 quarts of clean, clear gasoline suitable for running auto engines. In the same 100 quarts of crude oil there are 28 quarts of rich fuel oil. This is used to heat furnaces in homes and factories and to run ships, locomotives and power plants.
The same 100 quarts of gooey crude. oil also contains eight quarts of jet fuel and four quarts of asphalt and tarry oils used to pave roads and seal roofs. Another three quarts is kerosene, still used to light old fashioned lamps. And. concealed in the mixture tie are two quarts of precious lubricating oil, the smooth slippery stuff we use to make the world's wheels turn around much smoother.
Each of these petroleum products is made from its own hydrocarbon molecules. And the big job is to separate the raw crude oil into these and other different ingredients. Most of this chemical miracle is performed at an oil refinery. There the petroleum is piped and processed through furnaces and reactors, chillers and convertors, compressors and separators, washers and driers.
About 45 per cent of the separated petroleum turns out to be gasoline, about 28 per cent is fuel oil and about two per cent is lubricating oil. And about three per cent of the original mixture is processed to make a multitude of petrochemicals, including insecticides and fertilizers, synthetic rubber and paints. These same petrochemicals also provide most of our plastics and synthetic fabrics.