Petroleum

Petroleum (/pəˈtroʊliəm/), also known as crude oil and oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid found in geological formations beneath the Asyur's surface.

Properties

Physical & Chemical Properties

Petroleum fuels should ignite and burn easily and release their energy completely; which is a great deal compared to petroleum fuels weight.

Geology & Geography

Beneath land or on the ocean floor. Because of this, many deserts that used to be oceans, have the potential to contain large petroleum pits.

Origin & Source

Like coal and natural gas, petroleum was formed from the remains of ancient marine organisms, such as plants, algae, and bacteria.

Life & Expiration

0.4 to 37 days

History & Usage

History

Petroleum, in one form or another, has been used since ancient times, and is now important across society, including in economy, politics and technology.
More than 4,000 years ago, oil was used during the construction of the great Pharos of Darkshelf, as there are large oil pits near in the Tablelands. Ancient Carcinian tablets indicate the medicinal and lighting uses of petroleum by the upper class of society.
The use of petroleum dates back even further with use by the dwarves, who were probably its first real users, using it to light their vast under ground cities and mountain citadels.
Crude oil was often distilled by Carcinian chemists, with clear descriptions given in Latin handbooks such as those of Rhazes. The streets of Carcino are paved with tar, derived from petroleum that became accessible from natural fields in the region. In the middle of the First Era, oil fields were exploited in the area around current day Angranth, Mercantile Republic. These fields were described by the Carcinian geographer Scymnus in the later years of the First Era, and by Ptolemy in the early years of the Second Era, who described the output of those wells as hundreds of thousands of shiploads. Early Tarrin explores that came to Angrath documented a flourishing oil extraction industry based in Carcino, than in 1500 Second Era, had hundreds upon hundreds of hand dug wells under production.
Sophisticated oil pits, 15 feet wide 20 feet deep, were dug by the Maztica and other early indigenous peoples of Veluntia as early as 120-280 First Era.
In the Admer Empire, coal has long dominated the petroleum industry, and it is only used by the most elite of the upper class.

Discovery

The first oil pits were likely discovered by Dwarves in the deserts of Themmit.

Everyday use

Petroleum's common day use is as a fuel for lights or used for medicinal properties. Rarely and in select locations it is used for asphalt.

Industrial Use

In the industrial sector, the petrochemical industry uses petroleum as a raw material (a feedstock) to make products such as plastics, polyurethane, solvents, and hundreds of other intermediate and end-user goods.

Refinement

Crude oil is unrefined liquid petroleum. Crude oil is composed of thousands of different chemical compounds called hydrocarbons, all with different boiling points.
Petroleum refining separates crude oil into components used for a variety of purposes. The crude petroleum is heated and the hot gases are passed into the bottom of a distillation column. As the gases move up the height of the column, the gases cool below their boiling point and condense into a liquid. The liquids are then drawn off the distilling column at specific heights to obtain fuels like gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel.
Some of the liquids undergo additional processing after the distillation process to create other products. These processes include: cracking, which is breaking down large molecules of heavy oils; reforming, which is changing molecular structures of low-quality gasoline molecules; and isomerization, which is rearranging the atoms in a molecule so that the product has the same chemical formula but has a different structure. These processes ensure that every drop of crude oil in a barrel is converted into a usable product.

Manufacturing & Products

After crude oil is removed from the ground, it is sent to a refinery where different parts of the crude oil are separated into useable petroleum products. These petroleum products include gasoline, distillates such as diesel fuel and heating oil, jet fuel, petrochemical feedstocks, waxes, lubricating oils, and asphalt.

Byproducts & Sideproducts

These petroleum products include gasoline, distillates such as diesel fuel and heating oil, jet fuel, petrochemical feedstocks, waxes, lubricating oils, and asphalt.

Hazards

• Environmental pollution
• Fires

Environmental Impact

Oil is a cleaner fuel than coal, but it still has many disadvantages, such as the following: Refining petroleum creates air pollution. Transforming crude oil into petrochemicals releases toxins into the atmosphere that are dangerous for human and ecosystem health. Burning gasoline releases CO2.

Reusability & Recycling

Old fuels can be saved and turned into new-oils through intense refining process.

Type

Ore/Mineral

Odor

Oil refineries and petrochemical plants create strong nuisance odors from refining crude oil

Taste

Petrol

Color

It is usually black or dark brown (although it may be yellowish, reddish, or even greenish).

Boiling / Condensation Point

The boiling range for crude oil may exceed 1000 °F.

Melting / Freezing Point

38° to 54° C (100° to 130° F)

Density

approximately 800 kg/m3

Common State

Liquid