Let’s call it the substance of fire. The existence of fire functions for various things in human daily life, starting from cooking food, warming the body, or as a source of light. However, in fact it took hundreds of millions of years for humans to finally be able to use fire as an energy source in everyday life.
The same also applies to other materials and substances. Call it metal, electricity, geothermal heat, and various other things that have now become part of human life. Everything requires time and a long process to find.
Among the many substances that humans have discovered, petroleum may be our most important discovery. There are various types of processed petroleum products and can be used for many things in a number of different areas of human life.
What is Petroleum
For all who don’t know the definition of petroleum based on its characteristics, it is a kind of mixture of yellowish black liquid that occurs naturally, especially hydrocarbons, and is generally found in various geological formations.
The above sentence may be a little confusing for some of peoples. If we simplify the sentence above, petroleum is a compound consisting of the elements hydrogen (H) and carbon (C) and can be found in many layers in the soil.
Generally, the majority of the petroleum we use today is obtained through the oil drilling process. Oil drilling cannot be done haphazardly. It is necessary to carry out studies related to soil structure, soil basin analysis and various other drilling location characteristics.
If we discuss history, evidence of the discovery of petroleum was found around 4000 years ago. A stone tablet was discovered from an ancient Mesopotamian civilization, showing the discovery of some kind of oil refinery around the Issus River, which is reportedly located in Turkey.
The use of oil itself is reportedly first used by ancient Chinese people, to be precise in the 4th century. Local residents reportedly saw an oil pond and tried to drill in the area using bamboo.
Meanwhile, in the modern era, to be precise in the 19th century, chemist James Young saw natural oil seepage in a mine in Derbyshire, England. He distilled light thin oil which he would later use as lamp oil.
At the same time, James Young found a thicker oil suitable for lubricating engines. In 1848, Young founded a small crude oil refining business. He finally succeeded, by distilling coal at low heat to create a liquid that resembled petroleum.
This fluid, when treated in the same way as seepage oil, can provide a similar product. The history above shows that the process of discovering petroleum was not short. Moreover, if we discuss various other processed petroleum products.
Now, petroleum can almost be found in various locations throughout the world. Hundreds of companies from many countries are competing to make profits from oil drilling. Grameds who want to find out about a company’s journey before finally being able to get petroleum, can read the book ” Traces of the Oil Hunters “.
Petroleum Processed Products
From the explanation above, Grameds might be able to conclude that petroleum cannot be used just like that. They need to be processed first before they can finally be used for daily needs. This processed oil is also called refined petroleum.
There are various types of these preparations, and have a number of uses for various human needs. However, there are at least several types of refined petroleum products that people use more often than other refined petroleum products.
Below, there is information about 6 types of refined petroleum starting from the types of uses, how to find it, the process of processing oil to the countries that produce the most refined petroleum. Check out the discussion below.
1. Liquefied Petroleum Gas
The name of this processed petroleum may be better known as LPG or “LPG”. LPG itself is actually an abbreviation of ” Liquefied Petroleum Gas ” in English. Liquefied petroleum gas in Indonesia is usually used to cook food and is put into gas cylinders.
However, in other countries, liquefied petroleum gas is also often used as fuel. This petroleum processing is carried out by refining “wet” petroleum or natural gas, which almost entirely comes from fossil fuel sources. Liquefied petroleum gas can also be extracted from petroleum or natural gas streams as they emerge from the ground.
You need to know that the world’s production of liquefied petroleum gas reached more than 292 million metric tons per year as of 2015. Apart from that, data shows that global use of refined petroleum reached more than 284 million metric tons per year. The United States is known to be the largest producer of liquefied petroleum gas.
2. Gasoline
Many peoples should already know the term petrol, considering its use is very common and we can see it easily in the surrounding environment. Apart from being used as fuel for motor vehicles, gasoline is also sometimes used as a catalyst to burn other objects.
Most of the chemical components of gasoline consist of organic compounds obtained by fractional distillation of petroleum. This means that gasoline is obtained after separating the chemicals in petroleum. Gasoline compounds can also be added with various other chemicals if necessary.
Like liquefied petroleum gas, the United States is the country that produces the most gasoline in the world. As of 2014, the country produced 9.5 million barrels of gasoline annually. Indonesia is ranked 20th, with gasoline production of 230 thousand barrels of gasoline per year.
3. Kerosene
Kerosene has other names that can be used, ranging from kerosene, paraffin, to incandescent lamp oil. The last name refers to the use of kerosene in Indonesia, where our people often use this refined petroleum to light incandescent lamps. However, kerosene can also be used as vehicle fuel.
One vehicle that Grameds might not have thought would use kerosene is a jet or rocket. Kerosene itself is produced by fractional distillation of crude oil in oil refineries at temperatures between the less stable diesel and the more volatile gasoline.
Again, it is the United States, the country which is the largest producer of this refined petroleum. They consistently produce 1.4 million barrels of kerosene per day. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s kerosene production is still at 30 thousand barrels per day.
4. Avtur
This type of petroleum product may not be well known to all. This is because the use of aviation fuel can be said to be quite rare in everyday life. Avtur is mostly used as fuel for flying vehicles such as planes or helicopters.
Avtur itself is an abbreviation of the words ” aviation turbine fuel ” or if translated into Indonesian, it is fuel for flying vehicles. Avtur is obtained from a mixture of various types of petroleum. Each flying vehicle has its own aviation fuel ratio, so it cannot be generalized regarding how it is made.
As of 2014, the United States was the country that produced the most aviation fuel, with a total of 1.5 million barrels per day, followed by China with a total of 625 thousand barrels per day, and South Korea with a total production of 370 thousand barrels per day. Indonesia is in 24th place, producing 54.6 thousand barrels of aviation fuel every day.
5. Solar
Solar, or also commonly referred to as diesel, is a product of processed petroleum which is used as fuel for large vehicles, such as trucks, buses, trontons and various other large vehicles. The name diesel itself is more familiar to the public, because it is a product of the largest oil company in Indonesia, PT. Pertamina.
The method for making diesel is actually not much different from making gasoline above, but its use is usually intended for large vehicles. Solar itself has several types, such as bio-solar, petro-solar, and so on.
As we could have guessed, the United States again ranked first in world diesel production. Per day, they are able to produce 4.55 million barrels of diesel. This amount is 13 times the number of barrels of diesel that Indonesia can produce, namely 343 thousand barrels a day.
6. Burning Oil
The last processed petroleum product that we will discuss in this article is fuel oil. This term actually refers to various types of refined petroleum that can be used as fuel, and of course, can burn when ignited by fire.
The method for obtaining fuel oil is also similar to the various processed petroleum products that we discussed previously. It’s just that, some molecules in petroleum, especially molecules that have low boiling points, will be removed. One of these molecules can be found in processed aviation fuel.
The uses of this fuel oil are varied, most commonly used as fuel for various types of vehicles. Use in factories for burning objects is also not uncommon. The United States is the country that produces the most fuel oil.
The manufacture of a number of fuels above is not explained in detail. Apart from being difficult and complicated, the process is also quite dangerous, so it should not be imitated. However, if Grameds really believes you can take care of yourself and make your own fuel, you can try reading the book “ Renggg!!! Riding a motorbike with village-made gasoline, a solution to replace fuel like biofuel maestro Soelaiman Budi Sunarto .”