Crude oil needs to be refined in order to transform it into a range of useful products for industry and consumers.<\/p>\n
The gasoline or\u00a0diesel\u00a0we put in our car, the\u00a0fuel\u00a0oil we burn to\u00a0heat\u00a0our homes in winter and the natural gas we use to cook are all fuels and sources of heat derived from oil and gas extracted from deposits across the globe.<\/p>\n
Roughly speaking,\u00a0crude oil\u00a0is a \u201cmixture\u201d of all these energy products. To meet user requirements, it must be separated, converted and treated in a process known as refining.<\/p>\n
Could crude oil be used directly if only we had the right kinds of engines and boilers? The answer is no, because each crude oil is very different and made up of a large number of\u00a0hydrocarbon\u00a0molecules. The lightest molecules, dissolved gases, have 1 to 4 carbon atoms, while the heaviest have over 20. These molecules are present in varying proportions depending on the\u00a0deposit\u00a0, meaning that each oil has its own composition and properties. Some crudes are black and viscous and contain a lot of heavy molecules; others are brown, more fluid and lighter. Each also contains a certain amount of dissolved gas and highly corrosive products, such as sulfur or acids, which can sometimes be toxic.<\/p>\n
Crude oil is a highly variable mixture of heavy and light hydrocarbons that need to be separated in a refinery to turn them into usable products.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For these different reasons it is impossible to develop a universal boiler or engine capable of running on all crude oils.<\/p>\n
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Demand for petroleum products has changed significantly since the mid-20th century. In industrialized countries, the development of road and air transportation has accelerated, leading to stronger demand for light products, such as fuel. At the same time, the consumption of\u00a0heavy fuel oil\u00a0has declined as other energy sources, such as gas and nuclear\u00a0power\u00a0, are being used for heating and power generation.<\/p>\n
Today, global demand for petroleum products breaks down roughly as follows:<\/p>\n
The only crude oil that more or less matches these percentages before refining is Algeria\u2019s light Saharan Blend. All other crudes contain a larger percentage of heavy products. The average breakdown of distillates obtained by separation of crude oil is significantly different from the breakdown in demand:<\/p>\n
To obtain products that satisfy current consumer and industry demand, specially designed production and conversion units featuring innovative refining processes have been built.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Crude oil needs to be refined in order to transform it into a range of useful products for industry and consumers. Refining Crude Oil for Use The gasoline or\u00a0diesel\u00a0we put in our car, the\u00a0fuel\u00a0oil we burn to\u00a0heat\u00a0our homes in winter and the natural gas we use to cook are all fuels and sources of heat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[147],"yoast_head":"\n