Petroleum definition

Fifteen references from the Journal of the Institute of Petroleum definitely a result of the work of the Hydrocarbon Research Group appear in the bibliography of this paper. In addition there are 7 references from that journal on the same subject but not apparently connected with the work of the Hydrocarbon Research Group. 

All petroleum energy products, as distinct and dissimilar as they can be, are subjected to the process of flame combustion. It is helpful at this point to bring to mind some definitions and general laws of thermochemistry. 

Specifications represent, as indicated in dictionaries, the definition of the characteristics that a construction, a material, a product, etc., must have. The specifications for industrial products, such as petroleum products, are thus lists of terms and conditions that the products must meet. There are many types of specifications for petroleum products ... 

Prior to the discovery of plentihil suppHes of natural gas, and depending on the definition of the resources (1), there were plans to accommodate any shortfalls in gas supply from soHd fossil fuels and from gaseous resources by the conversion of hydrocarbon (petroleum) Hquids to lower molecular weight gaseous products. 

No method has been devised to estimate with complete accuracy the amount of cmde petroleum that ultimately will be produced from the world s conventional oil and gas fields. Degrees of uncertainty, therefore, should be attached to all such estimates. These uncertainties can be expressed in several ways, the most important of which is achieved by dividing a resource into various categories. Several petroleum resources classifications have been proposed, and a comprehensive discussion of them (1), as well as the definition used in the assessment of the undiscovered resources of the United States (2), have been provided. Seven commonly used categories of resources are given here. 

In the fire codes, the atmospheric boiling point is an important physical property used to classify the degree of hazardousness of a Hquid. If a mixture of Hquids is heated, it starts to bod at some temperature but continues to rise ia temperature over a boiling temperature range. Because the mixture does not have a definite boiling poiat, the NFPA fire codes define a comparable value of boiling poiat for the purposes of classifying Hquids. For petroleum mixture, it is based on the 10% poiat of a distillation performed ia accordance with ASTM D86, Standard Method of Test for Distillation of Petroleum Products. 

The shortage of petroleum after World War I induced an intense search for a gasoline substitute in the form of alcohol. The trade press felt alcohol would definitely replace gasoline as a fuel at some point. The advantages ot alcohol cited in the technical press included greater power and elimination of knocking. 

In 1997, the World Petroleum Congress (WPG) and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) jointly published petroleum resei ve definitions that added the element of probability to the deterministic definitions in common use. The WPC/SPE definitions build on the SEC definitions by including probabilistic estimates. 

The definitions above are an abbreviated version of those used in a veiy complex and financially significant exercise with the ultimate goal of estimating resei ves and generating production forecasts in the petroleum industry. Deterministic estimates are derived largely from pore volume calculations to determine volumes of either oil nr gas in-place (OIP, GIP). This volume when multiplied by a recovery factor gives a recoverable quantity of oil or natural gas liquids—commonly oil in standard barrels or natural gas in standard cubic feet at surface conditions. Many prefer to use barrels of oil equivalency (BOE) or total hydrocarbons tor the sum of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), and oil. For comparison purposes 6,000 cubic feet of gas is considered to be equivalent to one standard barrel on a British thermal unit (Btu) basis (42 U.S. gallons). 

As defined by the World Petroleum Congress/Society of Petroleum Engineers (modified from Grace, J. D. et al. (1993). "Comparative Reserves Definitions U.S.A., Europe, and the Former Soviet Union." Journal of Petroleum Technology 45(9) 866-872. 

All organic chemicals are, by definition, based on chemicals derived from living matter. Thus, the ten highest-volume commercial organic chemicals are all made from starting materials obtained from petroleum (oil) and natural gas, which are believed to have been formed by the microbial decomposition of ancient marine plants and animals. 

In addition to hazardous substances, CERCLA addresses pollutants and contaminants, which are broadly defined to include any substance that is reasonably anticipated to cause illness or deformation in any organism. All three definitions specifically exclude petroleum and natural gas. 

Petrochemical recovered oil. Organic chemical manufacturing facilities sometimes recover oil from their organic chemical industry operations. U.S. EPA excluded petrochemical recovered oil from the definition of solid waste when the facility inserts the material into the petroleum-refining process of an associated or adjacent petroleum refinery. Only petrochemical recovered oil that is hazardous because it exhibits the characteristic of ignitability or exhibits the toxicity characteristic for benzene (or both) is eligible for the exclusion. 

Spent caustic solutions from petroleum refining. Petrochemical refineries use caustics to remove acidic compounds such as mercaptans from liquid petroleum streams to reduce produced odor and corrosivity as well as to meet product sulfur specifications. Spent liquid treating caustics from petroleum refineries are excluded from the definition of solid waste if they are used as a feedstock in the manufacture of napthenic and cresylic acid products. U.S. EPA believes that spent caustic, when used in this manner, is a valuable commercial feedstock in the production of these particular products, and is therefore eligible for exclusion. 

Landfill leachate or gas condensate derived from listed waste. Landfill leachate and landfill gas condensate derived from previously disposed wastes that now meet the listing description of one or more of the petroleum refinery listed wastes would be regulated as a listed hazardous waste. However, U.S. EPA temporarily excluded such landfill leachate and gas condensate from the definition of hazardous waste provided their discharge is regulated under the CWA. The exclusion will remain effective while U.S. EPA studies how the landfill leachate and landfill gas condensate are currently managed, and the effect of future CWA effluent limitation guidelines for landfill wastewaters. 

The classic definition of asphaltenes is based on the solution properties of petroleum residua in various solvents. The word asphaltene was coined in France by J.B. Boussingault in 1837. Boussingault described the constituents of some bitumens (asphalts) found at that time in eastern France and in Peru. He named the alcohol insoluble, essence of turpentine soluble solid obtained from the distillation residue "asphaltene", since it resembled the original asphalt. 

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