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How Is Gasoline Made ?
Gasoline is made from crude oil, also known as petroleum, which is pumped out of the ground. In the raw form, it is generally a black, thick, tarry liquid but can sometimes be thin as water. This crude oil can be made into different fuels like kerosene, gasoline, lubricants, plastics and heating oil. |
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Petroleum, or crude oil, is a fossil fuel because it originated from decayed plant and animal matter which remained under pressure beneath the ground and oceans, for millions of years. Petroleum acquires much of its energy from the sun. In the early days before drilling, crude oil seeped to the surface, and was found floating in ponds, from where it was harvested.
Crude oils contain hydrocarbons that are molecules of hydrogen and carbon in different structures. Hydrocarbons also contain energy that is absorbed by its derivatives.
By-products of crude oil are converted in a refinery, using heat, pressure and chemical reactions. The crude oil is transformed into hundreds of other products consumers need like gasoline diesel, jet fuel, motor oil, greases, lubricants, and chemical feedstock.
Refining begins with running the crude oil through pipe still or a distillation tower, very similar to a distillery. Intense heat is applied to vaporize the oil. As the vapors rinse inside the tower, the compounds separate and cool down. Heavier molecules rise a short distance, while the lighter ones rise higher. As these fractions condense to liquid form, they accumulate on collection trays inside the tower at varying heights. This separates the crude oil into its components based on the weights of their molecules.
In early refineries, the different components were blended into saleable products. The light liquids were used to make gasoline, the middle were sold as kerosene while the heaviest became industrial fuels.
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