Processed petroleum products – The existence of natural resources (SDA) owned by the earth can always help sustain human life. From time to time, we humans can always find new materials or substances that we can use to meet our daily needs.
Call it the substance of fire. The existence of fire is indeed used for various things in human daily life, from cooking food, heating the body, or as a source of light. However, the fact is that it took hundreds of millions of years for humans to finally be able to use fire as a source of energy in everyday life.
The same holds true for other materials and substances. Call it metal, electricity, geothermal, and various other things that are now part of human life. Everything takes time and a long process to find it.
Among the many substances that humans have discovered, petroleum is perhaps the most important discovery for us. Processed petroleum products are of various types and can be used for many things in a number of different fields in human life.
Definition of Petroleum
For Sinaumed’s, who do not know the definition of petroleum based on its characteristics, namely a kind of mixture of yellowish-black liquid that occurs naturally, especially hydrocarbons, and is generally found in various kinds of geological formations.
The sentence above might be a little confusing for some Sinaumed’s. 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 petroleum that we use today is obtained through the process of oil drilling. This oil drilling cannot be done haphazardly. It is necessary to carry out studies related to soil structure, analysis of soil basins and various other characteristics of the drilling location.
If we discuss history, evidence of the discovery of petroleum was found around 4000 years ago. A stone tablet unearthed from the ancient Mesopotamian civilization, shows the discovery of some kind of oil refinery in the vicinity of the Issus River, which was reportedly located in Turkey.
It was reported that the use of oil itself was first used by ancient Chinese people, to be precise in the 4th century. Local people reportedly saw an oil pool, and tried to drill in the area using bamboo.
While in the modern era, to be precise in the 19th century, where the chemist James Young saw seepage of natural petroleum in a mine in Derbyshire, England. He refined a light linseed oil which he would later use as lamp oil.
At the same time, James Young got a thicker oil suitable for lubricating the engine. In 1848, Young founded a small business refining crude oil. He eventually succeeded, by distilling coal at low heat to create a liquid that resembled petroleum.
The liquid, when treated in the same way as seepage oil, can give a similar product. The history above shows that the process of discovering petroleum is not a moment. Moreover, if we discuss various other refined petroleum products.
Today, petroleum can be found in almost all locations around the world. Hundreds of companies from many countries are competing to get profits from oil drilling. Sinaumed’s, who wants to find out about a company’s journey before finally being able to obtain petroleum, can read the book “ The Footsteps of the Oil Hunters ”.
Processed Petroleum Products
From the explanation above, Sinaumed’s might be able to conclude that petroleum cannot be used just like that. They need to be processed first before they can be used for daily needs. Processed oil is also known as refined petroleum.
There are various types of processed products, and have a number of uses for various human needs. However, there are at least several types of refined petroleum that are more frequently used by people than other refined petroleum.
Below, there is information about 6 types of refined petroleum, starting from the types of use, how to find it, the processing of oil to countries that are the largest producers of refined petroleum. Check out the discussion below.
1. Liquid Oil Gas
The name of refined petroleum on this one may be better known as LPG or “Elpiji”. LPG itself actually stands for ” Liquefied Petroleum Gas ” in English. Liquefied petroleum gas in Indonesia is usually used for cooking food and is put into gas cylinders.
Even so, in other countries, liquefied petroleum gas is also often used as fuel. Refining petroleum is done by refining crude oil or “wet” natural gas, which are almost entirely derived 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 in 2015. In addition, data shows that the global use of refined petroleum reaches more than 284 million metric tons per year. The United States is known to be the largest producer of liquefied petroleum gas.
2. Gasoline
The term gasoline should have been widely known by Sinaumed’s, considering that its use is very common and we can see it easily in the surrounding environment. Gasoline is not only used as fuel for motorized vehicles, but is also sometimes used as a catalyst to burn other things.
Most of the chemical components of gasoline consist of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum. That is, gasoline is obtained after separating the chemicals present in petroleum. Gasoline compounds can also be added with various other chemicals if needed.
Like liquefied petroleum gas, the United States is the country that produces the most gasoline in the world. As of 2014, the country produces 9.5 million barrels of gasoline per year. 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 refined petroleum to light incandescent lamps. However, kerosene can also be used as a vehicle fuel.
One of the vehicles that Sinaumed’s might not think uses kerosene is a jet plane or rocket. Kerosene itself is produced by fractional distillation of crude oil at oil refineries at temperatures in between the less volatile diesel and the more volatile gasoline.
Again is the United States, the country that is the largest producer of 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 refined petroleum may not be widely known by Sinaumed’s. This is due to the use of avtur which can be said to be quite rare in everyday life. Avtur is mostly used as a fuel for flying vehicles such as planes or helicopters.
Avtur itself is an abbreviation of the word ” aviation turbine fuel ” or if translated into Indonesian, namely fuel for flying vehicles. Avtur is obtained from a mixture of various types of petroleum. Each flying vehicle has its own avtur 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 avtur every day.
5. Solar
Solar, or also known as diesel, is a refined product of petroleum which is used as fuel for large vehicles, such as trucks, buses, trontons, and various other large vehicles. The name solar itself is more familiar to the public, because it is a product of the largest oil company in Indonesia, PT. Pertamina.
How to make diesel fuel is actually not much different from the manufacture of gasoline above, but its use is usually intended for large vehicles. Solar itself has several types, such as bio-diesel, petro-diesel, and so on.
As Sinaumed’s could have guessed, the United States is back in first place 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. Fuel Oil
The last refined 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 catch fire when ignited.
How to get fuel oil is also similar to the various refined petroleum that we discussed earlier. It’s just that some molecules in petroleum, especially molecules that have a low boiling point, will be removed. One of these molecules can be found in refined avtur petroleum.
The use of this fuel oil is diverse, most commonly used as fuel for various types of vehicles. It is also not uncommon to find use in factories for burning objects. 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 is not to be imitated. However, if Sinaumed’s really believes he can take care of himself to make his own fuel, you can try reading the book “ Renggg!!! Ride a Motorbike with Village-Made Gasoline, a Fuel Substitute Solution Ala Biofuel Maestro Soelaiman Budi Sunarto “.
Negative Impact of Petroleum
It has been explained several times that refined petroleum products help us a lot in our daily life. Even so, not always what we think can always be useful. Each material or substance also has its own negative impact.
Let’s take the example of fire that was mentioned earlier in the opening paragraph. Fire can indeed help a person in many ways. However, if used incorrectly, fire can injure their users. Worse, fire can also scorch and destroy what we have.
The same thing also applies to various other processed petroleum products that we discussed earlier. In closing this article, we will discuss roughly what are the bad effects of using refined petroleum. Here’s an explanation.
1. Main Causes of Air Pollution
The existence of the majority of air pollution is due to the presence of combustion products in the form of smoke, originating from refined petroleum products. As a result, people will be exposed to various respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and lung cancer.
2. Causing Climate Change
One of the causes of climate change around us is the burning of refined petroleum products. They release gases that can trap heat into the atmosphere. As a result of its use, the earth’s temperature slowly rises to the point where the ice at the North Pole and South Pole can melt.
3. Slowly Destroying the Natural Ecosystem
Indirectly, the extraction of petroleum makes humans destroy various kinds of ecosystems in the natural surroundings, such as forests, grasslands, to the sea. This is because we will be drilling in that area, and inevitably we have to destroy the ecosystem in the location for the smooth running of this drilling.
4. Endanger Other Living Beings
This impact can also come from previous impacts. Ecosystems of living things that are damaged or lost due to human activities, can cause other living things to have to move from one location to another. This endangers them, because these living things may find it difficult to survive in the new ecosystem, and in the worst case, they will die.
Therefore, even though it has many benefits, this refined petroleum product can also have a negative impact on the surrounding environment. If this continues, then there is a possibility that the environment that we see today, will disappear in the future.
For that, let us together to protect the environment as best as possible. One of the ways that Sinaumed’s can do this is by reducing the use of refined petroleum products if it is not needed, and using other alternative energy sources if any.
Studying the negative effects of excessive use of refined petroleum is also crucial so that Sinaumed’s can understand the reasons behind your actions and activities to reduce the use of refined petroleum. The book ” Environmental Health as a Scope of Public Health Sciences ” is a book that Sinaumed’s can read to increase knowledge on this topic.
So, in addition to increasing knowledge about refined petroleum products , this article also aims to increase Sinaumed’s’ awareness that something that is used in excess is not good, and this is also included in the scope of refined petroleum products.
Hopefully, Sinaumed’s can slowly adopt a healthy lifestyle and care for the environment, so that in the future you can enjoy the beauty and beauty of the natural surroundings with your wife, children and grandchildren.
Sinaumed’s who are interested in reading other articles related to the environment, or want to buy recommended books from sinaumedia, #SahabatUnlimits above, can directly visit the sinaumedia.com website . Cultivate reading diligently, because you can get #MoreWithReading knowledge and knowledge .
Author: M. Adrianto S.