Determination of Distillation Range of Petroleum products (CAT#: STEM-PPA-0155-YJL)

Introduction

We call crude oil and petroleum fossil fuels because they are mixtures of hydrocarbons that formed from the remains of animals and plants (diatoms) that lived millions of years ago in a marine environment before dinosaurs existed. Crude oil and other hydrocarbons exist in liquid or gaseous form in underground pools, or reservoirs, in tiny spaces within sedimentary rocks and near the earth's surface in tar (or oil) sands. Petroleum products are fuels made from crude oil and the hydrocarbons contained in natural gas. Petroleum products can also be made from coal, natural gas, and biomass. After crude oil is removed from the ground, it is sent to a refinery where different parts of the crude oil are separated into useable petroleum products.