1. Petroleum What is it?

2. Petroleum—what is in it? Complex mixture of hydrocarbons AKA crude oil and black gold Can be colorless to black, as fluid as water or as thick as soft tar Shipped by pipeline, ocean tanker, train, or barge to oil refineries

3. Petroleum—where is it found? 66% is found in the Middle East Formed from the remains of tiny plants and animals (plankton) that died in ancient seas between 10-600 mya No O 2 present: microorganisms break down the remains into carbon-rich cmpds that formed organic layers With heat & pressure, organic layers convert into crude oil & natural gas. The oil flows and is trapped in reservoir rocks (limestone or sandstone between layers of granite and marble)

4. Where we get crude oil from Courtesy of HowstuffsWorks.com

5. Top Ten Countries U.S. Imports Crude Oil 1. Canada 2. Mexico 3. Saudi Arabia 4. Venezuela 5. Nigeria 6. Angola 7. Iraq 8. Algeria 9. United Kingdom 10. Brazil Less than 40% of crude oil used in U.S. refineries come from the U.S. Courtesy of http://www.energyrefuge.com/archives/where_oil_comes_from.htm

6. Petroleum—what is it used for? 89% is burned as fuel 7% is used to produce new substances like medications and plastics 4% is used as lubricants, road-paving materials, and misc.

7. Petroleum—how is it separated? At oil refineries by fractional distillation Crude oil is heated to about 400 o C and pumped into a fractioning tower Many components vaporize and move upwards in the tower. As they cool they condense at different levels in the tower and are collected. Each fraction is then separated further

8. Pictures of refinery Distillation Columns Photo Courtesy Phillips Petroleum Oil Refinery Photo Courtesy Phillips Petroleum