Skip to main content

Types of oils

Mineral oil

All oils, with their high carbon and hydrogen content, can be traced back to organic sources. Mineral oils, found in porous rocks underground, are no exception, as they were originally the organic material, such as dead plankton, accumulated on the seafloor in geologically ancient times. Through various geochemical processes this material was converted to mineral oil, or petroleum, and its components, such as kerosene, paraffin waxes, gasoline, diesel and such. These are classified as mineral oils as they do not have an organic origin on human timescales, and are instead derived from underground geologic locations, ranging from rocks, to underground traps, to sands.

Other oily substances can also be found in the environment, the most well-known being asphalt, occurring naturally underground or, where there are leaks, in tar pits.

Petroleum and other mineral oils (specifically labelled as petrochemicals), have become such a crucial resource to human civilization in modern times they are often referred to by the ubiquitous term of "oil" itself.

Organic oil

Oils are also produced by plants, animals and other organisms through organic processes, and these oils are remarkable in their diversity. Oil is a somewhat vague term to use chemically, and the scientific term for oils, fats, waxes,cholesterol and other oily substances found in living things and their secretions, is lipids.

Lipids, ranging from waxes to steroids, are somewhat hard to characterize, and are united in a group almost solely based on the fact that they all repel, or refuse to dissolve, in water, and are however comfortably miscible in other liquid lipids. They also have a high carbon and hydrogen content, and are considerably lacking in oxygen compared to other organic compounds and minerals.

Applications

A bottle of olive oil used in food.

[edit] Food oils

Many edible vegetable and animal oils, and also fats, are used for various in cooking and food preparation. In particular, many foods are fried in oil much hotter than boiling water. Oils are also used for flavoring and for modifying the texture of foods e.g. Stir Fry.

Health advantages are claimed for a number of specific oils such as omega 3 oils (fish oil, flaxseed oil, etc), evening primrose oil and olive oil. Trans fats, often produced by hydrogenating vegetable oils, are known to be harmful to health.

[edit] Fuel

Almost all oils burn in aerosol form generating heat, which can be used directly, or converted into other forms of fuels by various means. The oil that is pumped from the ground, is then shipped via oil tanker to an oil refinery. There, it is converted from crude oil to any form of gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene and heating oil.


[edit] Electricity Generation

The oil, (and any of its more refined products) are often used to create electricity. This is done by means of a steam engine. The steam engine turns the thermal energy into rotary motion, which can then be transformed into electricity, by means of a generator.

[edit] Heat transport

Many oils have higher boiling points than water and are electrical insulators, making them useful for liquid cooling systems, especially where electricity is used.

[edit] Lubrication

Due to their non-polarity, oils do not easily adhere to other substances. This makes oils useful as lubricants for various engineering purposes. Mineral oils are more suitable than biological oils, which degrade rapidly in most environmental conditions.

[edit] Painting

Color pigments can be easily suspended in oil, making it suitable as supporting medium for paints. The slow drying process and miscibility of oil facilitates a realistic style. This method has been used since the 15th century.

[edit] Petrochemicals

Main article: Petrochemicals

Crude oil can be processed into petroleum, plastics, and other substances.

[edit] Other Usages

Sulfuric acid has been called oil of vitriol in pre-scientific times, due to its syrupy consistency. Even in modern times, sulfuric acid is sometimes called vitriolic acid, and caustic personalities are called "vitriolic." Sulfuric acid is not a petrochemical, and in modern parlance, is not an oil.

[edit] Religion

Oils have been used throughout history as a fragrant or religious medium. Oil is often seen as a spiritually purifying agent. It is used in religious ceremonies, such as the chrism used in baptism, and has traditionally been used to anoint kings and queens. Oil that is associated with one or more saints is known as "oil of saints" and believed by some to have beneficial properties, as is "oil of martyrs"[1].

[edit] See also

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Vertical Lube Oil Pumps (Model VCRE)

Lube oil pumping applications demand a pump that provides reliability and extended service life with a minimum of maintenance. The typical Lube Oil pump must also be capable of operation over a wide range of temperature and liquid viscosity conditions. The VCRE family of pumps is designed specifically with these requirements in mind. The VCRE lube oil pump is a vertically submerged pump that utilizes an ANSI standard hydraulic construction, enclosed bearing housing, and welded piping construction which eliminates the inherent maintenance and leakage problems associated with other pumps. During operation, axial and radial thrust loads are controlled by Buffalo’s exclusive modified casing volute and impeller design.  is backed by extensive field-proven experience in designing pumps to handle any lube oil application. This experience also provides flexibility in assisting OEM’s contractors and end-users in designing a sound instal...
Read more

Motorcycle Shaft Drive Grease

General Purpose Grease Grease has several uses on a motorcycle. It's there to protect parts from water, to keep rubber and plastic seals from drying out, and to provide lubrication. Generally speaking, grease is just a reduced fat. In fact, you can find several companies who call their grease bases "soap." The choice for a general purpose grease to protect from water, keep seals moist, and provide lubrication is easy. If you're going to do your own maintenance, I recommend you get Mobil-1 or Valvoline synthetic grease for general purposes, about $6 / pound anywhere. This stuff can handle temperatures higher and lower than you'll ever get near. A one pound jar should last you about 15 years. Shaft Drive Gear Maintenance There are two types of maintenance you must do on a shaft drive bike. At your rear wheel there are pinion gears where the spinning drive shaft motion is turned 90 degrees into the rear wheel motion. These gears are bathed in oil which much be c...
Read more

Understanding Ferrous Density

As part of my job, I regularly present oil analysis training seminars. One of the tests we discuss is ferrous density. I find that this test is seldom well understood, and, probably as a result, is seldom used. Explanation of the Test Ferrous density is the density of ferrous, or more correctly, of ferromagnetic particles distributed in the oil. The other ferromagnetic elements that one might encounter in lubricated components are nickel and cobalt, but in practice, these elements are likely to be present only in comparatively small quantities. Therefore, we are effectively measuring the concentration of magnetic steel alloys. There is no single way to conduct a ferrous density analysis. There are many ways of performing this rather essential test. Perhaps the two most common are the direct-reading ferrography, a technique which uses light blockage analysis of material deposited on a glass slide; and electromagnetic induction, which measures the voltage induced in a current-carrying ...
Read more