Edit filter log

'{{Otheruses}} [[Image:Kerosene bottle.jpg|right|thumb|Kerosene, which is typically stored in a blue (or blue labeled) container]] '''Kerosene''', sometimes spelled '''kerosine''' in scientific and industrial usage,<ref>Webster's New World College Dictionary, ''kerosene''.</ref> also known as '''paraffin''', is a [[combustible]] [[hydrocarbon]] liquid. The name is derived from [[Greek (language)|Greek]] ''keros'' (κηρός [[wax]]). The word ''Kerosene'' was registered as a trademark by [[Abraham Gesner]] in 1854 and for several years only the North American Gas Light Company and the Downer Company (to which Gesner had granted the right) were allowed to call their lamp oil ''kerosene''.<ref>{{cite book | last = Asbury | first = Herbert | title = The golden flood: an informal history of America's first oil field | publisher = Alfred A. Knopf | date = 1942 | pages = 35 }}</ref> It eventually became a [[genericized trademark]]. It is usually called '''paraffin''' (sometimes '''paraffin oil''') in the UK, South East Asia and [[South Africa]] (not to be confused with the waxy solid also called paraffin wax or just [[paraffin]], or the much more viscous paraffin oil used as a laxative); the term ''kerosene'' is usual in much of Canada, the United States, Australia (where it is usually referred to colloquially as ''kero'') and [[New Zealand]].<ref>[[Oxford English Dictionary]], ''kerosene''.</ref> Kerosene is widely used to power [[jet engine|jet-engined]] aircraft ([[jet fuel]]) and some [[rockets]], but is also commonly used as a heating fuel and for fire toys such as [[fire poi|poi]]. The [[heat of combustion]] of Kerosene is similar to that of [[diesel]]: its [[lower heating value]] is around 18,500 [[British thermal unit|Btu]]/[[Pound (mass)|lb]], or 43.1 [[megajoule|MJ]]/[[kilogram|kg]], and its [[higher heating value]] is 46.2MJ/kg.<ref>{{cite book | title = Combustion Science and Engineering | first = Kalyan | last = Annamalai | coauthors = Ishwar Kanwar Puri | publisher = CRC Press | date = 2006| pages = 851 | isbn = 978-0849320712}}</ref> == Properties == Kerosene is a thin, clear liquid formed from hydrocarbons, with [[density]] of 0.78-0.81g/cm³. Kerosene is obtained from the [[fractional distillation]] of [[petroleum]] between 150&nbsp;°[[Celsius|C]] and 275&nbsp;°C, resulting in a mixture of carbon chains that typically contain between 6 and 16 [[carbon]] [[atom]]s per [[molecule]].<ref>Chris Collins (2007), “Implementing Phytoremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons, ''Methods in Biotechnology''''' 23''':99-108. Humana Press. ISBN 1588295419.</ref> The [[flash point]] of kerosene is between 37 and 65&nbsp;°C (100–150&nbsp;°F) and its [[autoignition temperature]] is {{convert|220|C|F|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Citation | title = Kerosene | url = http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics0663.htm | accessdate = 2009-06-10}}.</ref> == History == * Around the year 850 the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] introduced a refined lamp oil, or kerosene, manufactured from crude oil by distillation, named ''naft abyad'' ("white naphtha"), which was made using an apparatus called ''al-inbiq'', the origin of the English word [[alembic]]. In his ''Kitab al-Asrar'' (''Book of Secrets''), the physician and chemist [[al-Razi]] (Rhazes) described two methods for the production of kerosene. One method involved using [[clay]] as an [[absorption (chemistry)|absorbent]], whereas the other method involved using [[ammonium chloride]] (''sal ammoniac''). The distillation process was to be repeated until the final product was perfectly clear and "safe to light," i.e. volatile hydrocarbon fractions had been mostly removed. Kerosene was also produced during the same period from [[oil shale]] and [[bitumen]] by heating the rock to extract the oil, which was then distilled.<ref>{{Citation | last = Bilkadi | first = Zayn | author-link = | last2 = | first2 = | author2-link = | title = The Oil Weapons | journal = [[Saudi Aramco World]] | volume = 46 | issue = 1 | pages = 20–27 | date = | year = | url = http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199501/the.oil.weapons.htm | doi = | id = }}</ref> * In 1846 Canadian geologist [[Abraham Gesner]] gave a public demonstration in [[Charlottetown]], [[Prince Edward Island]] of a new process he had discovered. He heated coal in a [[retort]] and distilled from it a clear, thin fluid which he showed made an excellent lamp fuel. He coined the name "Kerosene" for his fuel, a contraction of ''keroselaion'', meaning ''wax-oil''.<ref name=russell>{{cite book | last = Russell | first = Loris S. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = A Heritage of Light: Lamps and Lighting in the Early Canadian Home | publisher = University of Toronto Press | date = 2003 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0802037658}}</ref> The cost of extracting kerosene from coal was, however, high. Fortunately, Gesner recalled from his extensive knowledge of New Brunswick's geology a naturally-occurring [[asphalt]]um called [[Albertite]]. He was however blocked from using it by the New Brunswick coal conglomerate because they had coal extraction rights for the province and he lost a court case when their experts claimed that Albertite was in fact a form of coal.<ref>{{cite book | last = Black | first = Harry | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Canadian Scientists and Inventors | publisher = Pembroke Publishers Limited | date = 1997 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1551380811}}</ref> Gesner subsequently moved to [[Newton Creek]], [[Long Island]], USA, in 1854, where he secured the backing of a group of businessmen. They formed the North American Gas Light Company, to which he assigned his patents. Despite clear priority of discovery, Gesner did not obtain his first kerosene patent until 1854, two years after [[James Young (Scottish chemist)|James Young]]'s US patent. Gesner's method of purifying the distillation products appears to have been superior to Young's, resulting in a cleaner and better smelling fuel. Manufacture of kerosene under the Gesner patents began in New York in 1854 and later in [[Boston]], being distilled from [[bituminous coal]] and [[oil shale]].<ref name=russell/> * In 1848 [[Scotland|Scottish]] chemist [[James Young (Scottish chemist)|James Young]] experimented with oil discovered seeping in a coal mine as a source of lubricating oil and illuminating fuel. When the seep became exhausted he experimented with the dry distillation of coal, especially the resinous "Boghead coal" ([[Torbanite]]). He extracted a number of useful liquids from it, one of which he named "paraffine oil" because at low temperatures it congealed into a substance resembling paraffin wax. Young took out a patent on his process and the resulting products in 1850, and built the first truly commercial oil-works in the world at [[Bathgate]] in 1851, using oil extracted from locally-mined Torbanite, shale, and bituminous coal. In 1852 he took out a US patent for the same invention. These patents were subsequently upheld in both countries in a series of lawsuits and other producers were obliged to pay him royalties.<ref name=russell/> See also [[coal oil]]. * In 1851 [[Samuel Martin Kier]] began selling kerosene to local miners, under the name ''"Carbon Oil"''. He distilled this by a process of his own invention from [[crude oil]]. He also invented a new lamp to burn his product.<ref Name="Pioneer">{{cite book | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Greater Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Past, Present, Future; The Pioneer Oil Refiner | publisher =The American Manufacturer and Iron World | date =1901 | location =Original from the New York Public Library | pages = | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=lkcVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT57&dq=refinery+kier+pittsburgh&client=firefox-a | doi = | id = }}</ref> He has been dubbed the ''Grandfather of the American Oil Industry'' by historians.<ref Name="McInnis">{{cite web | last =McInnis | first =Karen | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Kier, Samuel Martin- Bio | work = biography | publisher =The Pennsylvania State University | date = | url =http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Kier__Samuel_Martin.html | format =web | doi = | accessdate = 2008-12-12 }}</ref> Since the 1840s, Kier's [[salt well]]s were becoming fouled with [[petroleum]]. At first, Kier simply dumped the useless oil into the nearby [[Pennsylvania Main Line Canal]], but later he began experimenting with several distillates of the crude oil along with a chemist from eastern Pennsylvania. <ref Name="Harper">{{cite web | last =Harper | first =J. A. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Samuel Kier - Medicine Man & Refiner | work =Excerpt from Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Unrefined Complex Liquid Hydrocarbons. Pennsylvania Geology, v. 26, No. 1, p. - | publisher =Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry & Tourism | date =1995 | url =http://www.oil150.com/essays/2007/02/samual-kier | format =web | doi = | accessdate = 2008-12-12 }}</ref> * [[Ignacy Lukasiewicz]], a [[Poland|Polish]] pharmacist residing in [[Lvov]] had been experimenting with different kerosene distillation techniques, trying to improve on Gesner's process, using local [[seep]] [[petroleum|oil]]. Many people knew of his work but paid little attention to it. On the night of July 31 1853, doctors at the local hospital needed to perform an emergency operation, virtually impossible by candlelight. They therefore sent a messenger for Lukasiewicz and his new lamps. The lamp burned so brightly and cleanly that the hospital officials ordered several examples plus a large supply of fuel. Lukasiewicz realized the potential of his work and quit the pharmacy to find a business partner and then travelled to [[Vienna]] to register his technique with the government. Lukasiewicz moved to the [[Gorlice]] region of Poland in 1854 and sank several wells across southern Poland over the following decade, setting up a refinery near [[Jasło]] in 1859.<ref>{{cite book | last = Steil | first = Tim | authorlink = | coauthors = Jim Luning | title = Fantastic Filling Stations | publisher = MBI Publishing Company | date = 2002 | location = | pages = 19–20 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0760310645}}</ref> The widespread availability of cheaper kerosene was the principal factor in the precipitous decline in the [[whaling]] industry in the mid-to-late 19th century, as the leading product of whaling was oil for lamps. == Uses == ===As a fuel=== ====Heating and Lighting==== {{Home heating fuels}} At one time the fuel was widely used in [[kerosene lamp]]s and lanterns. Although it replaced [[whale oil]], it was considered as "explosive as [[gunpowder]]." - the 1873 edition of ''Elements of Chemistry'' notes that "The vapor of this substance [kerosene] mixed with air is as explosive as gunpowder."<ref>{{cite book | last = Cooley | first = Le Roy Clark | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Elements of Chemistry: for Common and High Schools | publisher = Scribner, Armstrong | date = 1873 | location = | pages = 98 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = }}</ref> This may have been due to the common practice of adulterating kerosene with other, more volatile hydrocarbons, such as the cheaper [[benzene]]<ref>{{cite book | last = Benjamin Johnson | first = Crew | coauthors = Charles Albert Ashburner | title = A Practical Treatise on Petroleum | publisher = Baird | date = 1887 | location = | pages = 395| isbn = }}</ref>. Kerosene was also a fire risk; in 1880, 39% of New York City fires were caused by defective kerosene lamps.<ref>{{cite book | last = Bettmann | first = Otto | title = The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible! | publisher = Random House | date = 1974 | location = | pages = 34| isbn = 9780394709413}}</ref> These were superseded by the electric light bulb and [[flashlight]]s powered by [[dry cell]] batteries, which are still used to this day. Its use as a [[cooking]] fuel is mostly restricted to some [[portable stove]]s for [[Backpacking (wilderness)|backpackers]] and to [[developing country|less developed countries]], where it is usually less refined and contains impurities and even debris. As a heating fuel, it is often used in portable stoves, and is sold in some [[filling station]]s. It is sometimes used as a heat source during power failures. The use of portable kerosene heaters is not recommended for closed indoor areas without a [[chimney]] due to the danger of build-up of [[carbon monoxide]] gas. Kerosene is widely used in Japan as a home heating fuel for portable and installed kerosene heaters. In Japan, kerosene can be readily bought at any filling station or be delivered to homes.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} In the United Kingdom and Ireland kerosene is often used as a heating fuel in areas that are unconnected to the [[natural gas|gas]] pipeline network. It is used less for cooking, which has more commonly been LPG for some decades now, owing to its easier lighting. The [[Amish]], who forbid use of electric appliances for religious reasons, rely on kerosene for lighting at night. More ubiquitous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, [[kerosene heater|kerosene space heaters]] were often built into kitchen ranges and kept many farm and fishing families warm and dry through the winter. At one time citrus growers used a [[smudge pot]] fueled by kerosene to create a pall of thick smoke over a grove in an effort to prevent freezing temperatures from damaging crops. ''[[Salamander heater|Salamanders]]'' are kerosene space heaters used on construction sites to dry out building materials and to warm workers. Before the days of blinking electrically lighted road barriers, highway construction zones were marked at night by kerosene fired pot-bellied torches. Most of these uses of kerosene created thick black smoke because of the low temperature of combustion. A notable exception, discovered in the early 19th century, is the use of a [[gas mantle]] above the wick on a kerosene lamp. Looking like a delicate woven bag above the woven cotton wick, the mantle was a residue of mineral material ([[thorium dioxide]]) which glowed white hot as it burned the volatile gases emanating from the blue flame at the base of the wick. These types of lamps are still in use today in areas of the world without electricity. One of the most commonly available types of kerosene mantle lamps is the "Aladdin Lamp."{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} It is available in many of the hardware stores or camping outfitters of North America.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} ====Transportation==== In the mid-20th century, kerosene or TVO ([[Tractor vaporising oil|Tractor Vaporising Oil]]) was used as a cheap fuel for tractors. The engine would start on gasoline, then switch over to kerosene once the engine warmed up. A ''heat valve'' on the manifold would route the exhaust gases around the intake pipe, heating the kerosene to the point where it can be ignited by an electrical spark. During the fuel crisis of the 1970s Saab-Valmet developed and series-produced the [[Saab 99]] Petro that ran on kerosene, [[turpentine]] or gasoline. The project codenamed "Project Lapponia" was headed by Simo Vuorinen, and towards the end of the 1970s a working prototype was produced based on the Saab 99GL. The car was designed to run on two fuels. Gasoline was used for cold starts and when extra power was needed, but normally it ran on kerosene or turpentine. The idea was that the gasoline could be made from peat using the [[Fischer-Tropsch process]]. Between 1980 and 1984, 3756 Saab 99 Petros and 2385 [[Talbot Horizon]]s (a version of the Chrysler Horizon that integrated many Saab components) were made.<ref>Bakrutan: "Saab 99 Petro" by Petri Tyrkös, nr 4, 2008</ref> Today kerosene is mainly used in [[jet fuel|fuel]] for jet engines (more technically ''Avtur'', ''Jet A'', ''Jet A-1'', ''Jet B'', ''[[JP-4]]'', ''[[JP-5]]'', ''[[JP-7]]'' or ''[[JP-8]]''). One form of the fuel known as [[RP-1]] is burned with [[liquid oxygen]] as rocket fuel. These fuel grade kerosenes meet specifications for [[smoke point]]s and [[freeze point]]s. The combustion reaction can be approximated as follows, with the molecular formula C₁₂H₂₆: C₁₂H₂₆(''l'') + ³⁷/₂ O₂(''g'') → 12 CO₂(''g'') + 13 H₂O(''g''); [[Enthalpy|∆''H''˚]] = -7513 [[Joule|kJ]] In the initial phase of liftoff the [[Saturn V]] launch vehicle was powered by the reaction of liquid oxygen with RP-1<ref name=Ebbing>Ebbing, D. D., & Gammon, S. D. (2005). ''General Chemistry'' (8th ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.</ref>. For the five ~6.4 million newton sea-level thrust [[F-1 (rocket engine)|F-1]] rocket engines of the Saturn V, burning together, the reaction generated roughly 1.62 x 10¹¹ [[watt]]s (J/s) or 217 million horsepower<ref name=Ebbing/>. Kerosene is sometimes used as an additive in diesel fuel to prevent gelling or waxing in cold temperatures.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/diesel/presentations/keroseneblding.pdf Kerosene blending], (pdf from EPA)</ref> '''Ultra-low sulfur kerosene''' is a custom-blended fuel used by the [[New York City Transit]] to power its bus fleet. The transit agency started using this fuel in 2004, prior to the widespread adoption of [[ultra-low sulfur diesel]], which has since become the standard. In 2008, the suppliers of the custom fuel failed to tender for a renewal of the transit agency's contract, leading to a negotiated contract at a significantly increased cost.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/nyregion/25fuel.html How a Plan for Bus Fuel Grew Expensive], The New York Times, 2008-09-25.</ref> ====Cooking==== In countries such as India, kerosene is the main fuel used for cooking, especially by the poor. Kerosene stoves have replaced traditional wood-based cooking appliances. The price of kerosene can be a major political and environmental issue; the Indian government subsidizes the fuel to keep the price very low (around 15 cents/liter as of Feb. 2007). Lower prices discourage dismantling of forests for cooking fuel.<ref>{{Citation | last = Bradsher | first = Keith | title = Fuel Subsidies Overseas Take a Toll on U.S. | newspaper = New York Times | date = 28 July 2008 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/business/worldbusiness/28subsidy.html }}</ref> ====Cultural/Performance Art==== Kerosene is often used in the entertainment industry for fire performances such as [[Poi (juggling)|poi]] and [[fire dancing]], because of its low flame temperature when burnt in free air, reducing the risk, should the performer come in contact with the flame. Kerosene is not usually used as a fuel for indoor fire-dancing as it produces an unpleasant odour which becomes poisonous in sufficient concentration. [[Methanol]] is often used instead, but it also produces less impressive flames, and it can be a more dangerous fuel because of its lower [[flash point]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} ===Other Uses=== * Liquid pesticides have traditionally used kerosene or some other petroleum distillate as a carrier, though water has recently begun to replace kerosene * Kerosene has also been found effective in killing bed bugs upon direct spray. *Kerosene has been used to treat pools of standing water to prevent [[mosquitoes]] from breeding, notably in the [[yellow fever]] outbreak of 1905 in [[New Orleans]]. *It can be used to remove [[Head louse|lice]] from hair, but this practice is painful and potentially very dangerous. Also, this practice removes all natural oils and fats from the scalp. * Since kerosene is chemically stable, it is used to store substances with [[redox]] tendencies within to prevent unwanted reactions, such as [[alkali metal]]s. *It is used in the packaging and storing of [[White phosphorus (weapon)|white phosphorus]] to prevent contact with oxygen, which would lead to immediate combustion. * Kerosene can be used to store [[crystals]]. When a [[hydrated]] crystal is left in air, [[dehydration]] may occur slowly. This makes the colour of the crystal become dull. Kerosene can keep air from the crystal. * It is used as a [[solvent]]. ** Kerosene can be applied topically to hard-to-remove mucilage or adhesive left by stickers on a glass surface (such as in show windows of stores). ** Kerosene can be used to remove candle wax that has dripped onto a glass surface; it is recommended that the excess wax be scraped off prior to applying kerosene via a soaked cloth or tissue paper. ** Kerosene can be used to clean bicycle and motorcycle chains of old lubricant before relubrication. * It can be used in conjunction with [[cutting oil]] as a thread cutting and reaming [[lubricant]]. When machining aluminium and its alloys, kerosene on its own is an excellent cutting lubricant. * Military Applications—used to make "napalm-like" incendiary devices—as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20030805-9999_1n5bomb.html] * Kerosene-based [[diluent]] is commonly used as a component of the organic solvent in [[SX/EW]] [[copper]] refining.<ref>http://www.meab-mx.se/en/sx_principles.htm</ref> * Hydrotreated kerosene can be used as a starting material to produce high purity linear paraffins which are subsequently dehydrogenated to linear olefins, and when the latter are reacted with benzene in the presence of a catalyst result in the production of [[linear alkyl benzene]]. ==Retail cost== ===United States=== In 2008, Kerosene cost was $39.92 per 1 million BTUs for heating.<ref>{{cite book | author = Ryan, Matt |title = Homeowners seek cheaper winter heat | publisher = Burlington Free Press | date = June 20, 2008}}</ref> ==See also== *[[Aviation fuel]] *[[Flash oil]] *[[Gasoline gallon equivalent]] *[[Tractor vaporising oil]] *[[List of CO2 emitted per million Btu of energy from various fuels]] ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Wiktionary|kerosene}} * [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/english/ke/kerosene.html "Kerosene"], Webster Online Dictionary * [http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/heirloom_series/volume4/136-139.htm Article on Gesner] * [http://www.endtimesreport.com/kerosene_fuel_primer.html Kerosene Fuel Primer] * [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20030805-9999_1n5bomb.html San Diego Union-Tribune Article] [[Category:Alkanes]] [[Category:Aviation fuels]] [[Category:Coolants]] [[Category:Fuels]] [[Category:Hydrocarbon solvents]] [[Category:Lubricants]] [[Category:Petroleum products]] <!-- interwiki --> [[ar:كيروسين]] [[zh-min-nan:Chhàu-iû]] [[ca:Querosè]] [[cs:Petrolej]] [[da:Petroleum]] [[de:Petroleum]] [[es:Queroseno]] [[eo:Keroseno]] [[fr:Paraffine]] [[id:Minyak tanah]] [[it:Cherosene]] [[he:קרוסין]] [[hu:Petróleum]] [[nl:Kerosine]] [[ja:ケロシン]] [[no:Parafin]] [[nn:Parafin]] [[pl:Nafta]] [[pt:Querosene]] [[qu:Kirusini]] [[ru:Керосин]] [[simple:Kerosene]] [[sk:Petrolej]] [[fi:Petroli]] [[sv:Fotogen]] [[ta:மண்ணெண்ணெய்]] [[th:น้ำมันก๊าด]] [[vi:Dầu hỏa]] [[tr:Gaz yağı]] [[zh-yue:火水]] [[zh:煤油]]'