Oil - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Content
Oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil
Oil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and is hydrophobic but soluble in organic solvents. Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are nonpolar substances. The general definition above includes compound classes with, and uses, including vegetable oils, petrochemical oils, and volatile essential oils. All oils can be traced back to organic sources.
Contents
1 Etymology 2 Types 2.1 Organic oils 2.2 Mineral oils 3 Applications 3.1 Hair 3.2 Cooling 3.3 Fuel 3.4 Electricity generation 3.5 Lubrication 3.6 Painting 3.7 Petrochemicals 4 See also 5 References 6 External links
Etymology
First attested in English 1176, the word oil comes from Old French "oile", from Latin "oleum",[1] which in turn comes from the Greek "ἔλαιον" (elaion), "olive oil, oil"[2] and that from "ἐλαία" (elaia), "olive tree".[3] The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek e-ra-wo, written in Linear B syllabic script.[4]
Types
Organic oils
Organic oils are produced in remarkable diversity by plants, animals, and other organisms through natural metabolic processes. Lipid is the scientific term for the fatty acids, steroids and similar chemicals often found in the oils produced by living things, while oil refers to an overall mixture of chemicals. Organic oils may also contain chemicals other than lipids, including proteins, waxes and alkaloids. Lipids can be classified by the way that they are made by an organism, their chemical structure and their limited solubility in water compared to oils. They have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are considerably lacking in oxygen compared to other organic compounds and minerals; they tend to be relatively nonpolar molecules, but may include both polar and nonpolar regions as in the case of phospholipids and steroids.[5]
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06.09.2011 11:56
Oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil
Mineral oils
Crude oil, or petroleum, and its refined components, collectively termed petrochemicals, are crucial resources in the modern economy. Crude oil originates from ancient fossilized organic materials, such as zooplankton and algae, which geochemical processes convert into oil.[6] It is classified as a mineral oil because it does not have an organic origin on human timescales, but is instead obtained from rocks, underground traps, or sands; however, mineral oil by itself refers to a specific distillate of crude oil.
Applications
Hair
Oil is used on hair to give it a lustrous look. It helps to avoid tangles and roughness to the hair. It also helps the hair to be stabilized and grow faster.[citation needed] See Hair conditioner. Anointing one's head with oil is a ritualistic practice in many countries.
Cooling
Main article: Oil cooling Oil is also used as coolant in various applications such as electric transformers.
Fuel
Main article: Petroleum 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 diesel fuel (petrodiesel), ethane (and other short-chain alkanes), fuel oils (heaviest of commercial fuels, used in ships/furnaces), gasoline (petrol), jet fuel, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas.
Electricity generation
Oil and any of its more refined products have been used to create electricity. This can be done by means of a steam engine, or by means of a turbine driven by exhaust gases. A steam engine turns the thermal energy into rotary motion, which can then be transformed into electricity, by means of a generator. In an exhaust gas turbine, the combustion products from burning the fuel expand, thereby turning a turbine. The turbine is coupled to an electric generator.
Lubrication
A bottle of olive oil used in food 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 due to oxidation.
2 of 3
06.09.2011 11:56
Oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil
Painting
Color pigments can be easily suspended in oil, making it suitable as a supporting medium for paints. The slow drying process and miscibility of oil facilitates a realistic style. This method has been used since the 13th century.
Petrochemicals
Main article: Petrochemicals Crude oil can be refined into a wide variety of component hydrocarbons; "petrochemicals" includes the refined components of crude oil and the chemical products made from them. They are used as detergents, fertilizers, medicines, paints, plastics, synthetic fibers, and synthetic rubber.
See also
Emulsifier, a chemical which allows oil and water to mix Lubrication Wax, a class of compounds with oil-like properties that are solid at common temperatures
References
1. ^ oleum (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper 4. ^ Palaeolexicon (http://www.palaeolexicon.com/) , /text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Doleum) Word study tool of ancient languages , Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin 5. ^ Alberts, Bruce; Johnson, Alexander; Lewis, Dictionary, on Perseus Digital Library Julian; Raff, Martin; Roberts, Keith; Walter, Peter. 2. ^ ἔλαιον (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper Molecular Biology of the Cell. New York: Garland /text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De Science, 2002, pp. 62, 118-119. %29%2Flaion) , Henry George Liddell, Robert 6. ^ Kvenvolden, Keith A. (2006). "Organic Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital geochemistry – A retrospective of its first 70 Library years". Organic Geochemistry 37: 1. 3. ^ ἐλαία (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2005.09.001 /text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De%29lai%2Fa) (http://dx.doi.org , Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek/10.1016%2Fj.orggeochem.2005.09.001) . English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
External links
Petroleum Online e-Learning resource from IHRDC (http://www.petroleumonline.com) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil" Categories: Oils | Greek loanwords This page was last modified on 6 September 2011 at 03:36. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
3 of 3
06.09.2011 11:56
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil
Oil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and is hydrophobic but soluble in organic solvents. Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are nonpolar substances. The general definition above includes compound classes with, and uses, including vegetable oils, petrochemical oils, and volatile essential oils. All oils can be traced back to organic sources.
Contents
1 Etymology 2 Types 2.1 Organic oils 2.2 Mineral oils 3 Applications 3.1 Hair 3.2 Cooling 3.3 Fuel 3.4 Electricity generation 3.5 Lubrication 3.6 Painting 3.7 Petrochemicals 4 See also 5 References 6 External links
Etymology
First attested in English 1176, the word oil comes from Old French "oile", from Latin "oleum",[1] which in turn comes from the Greek "ἔλαιον" (elaion), "olive oil, oil"[2] and that from "ἐλαία" (elaia), "olive tree".[3] The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek e-ra-wo, written in Linear B syllabic script.[4]
Types
Organic oils
Organic oils are produced in remarkable diversity by plants, animals, and other organisms through natural metabolic processes. Lipid is the scientific term for the fatty acids, steroids and similar chemicals often found in the oils produced by living things, while oil refers to an overall mixture of chemicals. Organic oils may also contain chemicals other than lipids, including proteins, waxes and alkaloids. Lipids can be classified by the way that they are made by an organism, their chemical structure and their limited solubility in water compared to oils. They have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are considerably lacking in oxygen compared to other organic compounds and minerals; they tend to be relatively nonpolar molecules, but may include both polar and nonpolar regions as in the case of phospholipids and steroids.[5]
1 of 3
06.09.2011 11:56
Oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil
Mineral oils
Crude oil, or petroleum, and its refined components, collectively termed petrochemicals, are crucial resources in the modern economy. Crude oil originates from ancient fossilized organic materials, such as zooplankton and algae, which geochemical processes convert into oil.[6] It is classified as a mineral oil because it does not have an organic origin on human timescales, but is instead obtained from rocks, underground traps, or sands; however, mineral oil by itself refers to a specific distillate of crude oil.
Applications
Hair
Oil is used on hair to give it a lustrous look. It helps to avoid tangles and roughness to the hair. It also helps the hair to be stabilized and grow faster.[citation needed] See Hair conditioner. Anointing one's head with oil is a ritualistic practice in many countries.
Cooling
Main article: Oil cooling Oil is also used as coolant in various applications such as electric transformers.
Fuel
Main article: Petroleum 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 diesel fuel (petrodiesel), ethane (and other short-chain alkanes), fuel oils (heaviest of commercial fuels, used in ships/furnaces), gasoline (petrol), jet fuel, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas.
Electricity generation
Oil and any of its more refined products have been used to create electricity. This can be done by means of a steam engine, or by means of a turbine driven by exhaust gases. A steam engine turns the thermal energy into rotary motion, which can then be transformed into electricity, by means of a generator. In an exhaust gas turbine, the combustion products from burning the fuel expand, thereby turning a turbine. The turbine is coupled to an electric generator.
Lubrication
A bottle of olive oil used in food 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 due to oxidation.
2 of 3
06.09.2011 11:56
Oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil
Painting
Color pigments can be easily suspended in oil, making it suitable as a supporting medium for paints. The slow drying process and miscibility of oil facilitates a realistic style. This method has been used since the 13th century.
Petrochemicals
Main article: Petrochemicals Crude oil can be refined into a wide variety of component hydrocarbons; "petrochemicals" includes the refined components of crude oil and the chemical products made from them. They are used as detergents, fertilizers, medicines, paints, plastics, synthetic fibers, and synthetic rubber.
See also
Emulsifier, a chemical which allows oil and water to mix Lubrication Wax, a class of compounds with oil-like properties that are solid at common temperatures
References
1. ^ oleum (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper 4. ^ Palaeolexicon (http://www.palaeolexicon.com/) , /text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Doleum) Word study tool of ancient languages , Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin 5. ^ Alberts, Bruce; Johnson, Alexander; Lewis, Dictionary, on Perseus Digital Library Julian; Raff, Martin; Roberts, Keith; Walter, Peter. 2. ^ ἔλαιον (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper Molecular Biology of the Cell. New York: Garland /text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De Science, 2002, pp. 62, 118-119. %29%2Flaion) , Henry George Liddell, Robert 6. ^ Kvenvolden, Keith A. (2006). "Organic Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital geochemistry – A retrospective of its first 70 Library years". Organic Geochemistry 37: 1. 3. ^ ἐλαία (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2005.09.001 /text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De%29lai%2Fa) (http://dx.doi.org , Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek/10.1016%2Fj.orggeochem.2005.09.001) . English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
External links
Petroleum Online e-Learning resource from IHRDC (http://www.petroleumonline.com) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil" Categories: Oils | Greek loanwords This page was last modified on 6 September 2011 at 03:36. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
3 of 3
06.09.2011 11:56
