7187. Petroleum

Nomenclature

Crude oil; mineral oil; rock oil; coal oil; seneca oil.

Description and references

Consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons from C2H6 and up—chiefly of the paraffins, cycloparaffins, or of cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, with small amounts of benzene hydrocarbons, sulfur, and oxygenated compounds. Occurrence: U.S., Mexico, Iran, Russia, Roumania, Poland, Dutch East Indies, etc.

Properties

Dark yellow to brown or greenish-black, oily liquid. Insol in water and only a small portion of it may dissolve in alcohol; sol in benzene, chloroform, ether.

Use

Source of gasoline, petr ether, liq and solid petrolatum, fuel and lubricating oils, butane, isopropyl alcohol, etc.